Halloween (31 October) falls during the half term holidays for many schools this year, giving families extra opportunities to celebrate the spooky season with a themed day out. From costume competitions to trick or treat adventures, we pick some of the best ways to get into the Halloween spirit.
Alton Towers, Staffordshire
Each year, this Staffordshire theme park raises its Halloween game to offer an increasingly spookier experience for their annual Scarefest celebration. This year is no different as the huge site is hosting two new experiences, Edge of the Forest and Dark Hollow, plus returning scare mazes and family-friendly events.
In recent years the park has introduced more and more live actor experiences and Halloween provides the perfect back drop to expand this trend – and offer some genuine frights along the way. New for 2025, Edge of the Forest is a live action scare maze set deep within the Dark Forest. Dark Hollow, meanwhile, is a free flow outdoor scare zone that further explores the mythology of the popular Th13teen ride. Scare mazes are recommended for ages 12+.
For a less frightening experience, head to Amigos in the Afterlife or Trick o’ Treat Town, where live actors will amuse younger visitors and even hand out a few treats along the way. In addition to the Halloween experiences, the park’s usual thrill rides – such as Wicker Man, Oblivion and Toxicator – are all running and the park is staying open until 9pm to let visitors experience the rollercoasters after dark.
Scarefest runs at weekends in October, and from 17 Oct-2 Nov inclusive. Advance park tickets from £34, short breaks from £53pp, see altontowers.com
Hocus Snowcus, The SnowDome, West Midlands
The SnowDome in Tamworth is getting a Halloween makeover for the half-term holidays with visitors able to book two super cool, super spooky experiences. Head out on to real snow to play, slide and explore as part of Hocus Snowcus before creeping into the witch’s lair for a sweet treat. Alternatively, slide out onto the ice rink to experience Frights on Ice, where you’ll encounter Arachnid Asylum, the Shadow Shipwreck and the Carnival of Screams.
25 Oct-2 Nov, Hocus Snowcus tickets £11.95 per child, £5.95 per adult, Frights on Ice from £12.95pp, snowdome.co.uk
Legoland Windsor, Buckinghamshire
LEGOLAND Windsor Resort is snapping into spooky season with the return of its annual Brick or Treat extravaganza. Monsters are taking over the park and will be throwing a family-friendly party. New this year is Lord Vampyre’s House Party, where guests can show off their dance moves and a Trick or Treat trail featuring ghoulish characters, including Skeleton Guy, Monster Rocker, and Mummy, who promise a few spooky surprises along the way. The Windsor resort has also revealed its first-ever pumpkin patch for 2025.
Selected dates until 1 Nov, from £34, legoland.co.uk
Dark Arts, Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter, London
Arguably the UK home of Halloween, Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter will once again be cloaked in darkness as the annual Dark Arts feature makes a dramatic return. Embrace the dark side of the wizarding world as Dementors cast their shadows over the Studio Tour and brave the dark Forbidden Forest. In the Creatures Workshop, a hands-on demonstration will reveal how some of the films’ most terrifying characters were brought to life.
The Death Eater procession will also return, where Death Eaters will appear in the most iconic sets to demonstrate wand combat techniques. In the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, aspiring witches and wizards can test their skills in a hands-on duelling experience. Enter the experience via the Great Hall, decked out in all its Halloween glory with 100 floating hand-carved pumpkins.
Until 9 Nov, tickets from £56, wbstudiotour.co.uk/whats-on/dark-art
The Haunted Castle, Warwick Castle, Warwickshire
The Haunted Castle returns for 2025 — promising thrills, chills, and family fun. By day, visitors can immerse themselves in over 1,100 years of haunted history with live shows, mysterious mazes, and frightful delights such as the Witches of Warwick Live, the Headless Horseman, and the Haunted Hallows. You can also join Team Fang at the spellbinding Spooky School, enjoy a stroll to the top of the mound surrounded by scarecrows, and explore new mazes filled with curious characters.
Returning this year is Upscares, Downscares, where you can wander through the spooky corridors of Warwick Castle’s Victorian house. For braver souls, The Castle Dungeon offers an unflinching plunge into Warwick’s most gruesome history. As darkness falls, the atmosphere intensifies with Castle After Dark on select nights. The Castle Courtyard transforms into a Festival of Frights, with live music, DJs, firebreathers, street performers, scare mazes and immersive frights.
