Halloween events this weekend

Ghost walks, murder mystery, haunted houses and pumpkins galore, at events for all the family across the UK
  
  

Halloween pumpkins
Halloween days out ... find a spooky event this weekend. Photograph: Lauree Feldman/Index Stock/Corbis Photograph: Lauree Feldman/Index Stock/Corbis

Spend Halloween in a haunted forest, Yorkshire

An evening of ghosts and ghouls and all things that go bump in the night awaits anyone brave enough to step into Guisborough Forest. Look out for who - or what - is lurking behind the trees, swooping down from the sky, or creeping up behind you!

• Guisborough Forest Visitor Centre, TS14 8HD. +44 (0)1287 631132, visitteesvalley.co.uk. Adults £3, children £2

Ghosts in the cellar at Treasurer's House, York

Home to some 140 ghosts, Treasurer's House is one of the National Trust's most haunted houses, in one of Britain's most haunted cities. Tour the cellar where the ghostly souls of a Roman legion have been seen marching the route where a 2,000-year-old Roman road once ran. Kids can take part in free Halloween trails around the house.

• Until 31 October, 11am-4.30pm. Adult £2.40 (cellar), £6 (house); child £1.90 (cellar), £3 (house); family £15 (house). nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-treasurershouseyork

Something wicked this way comes … at Shakespeare's Houses

Hear Shakespeare's characters of murder and magic brought to life in the house of his birth in a candle-lit performance by Shakespeare Aloud; there's a Tudor-style burial wake and plague face-painting at Mary Arden's house and look out for Macbeth's Witches in the enchanted gardens at Anne Hathaway's Cottage.

• Friday 29 October–Sunday 31 October, various locations. +44 (0) 1789 204016, shakespeare.org.uk

Visit the world's largest Museum of Witchcraft in Cornwall

Dabble in the dark arts at The Museum of Witchcraft in Boscastle, that houses the world's largest collection of witchcraft related artefacts, from cursed dolls to witches' mirrors and tools for making spells and charms.

• Museum of Witchcraft: Open Mon-Sat 10.30am-6pm, Sun 11.30am-6pm (last admission 5.30). Adults, £4, child, £3. museumofwitchcraft.com

Snagglefang's Spooky Spectacular, Bewilderwood, Norfolk

Don fancy dress, make masks and lanterns and join the lantern parade for Snagglefang's Spooky Spectacular, at Bewilderwood in Norfolk - a huge forest adventure park with treehouses, zip wires, jungle bridges, boat trips and marsh walks.

• Until 31 October. Adults, £11.50; child, £7. bewilderwood.co.uk

Frights on the farm at Spooktacular, Staffordshire

Three days' of Halloween fun - including a pumpkin carving competition, bobbing apples, splat the rat and a haunted wood - will end with a Sunday evening event when there will be a torch-lit tour of the Maize Maze, spooky trailer rides, face painting, fair rides, and a fireworks display.

• Lower Drayton Farm, 28-31 October. Adult £8, child, £5, under 3s – free. Advance family tickets (two adults, two children), £20.00. £1 will be donated to the air ambulance for each person who turns up in full Halloween fancy dress and this will be matched by Barclays Bank. lowerdraytonfarm.co.uk

Join the Witches at The Roald Dahl Museum, Buckinghamshire

Conjure up witches' ice-cream and eye-ball truffles at a spooky cooking workshop, try Halloween chocolate-making or settle in for storytime with the Grand High Witch.

• General ticket: adults £6, children £4, Family ticket  £19. Workshops may cost more. +44 (0)1494 892192; roalddahlmuseum.org

Test your nerves on the London Eye

For those who don't already suffer vertigo, the London Eye will scaring customers on Saturday, 30 October with a one-off Twilight Flight; as dusk descends on the capital Bloody Mary cocktails will be served, while a costumed host relates tales of London and its spooky landmarks below. For "little vampires" visiting until Sunday, 31 October their London Eye ticket will give them entry to the Southbank's nearby Vampire Academy, where they make vampire masks, puppets or flying bats under the supervision of "Dr Acula".

• Vampire Academy: 12-4pm daily until 31 October and Dr.Acula will be present from 3-7pm each day. Twilight Flight: Saturday 30 October, 6.30pm, £26 (over 18s only). 0871 222 4002, londoneye.com

Phobophobia at The London Bridge Experience and The London Tombs

Voted the UK's scariest attraction for two years running, Phobophobia invites you to "face your fears" on an interactive tour through London Bridge's gruesome history from Roman times to the present. Then descend into the the echoey depths of London's tombs, that were once a plague pit. Brave the Hellevator, London's deadliest lift, meet the Bloody Butcher and watch out for crawling spiders, slithering snakes and screams in the dark.

• Phobophobia shows take place throughout the evening from 6pm-1am on 29, 30, 31 October, £15 (Rated 12. Children under the age of 11 must be accompanied by an adult). More family-friendly daytime shows run throughout the day from until 1 November. Adult, £16.95, child, £12.95, family, £49.96. Book online through ticketmaster. thelondonbridgeexperience.com/phobophobia-halloween-2010.asp

Halloween hootings, Erddig Country House, Wales

This Halloween workshop includes live owls, a scary bat hunt and stories with Hagrid from Harry Potter at one of Britain's finest historic houses. You can also meet the Wise Woman, spot spooky witches, enjoy face painting, and see live scorpions, spiders and snakes. Free admission to children in fancy dress.

• Erddig, Wrexham, LL13 0YT. 30-31 October, 11am-4pm. Normal admission charges plus an additional event charge of £10.30 per adult, £5.15 per child, family £25.75. Children get in free in fancy dress. +44 (0)1978 355314. nationaltrust.org.uk

Ride a real ghost train, Carmarthen, Wales

For a real ghost train ride, join the Gwili Railway for a Halloween journey aboard Wales's 150-year-old vintage steam train in the Carmarthenshire Hills - watch out for highwaymen, and ghostly train drivers haunting the line.

• 30 October. Bronwydd Arms Station, Carmarthen, SA33 6HT. Return fares: adults, £6; child (two-15), £3; family (two adults and two children), £15.  First-class upgrade, £1pp. +44 (0)1267 238213, gwili-railway.co.uk

Ghost busting in hidden Edinburgh, Scotland

Delve into the paranormal in highly haunted The Real Mary King's Close – the historic network of underground walkways and ancient dwellings hidden under Edinburgh's Royal Mile. You'll hear myths and legends, from the documented Satan's Invisible World written in 1685 through to more recent sightings since its opening in 2003. Then join a walk on the darker side of the Old Town's history where you will meet characters from the city's colourful and mysterious past. Finally you'll have the chance to hear the evidence and decide for yourself if ghosts really exist - if you haven't met one already.

• Tours run daily until Sunday 31 October, from 6-9pm (lasts one hour and runs every 20 minutes). Adult, £12.50; child, £6. 0845 070 6244, realmarykingsclose.com

 

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