If infamy was fortune, The Haunt would be the Buckingham Palace of Brighton. Although perhaps not as synonymous with the seaside as 2p slot machines and the Palace Pier, you won’t want to miss paying homage to this underground hive.
The Venue
If The Haunt had a face, it would have to be one for radio. From the outside this Brighton club blends almost seamlessly into a sea of beige buildings, albeit for a ghostly silhouette to indicate that there’s more inside than meets the eye.
Inside the interior is a blur of pink neon lettering and cult cinema classics that change depending on when you visit – Saturday nights relive the 80’s and blast out Big and Back to the Future on big screens above the DJ booth. The venue consists of little more than a bar, several booths and a split level dance floor which also doubles up as a stage for regular gigs when it isn’t filled with the regular revellers. The facilities, however, aren’t the main attraction for frequenters of The Haunt who flock there instead there for the promise of power ballads and nineties nostalgia and not the interior design.
A space to party less than it is a space to admire; unless you admire partying, then you're in luck.
The Food and Drink
If you’re looking for food at The Haunt then the closest you’ll get is the collection of chicken shops and chip outlets that can be found around the corner – the central location means that an early hour’s eatery or a diner open until dawn is never far away.
The bar is stocked with beer bottles and the Brighton nectar Tuaca as well as the usual suspects of soda mixers and spirits. However Haunt-ers aren’t so much there for the bar staff’s ability to knock together a cocktail but more to dance together until dawn breaks, so if you’re looking for a quiet catch up then The Haunt might not be for you.
Penchant for fancy cocktails? Take your silly fare elsewhere, The Haunt offers cheap dance booze alone.
The Atmosphere
Come midnight when The Haunt reaches full capacity, the atmosphere is best described as an unlikely cross-over of euphoric claustrophobia. Yes you may need to manhandle your way through two dozen bodies to get a beer, but the music, fellow club goers and feeling makes it worth it. The Haunt’s lack of grandeur and somewhat sticky floor is more than made up for in the fun that’s to be had indoors.
The club hosts a range of different themed nights, with Bastard Pop and Coconut College on a Thursday enticing many of us to partake in school-night partying again, and the monthly Cat Face event sees each attendee forge feline features onto their faces to escape an entry fee of £1,000.
The weekend schedule works its way through the decades with Friday sees 90’s Hip Hop Sweatshop and the most renowned night of them all being It’s Still 1985 on Saturday. Expect any night to end with dramatic air grabs, impromptu rapping and almost definitely a night to remember.
We doubt you'll find an atmosphere like this anywhere else, but then again, why would you be anywhere else?
Summary
A Brighton institution through and through, expect any night at The Haunt to end with dramatic air grabs, impromptu rapping and almost definitely a night to remember.
