Mood Music

FRI 10/31

Pipe organs produce two kinds of music: joyous sounds after church services while preachers are shooing everybody out, and that spooky stuff the Phantom of the Opera plays when he’s lonely. You know, Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor.” (You’d recognize it if you heard it.) Is it the sound of all those big pipes that scares people, or is the organ just guilty by association because the Phantom chose the big organ over a Casio? To settle this burning query, bring your lunch to the Westport Presbyterian Church (201 Westport Road) for Friday’s Tenth Annual Haunted Organ Brown Bag Concert.Westport Presbyterian’s resident organist, “Menacing” Marian Thomas, joins the Immanuel Lutheran Church’s “Terrifying” Ted Stewart to play classical tunes that are, in one way or another, associated with Halloween. If the big Reuters pipe organ doesn’t freak you out, maybe storyteller Kevin Fewell will. The church is decorated appropriately, and the organists will be properly attired in costumes befitting their Halloween handles. The free concert starts at 12:10 p.m. and should last less than one hour. The chance to eat lunch while serenaded by costumed organists comes only once a year. For details, call 816-931-1032.— Michael Vennard

Reanimating Poe

Even Elvis will be there.

THU 10/30

Death has funny ways of changing people. In life, Edgar Allan Poe didn’t seem much like a party guy, penning bloody stories and suffering the deaths of countless friends and family members. But on Thursday night, Poe shows up alongside a rotating cast of Kansas Citians gathered to read his poems and short stories for 24 hours straight.Lolla-Poe-Looza III starts at 7 p.m. on October 30 at the Just Off Broadway theater (3051 Central) and crescendos 24 hours later with a costume bash. In between, newscasters, politicos, regular folks and Elvis intone the ominous tales of cholera epidemics and hearts beating beneath floorboards. Now in its third year, the Looza offers a quieter and more portentous Halloween experience than one in which you end up trapped next to the drunk guy in a Nixon mask. Call 816-512-1943 for details.— Christopher Sebela

Tango Tremors

Those who dare may spend the night.

FRI 10/31

Since Tango Lorca had to vacate Fedora, DJ Korey Ireland says he’s excited to be in the “very elegant” surroundings of the Hotel Phillips (106 West 12th Street). To help spread the word that the group has moved downtown, Tango Lorca hosts a costume ball Halloween night. Tango-themed garb is not required — Ireland says anything goes. The hotel’s swanky bar, 12 Baltimore, hosts a bash of its own, and revelers planning to attend one (or both) are encouraged to punt the need for a designated driver and make a slumber party of it. The hotel offers $59 rates all weekend. Call 816-221-7000 for more information. — Steve Walker

Scary Charity

FRI 10/31

When a philanthropic organization named after the god of wine and revelry hosts a Halloween party, you know the bar’s gonna be stocked. In exchange for a night of food, drink, dancing and prizes at Union Station (30 West Pershing Road), the Bacchus Foundation wants only $35 at the door. (Proceeds go to children’s causes.) Terror at the Train Station starts at 7 p.m. For details, see bacchus-kc.org.— Vennard