This October half term is when the ghouls come out to play, and what better way to celebrate a week off school than getting into the spirit(s) at one of these fun UK Halloween events?
Solve the mysteries of Hallowed Peak
Go Peak Halloween with immersive mysteries at Hallowed Peak
Phantom Peak’s spookier sibling is the award-winning Hallowed Peak, a half term day or evening-out with a difference. It’s set in an immersive town along the banks of a London canal, and the townspeople are in on the secret during their Lunar Festival.
Choose from different mysteries to unravel, discover strange stories and riddles along the way, and compete against other teams to amass the most coins for victory. With spooky exhibits, scary saloons, creepy characters and plenty of laughs, it’s not too fiendish for little ones, and bigger kids will find plenty to amuse them too. Famous fans include Carrie Hope Fletcher and Neil Patrick Harris, but you don’t need three names to find out what the platypus means…
Where: Hallowed Peak, Canada Water
When: now until Sunday 10 November 2024
Price: child from £20; adult from £42
See our recommended family hotels in London
Shine a theatrical gothic light at Illuminated Whitby Abbey
English Heritage brings the atmosphere to their Halloween events, and Illuminated Whitby Abbey is no exception, as the impressive ruins get bathed in atmospheric lights. With the aid of Time Will Tell theatre group, you can enter a nightmare world of Victorian gothic via their new production ‘If these Stones could Talk’ (and perhaps they can).
The story is based around Dr. Luca and his creepy sanitarium, so it’s up you to decide whether to accept his treatment, which just might last forever. With Count Dracula sightings and spooktacular food stalls, the lit-up abbey is just part of the scary fun. And for those who need a less high-octane environment, there’s a quiet slot on Monday 28 October.
Where: Whitby Abbey, North Yorkshire
When: Thursday 24 October until Sunday 2 November 2024
Price: child from £7.50 (£9.50 non-members) ; adult from £12.50 (£16 non-members); save 15% when booking online
See our recommended family hotels in Whitby
Nothing creepy here – clowning at Pumpkin Nights
Pick a peck of pumpkins by night at Hatter’s Farm Halloween event
Grab a wheelbarrow and venture out under the moonlit sky to enjoy the most perfect pumpkin picking experience: just don’t try to say it after one or two pumpkin spice wines.
The Pumpkin Patch has over 100,000 home grown pumpkins and squash to choose from, so if you like them big or knobbly there’s plenty to covet. Then soak up the atmosphere in a courtyard lit by 1,000 festoon lights, brought to life by local musicians and roaming street actors to make those selfies pop. Also available for teens seeking autumnal content: photo opportunities from a giant welly boot to a 1956 Morris Minor. Seasonal marshmallow aficionados will find giant ones ready to roast at the brand-new Pumpkin Bar.
Where: Hatter’s Farm, Bishop’s Stortford
When: now until Sunday 10 November 2024
Price: from £7
See our recommended family hotels in Bishop’s Stortford
None of your beeswax: candle-making @Portsmouth Historic Dockyard
Seafaring is scary: Portsmouth Historic Dockyard’s Halloween events
In times gone by, life at sea was grim and, as it turns out, also a rich source of blood chilling, stomach turning inspiration for Portsmouth Historic Dockyard Halloween events this half term.
Home of HMS Victory, haunted ship HMS Warrior, and the excavated remains of Tudor warship Mary Rose, the dockyard is transforming into a realm of eerie echoes and haunting histories throughout October. There will be ghost hunts, bugs aplenty in Creepy Conservation Week, and a display of British maritime history’s most grisly artefacts; including the figurehead from ghost ship HMS Eurydice, which sank in 1878, yet has purportedly been spotted several times looming around the Isle of Wight, most famously by Prince Edward. An exploration of the Victorian macabre, the Mary Rose’s mythical beasts, and a dive into the witchcraft of the Tudor times round off the haunting offerings.
Where: Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, Portsmouth
When: now until Sunday 3 November 2024
Price: unlimited 12-month access to all attractions, child £36 and adult, £51
See our recommended family hotels in Portsmouth
The Shambles, York
Walk the frightfully sinister secrets of York this half term
Take a personalised, spooky tour around York this Halloween half term. Local guide Christopher from Tours By Locals is an expert on York’s less salubrious side, and will join you in tiptoeing through dark and fetid alleyways, stepping into spine-chilling churches and hidden buildings surrounded by malady-brown trees, with eerie history around every corner.
Christopher’s epic six-hour Secret Locations of York Walking Tour narrates the oddities and mysteries of York on this wonderfully creepy journey. Stroll through an old railway station and visit a famous outlaw’s grave, then hear about the stories of the rogues, rebels, and ladies laid to rest. Not one for your littlest kids, but tweens and teens will love it.
