Even though October had only just begun, the Halloween spirit was alive at the Palm Theatre on Oct. 1 during its “Annual Haunting” event.
The theater transformed into a lively celebration of costumes, scary movies and community as film fans of all ages filed into the lobby at 5:30 p.m.
With cobwebs and faux spiders ornamenting the space, guests mingled over popcorn, wine and a life-sized skeleton-themed charcuterie board draped eerily across the table.
Live music from the Ghost/Monster duo contributed to the haunting atmosphere, performing songs like “Monster Mash” and a cover of Tom Petty’s “American Girl,” creatively changed to “American Ghoul.”
The evening’s highlight was the Palm’s costume contest, and guests did not come to play. Costumes ranged from classic movie characters to terrifying ghouls, with some guests plotting their costumes well in advance.
Katie Pena, a scare actor, had been handmaking her costume for a month. She stalked around the theater as Vecna from the hit Netflix show “Stranger Things,” and put my DIY “Moonrise Kingdom” costume to shame.
The first-place prize was taken by a duo dressed as Alfred Hitchcock and Melanie Daniels from the 1963 film “The Birds.”
Inside, all three of the Palm’s screens were in action, offering a mix of family-friendly nostalgia and cinematic history: “Halloweentown,” “The Mummy,” and the original “Nosferatu” from 1922.
Between screenings, guests could stop by the photo booth to capture their costumes, participate in the wine pull or eat dumplings catered by Mee Heng Low.
environment. Heather Weare, a member of the theater, has been coming to the Palm since she was in her twenties.
Weare attended the Haunting for the first time this year, dressed as Elvira alongside her daughters in “Saltburn” costumes.
“The Palm is important because it’s keeping independent film alive,” Weare said. “The Palm gives smaller, independent films a chance to be seen. It’s also a great community.”
David Hardberger, another member of the theater, continues coming back for similar reasons, attending movies at the Palm every week.
“It’s the atmosphere, it’s the community and most importantly, it’s the movies,” Hardberger said. “They run old movies, and I like old movies.”
And old movies will be running all month long! The Palm’s Haunting event was only the beginning, and the theater will be screening spooky classics for the entirety of October.
Movies including “Bride of Frankenstein,” “Donnie Darko,” “Creature from the Black Lagoon” and “Scream” will take the silver screen once again.
While the event came to a close at 7:30 p.m., it was only the beginning for the Halloween season at the Palm. The independent theater continues to provide San Luis Obispo with a creative community for families, friends and film-nerds alike. Happy haunting!
