Things To Do
Guide
13 Halloween events to celebrate the spooky season
From thrilling Fright Nights to childhood classics brought to life on stage, make this Halloween memorable
The leaves are orange, crunchy, and falling to the ground. The rain is back with a vengeance. Beetlejuice has returned to our cinema screens once again – which means Halloween is on the horizon. If you’re looking for something new to do this Halloween, you’ve come to the right place. Here are our unlucky 13 top picks for how to spend your Halloween this October.
1. The World Of Tim Burton
Looking for a nightmare before Christmas? Step into The World of Tim Burton. Taking place at the Design museum in London, The World Of Tim Burton is a celebration of the filmmaker’s distinct eerie and ethereal aesthetic. Featuring works from Tim Burton’s archive, the exhibition will display illustrations, drawings, paintings and photos spanning Burton’s childhood, early work and expansive career.
2. Phantom Peak
Halloween isn’t just a one-day event – it’s the most important season for the townsfolk of Phantom Peak. With Starlit Summer coming to a close, everyone’s favourite immersive theatrical experience is back for Hallowed Peak, with more mysteries and more ghosts causing havoc in Jonas the Platypus’ steampunk town. What puzzles will you solve? What lies ahead for you discover? Whether you’re taking the whole family, your friends, your new hinge date or coworkers, Phantom Peak’s Hallowed Peak season is one Halloween event you don’t want to miss.
3. The London Dungeon
For 50 years, The London Dungeon has been the home of horror. Visitors are taken on a journey through London’s creepier history from the Black Death to the Gunpowder Plot to Jack The Ripper, and invited to participate in a host of interactive performances – including a public hanging. A top London attraction, tickets for The London Dungeon’s Halloween events sell fast, so don’t miss out.
4. Fright Night at Thorpe Park
Ah, Fright Night. Perhaps one of the UK’s most known Halloween events. One for the thrill-seekers, Thorpe Park’s Fright Nights invite visitors to the theme park after dark, where they can go on mind-blowing rollercoaster rides; explore live-action mazes; enter the Scare Zone for spooky live shows; and test their fear levels as zombies, witches, vampires and ghouls run free around the grounds.
5. Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Before the world turned upside down, before Vecna, there was Henry Creel, and the dark fate that awaits him in the small town of Hawkins. Set in the 1959, The First Shadow follows Henry, a young Jim Hopper and more, as they navigate their strange surroundings with the past casting a long shadow over the present. The Oliver award-winning West End production draws theatregoers in with its forward-thinking visuals and and design, guaranteeing a thrilling theatre experience this Halloween.
6. Ghostbusters In Concert
What happens when you combine the nostalgia of this ghostly classic and a live orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall? An all-new way to experience this timeless supernatural comedy. For Halloween lovers who may not love the gore but still want to get into the spirit of the season, this Halloween event is perfect for you.
7. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Speaking of childhood classics, why not visit the Wizarding World with this West End two-part epic this Halloween? Join all of your favourite characters, and discover new ones, in “the eighth instalment” of Harry Potter. Watch as Harry’s youngest son, Albus, grapples with his weighty family legacy as he learns how easily darkness can emerge in this multi-timeline story.
8. The Phantom of the Opera
A French gothic fairytale turned musical, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera is West End (and Halloween) favourite. It’s a story of love, obsession, and a mysterious disfigured-but-musically-gifted man who “haunts” a Paris opera house just for a chance to see his beloved… For big sweeping ballads, stunning sets and dollop of gothic flavour, consider The Phantom of the Opera for your Halloween plans this October.
9. Alton Towers
If the thrill of mazes and rollercoasters at Thorpe Park wasn’t enough to whet your appetite, then Scarefest at Alton Towers is the Halloween event for you. Set at the UK’s biggest theme park resort, Scarefest is a true spooky season marvel – featuring Scaremazes, haunted houses, rollercoasters and rides after dark, Día De Los Muertos celebrations and so much more. Put on your bravest face and make the most of all the thrills that Scarefest has to offer this Halloween.
10. Terrible Thames
Another one for the history lovers, Horrible Histories‘ Terrible Thames tours take visitors on a 45-minute boat journey of the history of the Thames – with all the nasty bits left in. Join King Henry VIII, Captain Kidd, Anne Boleyn and more, as you experience the city’s most notable sights, from the Tower of London to Execution Dock. Travelling from outside of London? Make a weekend of it with our hotel packages and city guide.
11. Wicked
For the Halloween lovers hoping to defy gravity, the on-stage adaptation of the origin story of the Wicked Witch of the West is where you need to be this October. Join Elphaba, Glinda the Good, and the many weird and wonderful characters of Oz in this emotive and magical saga that is sure to take your breath away.
12. Twilight In Concert
Nothing is scarier than Edward calling Bella his “spider-monkey” in that deadpan yet embarrassingly earnest line delivery, so why not experience that with a live orchestra this Halloween? Catch Twilight In Concert across various UK cities, including Sheffield, London, Birmingham and Edinburgh, and see “the skin of a killer” shine on a big screen, with new life breathed into that autumnal score and soundtrack.
13. The Mousetrap
Don’t just see it. Solve it. Explore the mysteries of Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, the world’s longest running play, as seven strangers in a countryside guesthouse discover a murder in London. Who is the killer? Who will they target next? Can you solve the mystery? See this long-running Who Dunnit this Halloween, and prepare yourself for an evening of intrigue.
