Pablo Perez, Contributing Photographer

Spooky ghouls and drag kings came together to celebrate Halloween at Witch Bitch Thrift’s annual Monster Bash on Saturday night. 

At Witch Bitch Thrift’s Halloween party, Paxx Headroom and Dexx Delirium — two local drag king artists — joined forces to perform for the bash’s attendees. Costumed guests participated in the fun by entering in and modeling for the costume contest to win prizes. 

“It’s nice for people to have a space where they don’t have to worry about drinking,” Pheo Muncey, the event coordinator at Witch Bitch Thrift said. This past Saturday’s Monster Bash was a sober event. 

According to Muncey, having sober events is important for including everyone in the Halloween fun, especially when many places are often catering to adults and individuals that drink. 

As many bars and nightclubs around New Haven prepare for the upcoming weekend, alcohol is unmistakably a core part of Halloween planning and partying. 

“We want to keep it a safe space for everybody, and we want to be as welcoming as we can,” Muncey said. 

The event had free snacks and non-alcoholic beverages for guests attending. The drag performances were hosted in the spookily decorated showroom behind the clothing section of the store. 

This year, Witch Bitch Thrift invited two local drag-king performers to headline the event: Paxx Headroom and Dexx Delirium. Both performers are based in the Fairfield area. 

Delirium showed up Saturday night wearing ghastly makeup, whimsical elf ears and red checkered pants. 

“I love sharing my art with people,” Delirium said when asked about his performances. “Performing gives me a platform to share things that I otherwise probably wouldn’t be able to share with people.” 

Delirium has been performing mostly around Fairfield for approximately two years and often has multiple performances a week.

Also starring in the bash Saturday evening was Paxx Headroom, who made an appearance wearing a blood-covered suit and a full-face of spooky makeup. 

“I was invited by Witch Bitch Thrift. I love their store, and I love supporting them. It’s such a great experience performing here,” Headroom said. 

Headroom has been performing for four years around the Fairfield and New Haven areas.

In an intermission between drag performances, the winner and the podium-placing attendees of the costume contest were announced to the audience. Two participants dressed as Naruto and a giant panda and took third and fourth place, and “Mothman” took second place. A scary clown won the contest and received the grand prize: a $100 gift card to Witch Bitch Thrift. The audience and attendees were excited to congratulate the winner and those with honorable mentions. 

“It’s so supportive. It brings in people with similar interests — people who want that safe queer environment,” Headroom said when asked to reflect on the environment of his shows. “It gives people a place to express themselves.”

With the Monster Bash receiving good feedback both last year and this year, Muncey is already excited for Witch Bitch Thrift’s next bash. 

Witch Bitch Thrift is located at 105 Whitney Ave.