The Haunted Castle runs 25 Oct-2 Nov, tickets from £25, short breaks from £55pp, Castle After Dark (recommended for age 10+) runs on 25, 26, 29, 30, 31 Oct and 1 Nov from 6pm-10pm, tickets from £23, warwick-castle.com
Halloween biscuit icing workshops, Biscuiteers, London
Get into the spooky spirit and treat your sweet tooth with a Halloween-themed biscuit icing class at Biscuiteers’ Notting Hill boutique. Expert icers from the brand famous for its intricately iced biscuits will lead Halloween-inspired sessions throughout October. The Little School of Icing will also be running Halloween-themed icing workshops for children during October half-term. While you’re there, check out their impressive range of seasonal biscuits, from Day of the Dead inspired designs to a classic haunted house or potion set.
Dates, times and prices vary, biscuiteers-notting-hill.designmynight.com
Monsters and Magic at Drayton Manor, West Midlands
Get set for some Halloween-themed fun this half-term at Tamworth’s Drayton Manor theme park. New for 2025, Monsters and Magic promises to be where frights meet fun with family-friendly thrills throughout. Little ones can enjoy the new trick-or-treat trail at the Monster Castle, or take in one of the live spooky stage shows.
The fun continues throughout Thomas Land, with a trick-or-treat experience, lavish decorations and trips aboard the Haunted Express (£5pp). Thrill-seekers can also enjoy late-night rides on selected dates, and an end of day show in which fireworks will light up the sky.
25 Oct-2 Nov, tickets from £29.50, draytonmanor.co.uk
Monsters of the Mine – Zip World Tower Colliery, South Wales
Set deep within a historic South Wales coal mine, this unique Halloween experience delivers a chilling blend of excitement and fear in Aberdare. Choose from a variety of Night Passes to suit your thrill threshold – from the £5 spectator pass to the £27 Terror Coaster & Cursed Climber experience. These evening-based activities mean you can ride rollercoasters and zip wires in the dark (if you dare), all while keeping an eye out for lurking monsters.
Recommended for ages 9+, from £5pp, until 2 Nov, zipworld.co.uk
Monsters and Myths Trail, Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh
This October, Edinburgh’s science centre and planetarium, Dynamic Earth, invites visitors to step into the shadows and uncover the science behind the spookiest stories ever told. New for 2025, the self-guided Monsters and Myths Trail invites visitors to journey through immersive galleries and track down legendary creatures, both real and imagined.
From Halloween favourites such as zombies, vampires and Frankenstein’s Monster to icons of Scottish folklore including selkies and the Loch Ness Monster, this trail reveals the fascinating science behind the stories, all while offering interactive experiences along the way. Pick up a passport and don’t forget to collect your trail stamps as you go round – as completed passports can be traded in for a prize to take home. And if that’s not enough, family-friendly Halloween films will be screened in the Planetarium plus there will be some adults-only lates showings.
Until 2 Nov, £4.50 add-on to admission which starts from £13.50 for an annual pass, dynamicearth.org.uk/halloween-at-dynamic-earth
Carew Castle, Pembrokeshire
Said to be haunted by the ghost of a princess and even a barbary ape, and also home to a rare species of bat, Pembrokeshire’s historic Norman stronghold Carew Castle is the ideal location for a Halloween day out. Try the Creepy Mill haunted house experience, follow the Pumpkin Patch trail or join the Fantastic Beasts and How to Rescue Them! adventure quest with riddle-solving, obstacles and magic along the way. There’s also an interactive live show and a twilight ghost tour as well as the usual opportunities to explore the grounds and follow walking trails around the castle.
From 25 Oct-2Nov, prices vary, some included in admission which starts from £6.50, age recommendations vary, pembrokeshirecoast.wales/carew-castle/events-at-carew-castle/
Howl’o’Ween, Chessington World of Adventures, Surrey
Chessington World of Adventures’ “Howl’o’ween” event brings the Surrey theme park’s rides to life with immersive theatre (and lots of sweets). Stone statues guarding the park’s iconic Vampire roller coaster might be roused to life as you wait in line, while family-friendly Halloween-themed stage shows take place twice daily and a whimsical pumpkin patch greets you on arrival. It’s worth booking ahead for the Enchanted Hollow trick-or-treat experience for which you enter an underground town and knock on the animal residents’ doors to fill your bags as you walk through the burrows.
