This October, Candlelight: A Haunted Evening of Halloween Classics is bringing its spooky soundtrack to St Stephen’s Uniting Church, the sandstone church tucked opposite Parliament House on Macquarie Street.
Thousands of flickering candles, stained-glass windows and some of cinema’s creepiest themes? Sydney has certainly found a dramatic place to spend Halloween.
We’re talking the Scooby-Doo Theme, Nathan Johnson’s “Knives Out,” Gounod’s “Funeral March of the Marionette” and Schubert’s “Erlkönig” — enough eerie strings to make Macquarie Street feel a little more like Elm Street.
30 October 2026 18:30
St Stephen's Uniting Church
Halloween in Sydney: A haunting evening of spooky songs at St Stephen’s Uniting Church
St Stephen’s Uniting Church has been part of Sydney life since 1842, although the church standing at 197 Macquarie Street today was built between 1935 and 1937. Its Inter-War Gothic design brings together tall arches, timber panelling and decorative tracery, while a huge 2,500-pipe organ sits inside.
Once the lights drop and Candlelight’s sea of candles fills the space, those Gothic details should feel right at home alongside a programme devoted to ghosts, monsters and things that generally go bump in the night.
The setlist jumps between classical pieces with a naturally sinister streak and soundtracks that have spent years making audiences nervous from the comfort of their sofas. Saint-Saëns’ “Danse Macabre” and Grieg’s “In the Hall of the Mountain King” sit alongside music from Halloween, Psycho, Stranger Things and IT.
St Stephen’s feels particularly suited to the occasion. By day, it remains an active place of worship and CBD community hub, hosting everything from lunchtime concerts to jazz programming.
And then Danny Elfman enters the building.
Music from Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Beetlejuice and Wednesday all appear on the tentative programme, while “Ghostbusters,” “The Addams Family Theme,” “Thriller,” “Goo Goo Muck” and The Rocky Horror Picture Show’s “Time Warp” keep things from getting too serious.
Performed by a string quartet, familiar melodies are stripped back to violin, viola and cello, giving horror themes a slightly different kind of tension.
Do you dare?
Candlelight: A Haunted Evening of Halloween Classics
30 October 2026 18:30
St Stephen's Uniting Church
