It’s the time of year for plenty of Halloween hoots. So, for some scary surprises, spooky settings or good old-fashioned family fun, here are a few top picks from our destinations. As ever, please check individual websites for booking details.
Owl-O-Ween takes flight in Hampshire
For a Halloween with a difference, how about ghostly storytelling followed by owl flying displays against the backdrop of moonlit grounds? Hampshire’s Hawk Conservancy Trust is holding Owl-O-Ween events (30 and 31 October) featuring the flying displays, with visitors able to take part in the Halloween Trail and see the birds in their homes. Tickets cost £21.50 per person.
Take a trip to Trick or Treat Street
Popular East Yorkshire children’s attraction, William’s Den, is bringing back its Trick or Treat Street Halloween event, a one-of-a-kind, interactive experience combining storytelling, problem-solving and the magic of trick-or-treating. Returning 25 to 30 October with a brand-new adventure for families with children aged three to 12 years, this year it will take place in the fields in front of William’s Den, with options to attend during the day or after dark. Tickets cost £16 until 6 October, and then £18.
Stately scares and Halloween treats
Fiendish family fun comes to Burghley House and Gardens as torchlit tours return for 2024 with more scary stories and haunting hidden history. Brave the creepiest corners and darkest depths of England’s greatest Elizabethan houses on the popular Spooky Tours (23 – 31 October). Tickets cost £25 per person, booking essential. Also back is The Halloween Trail (19 October – 3 November) and Halloween Craft Workshops (28 October – 1 November), both included with normal admission.
Haunted High House
Standing in the heart of Stafford town centre, Ancient High House in Stafford is one of the country’s finest Tudor buildings. Built around 1595, the ornate timber framed building is reputed to be the largest surviving house of its type in England. And on 30 and 31 October Haunted High House will feature spooky stories from its past. Tickets cost £5 per adult and £3 children. There will also be a be a guided Ghost Tour on 23 October, when visitors can learn the spooky tales that lie behind each room. Pre booking is required, and tickets cost £15 per person.
Gruesome Castle tours
A Lincolnshire hidden gem, Grimsthorpe Castle, is promising plenty of family friendly scares with its October Half Term events (20-27 October). Along with a Halloween trail in the woods and pumpkin hunt, there will be Gruesome Castle tours and Eerie Woodland Walks. Fancy dress is encouraged throughout the week, with prizes to be won for those wearing their scariest outfits on the Sunday. Castle, Park and Gardens admission costs £16 adults and £7 children (5-16 years).
Spooktacular family entertainment
It’s billed as the friendliest, most frightful family Halloween theme park event in the UK, and as home to the world’s largest and first Peppa Pig World as well as over 70 rides and attractions, it’s no surprise that the Halloween Spooktacularat Paultons Park is so popular. The Hampshire attraction is promising even more spooky fun on opening dates from 17 October to 4 November, including Peppa Pig World and Tornado Springs getting Halloween makeovers. New for 2024 is the Spirit Squad Ghoul School.
Magic and mischief for a wizarding week
Little ghosts, witches and wizards are welcome this Halloween at Hampshire’s Watercress Line heritage railway. Wizarding Week (26 October – 3 November) boasts rides on the Wizard Express train, a fancy dress competition and menacing miniature railway. Harry Potter fans can also walk in the star’s footsteps, thanks to the attraction being home to the famous footbridge where Harry received his Hogwarts Express ticket in the film. New for 2024 is a slime laboratory and have a go circus skills. Tickets in advance cost £27 adults and £14 children.
A fire show, trick-or-treat doors and a pumpkin throne…
Staffordshire’s Trentham Gardens will be transformed into a Halloween Festival featuring a spectacular fire show, live music, food and drink and a pumpkin trail. For those who love a good photo op, the event (26-27 October) has a selfie trail where visitors can take a snap in front of trick-or-treat doors or seated on the pumpkin throne. Pre-booked tickets cost £12 adults, £7 children and from £30 for a family. October Half Term at Trentham Gardens will also see professional carvers create a pumpkin trail featuring nine scenes, while other haunting entertainment includes a Witch and Wizard School and live performances (26 – 31 October). Included with normal Gardens admission.
Boo at the Zoo
There will be plenty of treats at Hampshire’s Marwell Zoo this October half-term, including learning how to fly a broomstick, toast marshmallows around the firepit, and spooky face painting (26–31 October). Set in a 140-acre parkland, Marwell is home to 140 species of rare and endangered animals – as well as a host of spooky species, including vampire crabs, pink salmon tarantula, yellow throated frogs and royal pythons. And visitors will be able to meet the zoo’s new giraffe calf and zebra foal. Tickets cost from £25.18 for adults and £21.58 children, or a family ticket for five from £76.44. Some activities are at an additional cost.
And a few more quick tips…
For a truly creepy experience
Hold spiders, snakes, creepy crawly insects and even meet a skunk at the trail centre at Lincolnshire’s Elsham Hall Gardens and Country Park this October half term. The Halloween Half-Term Kids Animal Encounter (19-27 October) at the attraction near Brigg features an hour for youngsters to get to know the animals usually used to illustrate something spooky and scary. Tickets cost £32 per child, which includes entry to the Park and Garden for one child and one adult, as well as a Wizard/Witch’s hat and a trick-or-treating bucket of candy. Must be booked online.
A comic con with a horror twist
Described as being like a comic con with a horror twist, Hull Horror Fest 2024 will feature over 50 stalls including guests, artists, horror merch and photo ops, Staged at the city’s Costello Stadium on Saturday 26 October, stalls will range from books, art, crafts, keyrings, bookmarks, posters, coasters and t-shirts. Tickets cost £7 in advance or £10 on the door (£5 for under 16 years)
Sneak into the spooky Stumpery
Creepy Halloween fun at Burnby Hall in East Yorkshire between 28 October and 3 November will feature pumpkins, spooky trails and a challenging visit to the spooky Stumpery. The highlight of this year’s event is The Great Wizard’s Gathering on 30 October, when younger visitors will have the chance to conjure and make magic, and ward off a dragon attack.