Runs 18 October– 2 November, day tickets from £32pp, Enchanted Hollow £8pp, chessington.com/explore/events/halloween/
Fright Fiesta at Gulliver’s Kingdom, Derbyshire
The family-friendly theme park Gulliver’s Kingdom in Matlock Bath, Derbyshire, will host a Fright Fiesta this Halloween. The festival-style event is brimming with colour, costumes and music and will bring an end to the 2025 season for the resort which then closes until spring. Prizes will be on offer for the best Halloween costumes and the park’s 30+ rides, attractions, shows and activities will all be available to enjoy plus a Creepy Cave and Haunted House. New for 2025, the Tree Top Drop ride boasts spectacular views of the surrounding Peak District countryside, before plunging riders down a 15-metre drop.
Weekends in Oct and from 25 Oct-1 Nov, from £19, gulliverskingdomresort.co.uk
Journey by boat to Spooky Island at Alderford Lake, Shropshire
Created to thrill but not terrify and aimed at children aged between eight and 13, Spooky Island at Alderford Lake in North Shropshire is an outdoor Halloween-themed scare experience with a difference. Under the veil of dusk, scare-seekers are taken by boat to Spooky Island on the lake. Here, they must unlock a series of scare-filled mysteries and free themselves from their Halloween island – but they might meet a few spooky characters along the way.
24-26 Oct, £16.15pp, alderford.com/halloween/
The Plotters’ Forest, Raby Castle, County Durham
The woodland adventure playground at Raby Castle, The Plotters’ Forest, is hosting an outdoor Halloween adventure for brave explorers. Families can venture through the winding paths of the Christmas tree plantation, keeping their eyes peeled for eerie spiders, wicked witches, and creaking skeletons, and collect creepy clues. A special Halloween After Dark Illuminated Trail will also be taking place on select dates, as will a pumpkin painting workshop and twilight ghost story tours of the castle itself.
Dates and prices vary depending on activities, Plotter’s Forest Halloween trail included in admission price, see raby.co.uk/halloween
Dobbies Garden Centres, various locations
This autumn, Dobbies Garden Centres are inviting children and families to join them for their Little Scare-lings – Witches, Wizards and Wicked Treats events. Kids can tuck into a Halloween themed afternoon tea, brew their own magical potion to take home, get messy in the slime workshop and sculpt their own magic wand. Accompanying adults will also get a cake and a hot drink.
18, 19, 25, 26, 31 Oct and 1 Nov, £15 per child, £7.50 per adult, dates vary for each store so please check the website when booking, dobbies.com
Halloween at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire
This October, the grounds of Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, will be transformed into a realm of terror as an all-new Halloween trail launches. This year’s 1.3km trail is bigger, darker, and bolder than ever before and will blend live action with realistic sets, atmospheric soundscapes, and impressive special effects. Visitors will be plunged into a haunting journey that takes in a medieval dungeon, a cursed Egyptian tomb and tunnels. Visitors will encounter live characters including a Skeleton General issuing grim warnings, a demonic barber eager to lure unsuspecting souls onto his chair, and an executioner.
23 Oct- 2 Nov, adults from £18, children from £12.50, pre-booking essential, £12.50, blenheimpalace.com
Lower Drayton Farm, Staffordshire
This farm and play barn in Penkridge, South Staffordshire, is celebrating the season in style with a host of themed Halloween events. From Staffordshire’s biggest pick-your-own pumpkin patch to a dog-friendly “pup-kin” patch day and a party after dark, there’s something to suit the whole family. Pumpkin-pickers will be able to carve out their best design in the indoor barn, visit a play area, sign up for witch school and refuel in the pop-up Pumpkin Café. The After Dark event, meanwhile, takes place on 18 October and includes live music and appearances by spooky characters.
Pumpkin patch open daily until 31 Oct, dates and prices vary for other events, lowerdraytonfarm.co.uk
Bebeto’s haunted candy shop, London
Combining the two best things about Halloween – spooky decorations and loads of sweets – the confectionery brand Bebeto has transformed its popular sweet shop and café in Wimbledon, South West London, into a haunted candy store for the spooky season. Decked out in devilish decorations, the store will be showcasing a new range of Halloween sweets alongside some old favourites.
On Halloween itself, Bebeto is hosting a ticketed family Halloween party. Featuring entertainment, party games, activities and spooky treats, it’s an ideal alternative to traditional trick or treating. Costumes are encouraged!
The haunted sweet shop runs throughout October, Halloween party on 31 October at 5pm, tickets £11.99 via eventbrite
