The skies have darkened, wet leaves are piling in the sidewalks and a cold wind, fresh from the sound, whistles through city streets — it must be Halloween in Seattle. While the weather turns suitably spooky outside, tech workers have gathered in offices throughout the city to chant incantations, mix potions and commune with the ghosts of iterations past.
Or maybe not. However, they will definitely be dressing up in costume, carving pumpkins and trick-or-treating with their colleagues’ kids. Here are a few snapshots of the spookiest office Halloween parties going down in Seattle tech today.
Sales enablement company Highspot had their Halloween party last Friday, featuring a Disney-themed office decoration competition, games, pumpkin carving and a catered Chipotle lunch. There was also trick-or-treating for the employees’ sons and daughters along with children currently staying at Mary’s Place, which offers shelter for families experiencing homelessness. Highspot held a costume drive for Mary’s Place ahead of the party, at which various teams within the organization dressed up as characters from Disney movies like Alice in Wonderland, Pirates of the Caribbean, Winnie the Pooh and Ratatouille.
The folks at “Uber-for-mechanics” company Wrench will be dressing up, decorating the office and getting ready for their annual costume competition and party today. This year’s theme is pop culture and celebrities, and the party will be full of spooky horror films, board games and a game they call “Bobbing for Donuts” — which is similar to bobbing for apples, apparently — but without the mess. The party will also feature a ceremonial emptying of the “Dollar Jar,” into which Wrench employees deposit a bill when something doesn’t go according to plan, and a ringing of the “Gong of Achievement,” which traditionally celebrates a win.
Over the years, ExtraHop co-founders Jesse Rothstein and Raja Mukerji have made a point of going all-out on Halloween costumes. The cybersecurity company’s annual Halloween party features awards for best team costume, as well as office trick-or-treating for employees’ children. According to our sources, ExtraHoppers typically begin brainstorming for next year’s costumes on November 1. One year, a candidate for an open job went through several rounds of interviews on Halloween with potential colleagues — all of whom were in costume at the time. The candidate supposedly used his lunch break to rustle up a costume of his own, to ensure he was appropriately dressed.
Unity will be celebrating Halloween with a big party, including a costume contest and trick-or-treating with employees’ children. The real-time 3D development company is settling into a new office in downtown Bellevue — meaning they almost certainly haven’t flushed out all the ghouls and goblins just yet.
DoubleDown’s office will be decked out like a spooky carnival this year in preparation for their annual office party. The festivities will include costume competitions, prizes, a pumpkin carving contest and a catered lunch. The social gaming company will then welcome their employees’ children into the office for trick-or-treating at day’s end.