Where: York city centre
When: now until Saturday 30 November 2024
Price: £150 per tour for up to 8 people
See our recommended family hotels in York
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Do their parents know they’re out? The monsters of Zip World
Fight monsters down the mine at South Wales’ ultimate scare-fest
Zip World in South Wales is bringing their terrifying Monsters of the Mine back this October, as the underworld creatures run rampant at Zip World Tower. Brave adrenaline-fuelled adventures in the dark, whilst being tormented and terrorised by a crowd of gruelling monsters are just the kind of Halloween events we like. No one is safe, not even in the car park, where you may have to fight off a few monsters to secure your spot (then face the horrors of parallel parking).
Choose from five different Night Passes to embark on an evening you’re unlikely to forget, including ziplining in the dark for the extremely brave. Food and drink comes courtesy of The Cegin Glo Bar and Bistro, and whilst not a safe space from the Monsters, it will at least see you through your adventure full-bellied.
Where: Zip World, Aberdare, South Wales
When: now until Saturday 2 November 2024
Price: from £22; spectator passes £5
See our recommended family hotels in Blaenau Ffestiniog
Find the ghosts wandering the cells of Shrewsbury Prison
Shrewsbury Prison’s Halloween event will get you behind bars
Visit Shrewsbury Prison if you dare this Halloween, for a hair-raising, spine-chilling Halloween Ghost Tour. Step through the tall prison gates to meet a guide who will lead you on a spine-tingling tour as darkness falls.
You’ll cover every shadowy corner of the haunted prison, uncovering its dark and spooky history, hear chilling stories from the past and the unsettling paranormal experiences that continue to haunt its 200-year old halls. And of course, there’ll be jump scares along the way. Just be careful not to get left behind, as a night alone behind bars could turn into a spine-tingling nightmare! Dress warmly, wear sensible shoes, bring a small torch and someone’s hand to hold.
Where: Shrewsbury Prison, Shrewsbury
When: now until Thursday 31 October 2024
Price: £30
See our recommended family hotels in Shrewsbury
Halloween fireworks at Conifer
Halloween fireworks and pumpkin carving in Edinburgh
Conifox Adventure Park is hosting a properly spooktastic Halloween event this year, with a night of show-stopping fireworks, a flaming fire performer, The Witches’ Labyrinth, Broomstick Flying School, Devilish Disco, Pumpkin Patch and new for 2024 – The Funhouse of Fear Maze, in which you really don’t want to get lost.
For an extra charge you’ve got all the fun of the fairground at Taylor’s of Edinburgh Funfair, face painting and marshmallow toasting on offer. In other words, with this much Samhain fun and frolics, any lingering ghouls should be vanquished by the smiles of happy kids, which might not be terribly spooky, but we’ll take it.
Where: Conifox Adventure Park, Edinburgh
When: now until Thursday 31 October 2024
Price: child £22.50; adult £15
See our recommended family hotels in Edinburgh
Meet the spooks at the Tower of London
Explore the Tower of London’s grisly history this Halloween
The Tower of London is on brand for creepy Halloween events with its 1000 years of history, unlucky souls from royals to criminals who suffered brutal deaths and incarcerations on the premises, and its generally imposing nature.
Encounter the restless spirits of the past this Halloween, walk in the footsteps of infamous ghosts, and find creepy installations and surprises lurking along the way. Spooky rather than terrifying, families are invited to pick up a trail on arrival, and keep track of ghosts encountered throughout their visit. Haunting the Tower happens between 10am to 4.30pm each day.
Where: Tower Hill, London
When: Saturday 26 October until Sunday 3 November 2024
Price: child £17.40; adult £34.80, free to members
Join the spooky fun at Blenheim Palace this Halloween
Blenheim Palace’s fun-packed family Halloween events
Prepare for eerily exciting experiences for the entire family as Blenheim Palace turn their Adventure Play, Walled Garden, and the Great Court into a Haunted Half Term. There’s pumpkin decorating, spooky storytelling, various garden games, a family circus show, mesmerising fire performances and, for the very brave, a miniature train on which you chug through the Terrifying Tunnel.
There’s also a Haunted Trail where you wander from dusk into darkness, exploring eerie paths and spooky spaces. Meet the colossal King of the Pumpkins, brave the ringmaster with his giant Jack-in-the-boxes and discover Dr. Frankenstein’s electrifying lab. Along the way, dodge wicked witches, sinister scarecrows, and other Halloween horrors.
Where: Blenheim Palace, Woodstock
When: Saturday 26 October until Sunday 3 November 2024
Price: child £40; adult £50 or 12-month Palace and Play Pass (2 adults, 2 children) £150
See our recommended family hotels in Woodstock
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