CMU School of Drama


Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Nightmare on Forbes Street bar opens Friday, bringing chills, thrills and spooky cocktails to Market Square

www.nextpittsburgh.com: Attention, horror fans: Friday the 13th is your lucky day.

On Sept. 13, the Nightmare on Forbes Street pop-up bar opens for the Halloween season. Each day at 4 p.m., the hellish watering hole at 268 Forbes Ave. will serve killer cocktails and snacks, as well as thrills and chills.

4 comments:

Emma Pollet said...

Halloween is my favorite holiday, which makes going to haunted houses one of my favorite things to do. This bar isn't technically a haunted house, but honestly I think it is something that is even more fun. I feel like people sometimes disregard haunted houses once they reach a certain age, which is something that doesn't happen as much when it comes to going out for food and drinks. All of Bob Wolfinger's pop-up bars follow elaborate and well-developed themes, and it's really great that he is contributing these experiences to the community. My main point is that haunted houses are very easy to mess up. It is great to aim big when it comes to creating frightening decor, but if it fails, then it ruins the whole purpose. I've certainly been to haunted houses and laughed more than I've screamed. I enjoy laughing while slowly shuffling through dark rooms full of growling actors as much as the next person, but there is only one time of year when a majority of the population will give up their free evening to pay money to be scared by strangers. That said, I think he did it right. The decor that I saw in the pictures was phenomenally designed. I can only imagine what that decor must be like while in that setting. It's also so awesome that through the creation of this unique experience, Wolfinger donates a portion of his earnings to charity.

Emily Marshburn said...

This is such a wonderful idea! I think there is some stigma about Halloween as you get older (i.e., don’t dress up, don’t go to haunted houses, etc.) but it’s so fun that restauranteurs in the Pittsburgh community are making a “kid’s holiday” more of an adult event. I think it’s great publicity for all of the bars and restaurants in the area, especially because it starts on Friday the 13th (a date on which there also happens to be a full moon - talk about theme!) The themed pieces pictured in the article seem well-designed and must have been fun to put together! It’s also really nice to see an adult-oriented Halloween event that’s not just a haunted house. I, for one, am not good with jump scares (it still baffles me why people would pay to get pretend-mugged by the undead), so events such as these where there is a theme, but nothing too unexpected. Finally, I think it is the absolute best that a portion of earnings go to a variety of charities and that that is what really emphasises the community aspect of the pop-up(s).

Kathleen Ma said...

I don't particularly enjoy Halloween because I don't enjoy being frightened and I hate clowns, which, nowadays, seems to be a dreadful staple in the genre of horror. Additionally, sitting in a room decorated with cobwebs, sinews, dusty witches and dripping faces doesn't make me feel very clean, and that's part of the reason I don't like horror—I'd rather be somewhere more refined. However, I love to entertain the idea of Halloween; once I divorce myself from the horror, the specific aestheticism and effort people tend to exhibit on Halloween is actually very beautiful. Nightmare on Forbes Street is one such instance of admiration. I don't like the idea of going to this bar, but I appreciate the thoroughness of the design, its engagement to its theme, and the effort it puts in to come up with fun activities for its patrons, including a costume contest, trivia night, and movie screenings.

Evan Schild said...

I am so excited for this and Halloween. I love all things spooky and this seems like so much fun. I also love that during Halloween all of these stores do theme nights. They have such a high level of detail that really make the experience worth it. I know this is not a haunted house but they are putting the work to make it more than just a spooky bar. I know in Pittsburgh they take Halloween very serious. They have multiple high profile haunted houses which gain national attention, so it makes sense that bars now are going down this path. I am planning on going to this in the next few weeks. I hope the drinks are not just overpriced and having nothing to them. I am excited to see the walls and other décor as it seems they put time and thought into how they want to decorate the place.