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- "From now through November 16th in GTA Online, special Halloween treats will be available to the residents of Los Santos and Blaine County on PS4, Xbox One and PC. And no tricks here – once acquired these special items will remain in your inventory, even after November 16th."
- ―Rockstar Newswire description.
The Halloween Surprise was initially a content DLC for the enhanced version of Grand Theft Auto Online and is later a recurring special event that is hosted every Halloween.
Release
2015
The content update added two new vehicles to GTA Online, the Albany Lurcher and Fränken Stange, a new weapon, the Flashlight, many new monster-themed masks and face paints, and a new Adversary Mode, Slasher. The new content will only be available to players until November 16th, but players who purchased any of the new items during this time period will still have these items in their inventories after November 16th and can be bought again after they were previously sold.
2016
- "Hit the streets today with the new café racer inspired Pegassi Vortex motorcycle and starting this Friday, it’s time to enjoy the dark revelries of Halloween weekend in GTA Online with the release of the frightful new LCC Sanctus motorcycle, a bloodthirsty new Adversary Mode and more. And starting now through November 7, celebrate this month’s anniversary of GTA Online with a massive assortment of discounts spanning three years’ worth of content updates, as well as a chance to score some serious bonus cash."
- ―Rockstar Newswire, 2016
- See Also: GTA Online: Bikers#10/28/16
The original 2015 content was made available for purchase once again, and new content added in the Bikers update was also made available, including the new Sanctus Halloween motorcycle, and a new Adversary Mode, Lost Vs Damned, was released.
2017
- "It's Halloween in Los Santos, which means it's time to terrorize the neighborhood while reaping the benefits of a litany of bloodcurdling bonuses and deadly discounts."
- ―Rockstar Newswire, 2017
Event poster.
Halloween Surprise returns as two separate events which run closely together.[1][2]
The first, officially named "Halloween Specials", began on 27 October, and ran until 6 November, 2017. This released new Halloween-themed content and re-released pre-existing Halloween content. This event ran alongside Anniversary Specials 2017 which celebrated 4 years of GTA Online.
A second batch of Halloween Surprise bonuses was ran, named "Halloween Bonuses 2017". This event began on 31 October and ran until 6 November, 2017.
- Halloween Specials
- Re-release of content (available October 27 - November 6, 2017):
- Albany Fränken Stange available for purchase, with a 25% discount.
- Albany Lurcher available for purchase, with a 25% discount.
- LCC Sanctus available for purchase, with a 25% discount.
- All Halloween-themed masks available, also with 25% discounts.
- All Halloween-themed face-paints available, also with 25% discounts
- Cheerleader Massacre 3 T-Shirt available for logging on between these dates
- Vinewood Zombie T-shirt available for logging on between these dates
- Knife After Dark T-Shirt available for logging on between these dates
- Adversary Mode "Lost Vs Damned" made available.
- Release of new content (available October 27 - November 6, 2017):
- Grotti Vigilante available for purchase.
- Transform Race "Inferno" available.
- Adversary Mode "Condemned" available.
- Double GTA$ & RP in the Adversary Mode, Condemned, through November 6th.
- Double GTA$ & RP payouts to all participants of Air Freight Cargo Sell Missions, through November 6th.
- Double GTA$ Salary payouts for associates that are involved in the aforementioned Sell Missions.
- Halloween Bonuses 2017
- Western Company Seabreeze made available for purchase.
- Double GTA$ and RP bonuses on selected Adversary Modes and game modes (October 31, 2017 only):
- Lost vs Damned
- Slasher
- Beast vs Slasher
- Come Out to Play
- Transform - Inferno
- Stockpile (October 31 - November 6, 2017)
- 25% discount on selected vehicles:
- Western Company Besra
- Nagasaki Blazer Aqua (both prices)
- Hangar Custom Shop Add-On
- Progen GP1
- Grotti Cheetah Classic
- HVY Insurgent (both prices)
- Lampadati Toro
- All Melee Weapons
- Premium Special Vehicle Race - "Drop Ship" (Locked to Ruiner 2000)
- Time Trial - "Observatory"
- Halloween Bonuses 2018
- Double GTA$ and RP bonuses on selected Adversary Modes:
- Players who logged on during the event were awarded the Psycho Swingers, Zombie Liberals in the Midwest, and Twilight Knife T-Shirts.
