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Music

Horror on the Dance Floor: Our 7 Favorite Stories of Wild Nights Out

From bad acid trips to dirty backroom hookups, we look back at our favorite clubbing horror stories.
Photo courtesy of Chrissy.

Nightlife is more than just drinks, DJs and dance floors. Some of life's most memorable moments occur in the clubs we frequent every night.

Eric Strom, a nightlife photographer, learned to not take acid at work even if everyone around him was on drugs. "I couldn't force a peaceful, life-affirming psychedelic adventure just because it fit a box in my schedule," he said about his experience. And famed disco DJ Nicky Siano played a set during Bianca Jagger's infamous birthday party at Studio 54. "I thought it was pretty perverse," Siano said about watching Jagger stroll around the disco club on a large white horse.

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In honor of Halloween, we've collected our favorite clubbing horror stories. Relive the weirdest and wildest tales of nights out on the town from the DJs, producers, photographers and clubgoers who witnessed them firsthand.


1. When a bizarre sex party breaks out during your unfortunately-timed acid trip

Nightlife photographer Eric Strom of GlitterGuts didn't realize the avant garde theater show he attended would turn into a performance featuring live sex. And tripping on acid during the event didn't make the setting easier to process.

2. When your DJ set turns into a swingers orgy

DJ White Owl is the resident DJ for Invite Only, an event company specializing in swingers parties. In TK MONTH he recounted to THUMP what it was like to DJ his first sex party and how the experience taught him to be a more empathetic person.

3. When a batch of pot cookies turns you into an airplane zombie

Chicago-based producer and DJ Chrissy recalled his zombie-like immobilization and internal freakout after consuming a dozen pot-laced cookies before a flight back to the United States from Canada. It's probably never a good idea to eat a dozen cookies at one time, regardless of what's in them.

4. When a party girl turns the dance floor into a horse's stable

Legendary disco DJ Nicky Siano was a Studio 54 resident from its earliest days. In this story from August, Siano relived the night Bianca Jagger celebrated her birthday party … and put Studio 54 on the map.

5. When a night of dancing turns into too many pills and sub-woofer sex romps

Jill Hopkins-Olewnik's evening of after-work dancing quickly spiraled into a night filled with pills and hookups in the back of a nightclub. Her story proves you never know who you'll meet on the dance floor.

6. When a birthday party turns into a very bad bar fight

Storyteller Lily Be's birthday party went from a family celebration to a bar brawl on the dance floor. Later, a chance encounter with a stranded, half-naked stranger gave her the opportunity to turn the night around.

7. When a breakdancing battle might cost your life

Producer Ape Drums went out on the town for an impromptu breakdancing battle with a group of his friends. In June, he detailed how his evening of dancing turned into a violent brawl with an unexpected group of people.