This spooky season, we experienced fright and delight at Fever’s Haunted Cocktail Party inside an old Dallas mansion. I’m normally way too wimpy to go inside any traditional haunted houses, but I couldn’t pass up this opportunity to dress up, sip drinks, and enjoy some spooky vibes. Thankfully, this experience had multiple levels of spookiness to accommodate both thrill seekers and casual partygoers!

Here’s what it was like to to spend a haunting evening inside the “House of Spirits.”

 

Arriving at the Haunted Cocktail Party

When we first walked through the wrought iron gates to Alexander Mansion and saw its striking white facade, I was immediately impressed. It reminded me of The Haunted Mansion ride in Disneyland or really any sort of quintessentially spooky house. The Alexander Mansion actually has a fascinating history of its own – the original owner successfully got away with murder twice. But for the purposes of the party, it was the fictional home of “Molly and Francisco Vega.”

The Vegas, along with other ghostly guests, would float around the house and tell you pieces of their stories. When guests first arrive at the cocktail party, they are ushered in the doors and encouraged to interact with every ghost.

 

The House of Spirits

The house was divided up into several rooms and floors. There were four rooms and an entry hall on the first floor, with four different cocktail stations and four live performances and interactive activities. There was a haunted corridor and a VIP lounge on the second floor, and then there were the dark depths of the haunted basement.

We stuck primarily to the first floor where we watched a dancer perform a “ritual,” a magician perform card tricks, and a singer strum on his acoustic guitar. We also tested our fate on a giant ouija board that really moved when you asked it a question!

Eventually we did go up to the haunted corridor on the second floor, but I was too scared to find out what was in the basement. Even if we had just stayed on the first floor, we would have thoroughly enjoyed the experience! The ghost storytellers and live music was great, and the cocktails were delicious. We really enjoyed the whole atmosphere.

 

The Cocktail Menu

There were four different mini cocktails to try. They were all super unique and delicious: one was flavored with candied ginger, one infused with early gray tea, and one had a sprinkle of cinnamon.

They were also pretty strong for the size of the mini cups! Each cocktail was in a different room on the first floor, and they were all named after thematic elements from the party. Standard tickets included all four cocktails, and VIP tickets included a few extras.

 

The Scary Stuff Upstairs

Since we were so impressed with the costumes, decor, and theming at the party, we decided to attempt an exploration of the haunted corridor upstairs. A ghostly host gave us our instructions: we had to find an object within a series of rooms and present it to the monster residing in each one. If we lingered too long, the monster would steal our souls.

I thought this interactive element to the haunted area was really cool. It made the experience almost like a high stakes escape room instead of a traditional haunted house where you just walk around and people jump out and scare you.

The monsters in each room where pretty terrifying to me since I’m not a “haunted house person.” The spookiest part was that they would periodically inch closer and closer to us in the room while we searched for the hidden item. If you’re not into haunted houses, I’d probably recommend sticking to the bottom floor and enjoying the drinks and entertainment. The experience was well worth the ticket price even without the extra bonus of the haunted area in my opinion. But if you’re braver than me, definitely check out the haunted corridor and the haunted basement!

 

More Themed Cocktail Parties in Dallas

If you missed out on this season’s haunted cocktail party, no need to worry! Fever is hosting several more themed parties next year. I’m going to grab tickets for the Mad Hatter Gin & Tea coming up next April.