- Discounts on selected vehicles:
- LCC Sanctus - 35% off
- Albany Lurcher - 35% off
- Albany Fränken Stange - 35% off
- Imponte Duke O'Death - 35% off
- Enus Stafford - 30% off
- Festival Bus - 30% off
- RCV - 35% off
- Brute Armored Boxville - 35% off
- HVY Chernobog - 30% off
- JoBuilt Phantom Wedge - 35% off
- FH-1 Hunter - 30% off
- B-11 Strikeforce - 30% off
- Discounts on selected properties:
- Executive Offices - 40% off
- Office Garages - 30% off
- Office Garage Custom Auto Shop & renovations - 30% off
- 35% discounts on selected clothing:
- Halloween masks
Content
Weapons
One new weapon available:
| Image | Name | Description | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Flashlight | The Flashlight can be used as a light for the dark and as a melee weapon. | $5,290 |
Vehicles
The content DLC released two new vehicles:
| Image | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
 | Albany Fränken Stange | The Fränken Stange is a large Hotrod based heavily on the Munster Koach, while also taking cues from the Roosevelt's body design. |
 | Albany Lurcher | The Lurcher is a four door hearse based partially on the Buccaneer. |
- Two new loop horns available at Los Santos Customs, Beeker's Garage and Benny's Original Motor Works:
- Halloween Loop 1
- Halloween Loop 2
- 20 new bobbleheads can be added to the dashboard of a customised Lowrider.
New Adversary Mode
One new Adversary Modes available:
- Slasher - The person that becomes the "Slasher" must hunt the other players with a Pump Shotgun and Machete.
Others
- New masks and face paints available.
- Two new Character Actions available:
- Freakout
- Thumb on Ears
- New horror-themed sound effects and ambient soundtracks for the Rockstar Editor.
- New face paints available at all Tattoo Parlors.
Discounts & Bonuses
- Exclusive T-Shirts available when logged in on the following days:
- October 30, 2015: Knife After Dark
- October 31, 2015: Psycho Swingers
- November 1, 2015: Zombie Liberals From The Midwest
- The Official Rockstar Livestream allowed 10 people to receive 4 different T-Shirts, one was a Vinewood Zombie T-Shirt.
- The next week there was another giveaway for only one t-shirt, which was one that was given out during the previous livestream, this time available for around 50 lucky winners.
- Double GTA$ and RP Event Playlist
- Double RP for all Land Races
- A Rockstar LiveStream featuring the t-shirts mentioned above from the previous streams.
- Exclusive T-Shirts available when logged in on the following days:
- November 13, 2015: The Simian
- November 14, 2015: Vampires On The Beach
- November 15, 2015: Splatter and Shot
- Double GTA$ and RP for the Slasher Adversary Mode
Gallery
Halloween Surprise
Halloween Specials 2017
Halloween Bonuses 2017
Video
Trivia
- If the player obtain a vehicle that support bobbleheads modifications in Story Mode with trainers or glitches and bring it to Los Santos Customs, all the Halloween Surprise's bobbleheads will be still available for purchase even after November 16th. This is probably a developer's oversight, since all the vehicles that support bobbleheads, normally, aren't available in Story Mode.
- It is the third update that features time-limited content, the first and second being the Valentine's Day Massacre Special (formerly) and the Independence Day Special, respectively. It is also the first time-limited content exclusive for the enhanced version.
- The two new Halloween themed vehicles introduced in this update are both based on real custom cars designed by auto customizer George Barris, who died shortly after the update was released.
- Many of the face paints contain references to pop culture.
- The Sorrow Demon face paint added in the update resembles the makeup worn by Heath Ledger as The Joker in the 2008 film The Dark Knight.
- The Phantom Skull face paint is a reference to Arnold Schwarzenegger's character in the Terminator series, who is often depicted as missing half of his face, exposing the metal skull beneath.
- The Ghostly Skull face paint is a reference to the first season of American Horror Story, when Tate Langdon has school-shooting fantasies with similar make-up (although much more detailed) The title references the fact that Tate is a ghost during Season 1.
- The Fury Skull face paint is a reference to the Skullyz faction of the Innocentz, a gang in Manhunt (another Rockstar game). The name of the face paint, however, references the Hoods, a rival gang, as the Hoods wear clothing of a sports team called the "Furys".
- While the majority of the update's content and features were time-limited, the Slasher adversary mode and the Flashlight are still available after the update ended on November 16.
References
