Halloween Flash Tattoo Walk-Ins Daily From Noon: Red Rocket

Red Rocket Tattoo takes walk-ins every day from noon on the 3rd floor of 78 W 36th St, which makes it one of the easier Midtown stops for a Halloween flash tattoo. The shop is open Monday to Saturday, 12 pm to 8 pm, and Sunday, 12 pm to 6 pm. Its walk-in list covers small tattoos, flash designs and simple pieces, with a $100 shop minimum and an 18+ rule backed by valid government ID.

The banner on the shop's website reads "Top Notch Tattoos Since 1998," and a 2013 Manhattan Sideways profile placed Red Rocket on 36th Street since 1998, the year that writer tied to tattooing being legalized in the city. Owner Adam Hays explained that he chose an upstairs Midtown spot on purpose, because he did not want the drop-in traffic common in the East Village. Visitors climbed a few flights past photos and artwork to reach a studio with ten stations.

Mike Bellamy is the thread back to those early years. In 2011, DNAinfo described him as a co-owner of 17 years, and his artist page today lists 30+ years tattooing in NYC, with Japanese and American Traditional work, sleeves and bodysuits. The current roster adds Shannon Ritchie from Missouri, Matt Brodnax from Austin, Rodrigo Saavedra from Santiago, Andres Flu from Medellin and Queens-born NY Chris, plus piercer Nathalie La Piercer.

The FAQ is plain about it. Walk-ins are first-come, first-served, and availability changes daily. The booking page names the walk-in categories as small tattoos, flash designs, simple pieces and piercings, and adds one pro tip: arrive early. An Instagram post from August 30, 2026 repeated that walk-in tattoos are welcome every day starting at noon, with walk-in piercings on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 2 pm to 7 pm.

Halloween 2026 lands on a Saturday, and both Friday, October 30, and Saturday, October 31, run 12 pm to 8 pm. Showing up at noon follows the shop's own advice and gives you the widest choice of artists before the afternoon fills. A palm-sized flash piece suits a walk-in slot. Anything with heavy color fill or several linked designs is better booked during the week before, using the $100 cash deposit that holds a spot and counts toward the final price.

Artist schedules decide which of those two days suits you. Shannon Ritchie's page lists Monday, Tuesday and Friday from 12 pm to 8 pm, so she is in on the 30th but not the 31st. NY Chris works Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday on the same hours, and Andres Flu is listed for the same four days, while Mike Bellamy's page marks Friday for appointments. Matt Brodnax and Rodrigo Saavedra are not on the Friday roster, so traditional fans who want them should come Wednesday or Thursday that week.

Start with the house strengths. The FAQ describes American Traditional as "bold, clean, built to last," and that is where classic Halloween imagery lives: skulls, black cats, bats, daggers, witches and jack-o'-lanterns inside heavy black outlines. Matt Brodnax bills himself as a traditional tattoo specialist, and Rodrigo Saavedra pairs American with Japanese Traditional, so a hannya mask or a snake coiled through a skull sits squarely inside their listed specialties.

Fine line fans have options too. NY Chris advertises custom fineline tattoos in sizes Large, Medium, Small and Teeny Tiny, which suits a small ghost, a spider on a thread or a crescent moon over a tombstone. The outer forearm, calf and upper arm are simple placements to show off at a costume party. Larger and multi-session work is typically $250 an hour, according to the FAQ, so a compact design is the sensible walk-in size.

Skip the glow-in-the-dark idea. A pumpkin that lights up under black light sounds perfect for October 31, but the FAQ states the shop does not do UV or glow-in-the-dark tattoos, and it rules out temporary tattoos and henna as well. Hand, face and finger pieces may be declined depending on placement and experience, so a tiny skull on a knuckle is a poor walk-in request. Move that spooky idea to the forearm instead.

New York State law bars tattooing anyone under 18, with no exception for parental consent, and the shop asks every client for valid government ID or a passport. Deposits and tips are cash only, and deposits are non-refundable. The FAQ also asks clients not to drink alcohol or take painkillers before a session and says the shop does not recommend numbing cream. Eat first, sleep well, and bring water and headphones for the chair.

The crowd has always been mixed. A 2011 DNAinfo story described secretaries on lunch breaks, Wall Street types and a steady flow of tourists, and Bellamy summed it up as "grandmas and sports stars, cops and criminals." That same story followed a first-time visitor from Denmark getting a zombie Statue of Liberty as a souvenir, which still works as a template for a Halloween piece with a New York twist.

Fan tattoos are the other steady stream. In August 2026 the shop posted Dragon Ball pieces by Shannon Ritchie and Andres Flu and invited Anime NYC attendees from the nearby Javits Center to stop by with costumes and ideas. Matt Brodnax's Knicks tattoos and a rainbow bagel in full American traditional color show the lighter side. A horror-movie villain or a cartoon ghost fits right into that habit of pop-culture flash.

Red Rocket sits in Midtown's Fashion District, a few blocks from Herald Square, so a fresh tattoo pairs well with an easy loop. Walk south on Sixth Avenue to Herald Square, where Macy's fills the block along West 34th Street. From there, head east to Koreatown on West 32nd Street for a hot bowl of soup, or go north to Bryant Park between West 40th and West 42nd Street to sit for a while.

If the walk-in wait at Red Rocket stretches too long on Halloween weekend, Black Fish Tattoo on West 32nd Street is the nearest plan B, roughly four blocks south. It welcomes walk-ins and lists colored, traditional and anime work among its styles. The other route is to book a later slot at Red Rocket with the $100 deposit and come back on Sunday, November 1, when the doors open again at noon and close at 6 pm.

Red Rocket Tattoo is on the 3rd floor of 78 W 36th St, New York, NY 10018, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. Hours are Monday to Saturday, 12 pm to 8 pm, and Sunday, 12 pm to 6 pm. Consultations are free, and the booking form asks for your name, phone, design, size and placement, preferred date and time, top 2 artists and budget.

The 34th Street-Herald Square subway station, served by the B, D, F, M, N, Q, R and W trains, is about two blocks away, and PATH trains stop at 33rd Street. Shannon, Matt and Rodrigo all work Sundays from 12 pm to 6 pm, which makes Sunday, October 25 a solid pre-Halloween option with three artists on the floor. Read the shop's online aftercare guide before the bandage comes off.