WANA (Oct 31) – From Karim Khan Street to Niavaran Street in Tehran, from Rasht to Isfahan, from cafés to forest camps — Halloween has slowly found its way into the lives of Iranian youth; a Western celebration that, flavored by the creativity of a new generation, has now turned into a more localized ritual — a blend of excitement, fear, and a brief escape from reality.
In Persian-language social media, Instagram’s explore is now filled with ads for Halloween-themed nature camps, exclusive Halloween events, cafés decorated with plastic skeletons and spiders, and restaurants that even serve black-colored pasta made with special ingredients. Some cafés began preparations weeks in advance—with special menus, dim lighting, dry-ice smoke, and glasses that emit a cold mist.
“We wanted to create a different kind of night. People are looking for excitement,” says Aida, the owner of one of these cafés, who has been planning the decorations, menu, and special programs for three weeks.
She continues: “These days, new kinds of entertainment like this have become very popular in Tehran — especially since most people work and can’t take long trips or vacations. So, these kinds of activities become a bit of variety amidst all the fatigue and routine. Now, Halloween, with a bit of fear, a bit of laughter, and a bit of strangeness, has turned into a form of recreation for people.”
Halloween celebration in Tehran, Mirza Shirazi Street. 30 Oct, 2025. Naser Safarzadeh / WANA (West Asia News Agency)
In another corner of the city, shops that sell Halloween supplies — from witch hats to bloody contact lenses and vampire teeth — are busier than ever these days.
Mr Ehsan Pargar, A Tehrani Citizen who brought his daughter to Mirza Shirazi Street in central Tehran, a predominantly Christian neighborhood, to show her Halloween symbols, regarding this event, says:
“Halloween is like many other celebrations in Iran. It has become more and more Christmas and other celebrations. It is not just Halloween and Christmas; There is Nowruz, there is Iranian New Year, there is Mehregan. I think all celebrations are an excuse. I think everyone should look at it as an excuse to be happy and together and considering the current situation, when the whole world is in chaos, these days can finally bring a little relief, especially for children we do most of these celebrations for them (children) so that they can get away from the mood of depression a little bit and make them a little happier.”
Halloween celebration in Tehran, Mirza Shirazi Street. 30 Oct, 2025. Naser Safarzadeh / WANA (West Asia News Agency)
Some of these shops have even made their Instagram ads with scary music and added the hashtag #HalloweenIran underneath. They even teach people how to make their homes look like scenes from Tim Burton movies with just a few candles and pieces of black cloth.
Ahmad, who works in selling Halloween supplies and event decorations, says: “Thanks to people becoming interested in Halloween in recent years, my business around this time has been thriving, thank God. Many people even rent the items by the hour so they won’t fall behind this trend.”
Escape rooms with horror themes and fear cinemas have also sold out all their bookable sessions. Young people go to fear cinemas — halls where, in the middle of the movie, the lights go out and actors jump out from behind the seats. They laugh, scream, and, for a few hours, free themselves from the thoughts of real life.
Halloween celebration in Tehran, Mirza Shirazi Street. 30 Oct, 2025. Naser Safarzadeh / WANA (West Asia News Agency)
Sahel, 20-year-old, Halloween Fan explains why the young generation likes this event: “Personally, I like Halloween because it has a series of interesting themes, something fun we can do, like make up and getting together, and it’s very fun.. I like it myself.”
She says, “These kinds of celebrations (western celebrations ) are exciting for us because of social media, which we have become more familiar with. For example, Christmas is colorful, they have sort of an activity, but about our own (national) celebration, maybe we don’t really know their activities. But for example, these have very bold activities, which make people attracted to them.”
But perhaps the most interesting part of the story is that all this excitement for a Western celebration is happening in a land that has had its own version of Halloween for centuries: Qāshoq-zani (spoon-banging).
A tradition once held during Chaharshanbe Suri — when people would cover their faces with scarves or cloths, strike a spoon against a bowl, and stand in front of their neighbors’ doors to receive treats, while no one knew who was hidden behind the covering.
Halloween celebration in Tehran, Mirza Shirazi Street. 30 Oct, 2025. Naser Safarzadeh / WANA (West Asia News Agency)
Nahid, a fifty-year-old woman, surprised by her granddaughter’s excitement for this occasion, writes on X:
“I don’t know why our young people are so attached to every foreign celebration… What’s wrong with our own traditions? I don’t understand why, instead of emphasizing our authentic customs like Qāshoq-zani (spoon-banging), they’re turning toward this. Instead of the dangerous fireworks of Chaharshanbe Suri, I wish you’d give more attention to Qāshoq-zani — it’s both safer and more authentic, more Iranian.”
If we look closely, although Qāshoq-zani and Halloween come from two opposite sides of the world, they share a common root: covering the face, walking in the dark, and playing with shadows.
And perhaps today’s Halloween is simply a reminder of that same human need that has long existed within us — the need for imagination, for escape, for experiencing the thin line between joy and fear.
Now, the new generation in Iran has blended the two — on an autumn night, in a dimly lit café with music. But how wonderful it would be if, in the future, the people of the world celebrated Qāshoq-zani just as they do Halloween.