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Two local Halloween pop-up bars to get you in the ~spirits~
Spooky season is creeping into Raleigh early—and this year, it’s bringing better (boo)ze than the average cauldron punch. Two local cocktail haunts are going all in for the haunted holiday, from an apothecary dripping in herbs and candlelight to a nostalgia-fueled takeover straight out of the Halloween aisles of your childhood. Prepare to eat, drink and fall under the spell.
The Haunting
Call it a “Nightmare on North West Street”—the good kind. Killjoy is leaning all the way into over-the-top vintage decor, glowing jack-o’-lanterns and haunted-house nostalgia this Halloween as it becomes Raleigh’s only outpost for The Haunting, the inaugural Halloween pop-up from the team behind the beloved Miracle Christmas brand. Like an eerie ghost story or your favorite scary movie, the wonderfully strange environment immerses guests in a twisted realm of oddities, playful mischief and creepy secrets. The cocktails are also bewitchingly inventive: Scream-sicle mixes tequila, spiced vanilla, carrot-orange cordial and habanero, while Poison Apple layers Calvados and rye whiskey with bitter apple, sherry and miso. And for anyone who likes their booze with a little souvenir, the Pumpkin Payback shot comes with a collectible Haunting glass. Oct. 1–31, Killjoy, Glenwood South, killjoycocktail.com
Witch, Please!
Something wicked this way comes as Wye Hill swaps its usual brewery scene for something far more spellbinding. The buzzy Boylan brewery’s first-ever Halloween pop-up, Witch, Please!, fills the taproom with flickering candles, dangling herbs, weathered spell books and ancient-apothecary energy. Behind the bar, ~spirited~ potions and elixirs get the full treatment—smoke, scorched herbs and dramatic flair included. So basically—witchy theater meets cocktail hour. Try the Wise Woman, a tequila-and-Strega concoction with cucumber, mint, lime and absinthe, or go darker with the rye whiskey- and pomegranate-laced Better Half of Hades. Even the glassware gets in costume, with specialty vessels adding to the theatrical pours, while seasonal bites complete the spell. Through Nov. 1, Wye Hill, Warehouse District, wyehill.com
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