Brisbane’s St John’s Cathedral will be transformed into a candlelit concert venue for Halloween, with haunting classical compositions, horror film themes and familiar popular music performed by live string quartets beneath the cathedral’s towering Gothic architecture.
The Candlelight: A Haunted Evening of Halloween Classics concerts will take place on Friday, 30 October and Saturday, 31 October 2026, at 6:30 p.m. Organised by entertainment platform Fever, the performances will bring a Halloween-inspired programme to St John’s Cathedral at 373 Ann Street, Brisbane City, with thousands of candles forming part of the setting.
From Michael Jackson to Hollywood horror
Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” will feature alongside music from some of cinema’s best-known horror and supernatural films, including “Psycho,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Beetlejuice” and “The Addams Family.”
The programme also includes the “Ghostbusters” theme, “Tubular Bells” from “The Exorcist,” and a medley featuring music associated with “The Shining,” “Candyman” and “Halloween.” An arrangement of “Paint It Black,” featured in the television series “Wednesday,” adds another contemporary connection to the selection.
Classical compositions will share the programme with the film and television music. Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Toccata in D Minor,” Camille Saint-Saëns’ “Danse Macabre” and Modest Mussorgsky’s “Night on Bald Mountain” are among the works selected for their dramatic and atmospheric qualities.
The music will be performed through string quartet arrangements rather than original recordings or full orchestral performances. Chromatica is scheduled to perform on 30 October, while Paradiso Strings will take the stage on Halloween night, 31 October. The programme is subject to change. Official programme and performers
A Halloween setting beneath the cathedral’s arches
St John’s Cathedral, an Anglican cathedral in Brisbane’s CBD, combines Romanesque and Gothic architectural elements and regularly hosts concerts and other cultural events.
Its stone columns, pointed arches and stained-glass windows will provide the backdrop for the Halloween performances, with the interior illuminated by the warm glow of thousands of candles.
The venue already hosts performances from Fever’s Candlelight series, which presents live instrumental arrangements of classical compositions and music by contemporary artists. The Halloween edition brings together works spanning centuries, from Bach and Mussorgsky to Michael Jackson and modern film soundtracks. Candlelight concerts in Brisbane
Two nights of music, with tickets from $36.50
Each performance is scheduled to run for approximately 65 minutes, with doors opening 30 minutes before the concert and closing five minutes before the scheduled start. Late arrivals will not be admitted.
The concerts are open to audiences aged eight and above, although children younger than 16 must be accompanied by an adult. The cathedral is wheelchair accessible, and seating is allocated on a first-come, first-served basis within each purchased ticket zone.
Tickets are advertised from $36.50 for Zone D, rising to $51.50 for Zone C, $73.50 for Zone B and $105 for Zone A. Premium tickets are listed at $110, although the category was marked as sold out on the event page at the time of checking. Prices and availability may change.
Both performances will begin at 6:30 p.m., with the second concert taking place on Halloween night itself. Further details and bookings are available through the official Fever event page.
Published 8-Oct-2026
