Best Halloween events across the UK: the spookiest castles to scare mazes

For those of you who would like something a bit more exciting, and perhaps even a whole day event over Halloween, you’ve come to the right place.

There’s Halloween events galore across London, from parties to zombie escape rooms — and if you don’t fancy travelling to the capital city this October, there’s a ton of events happening all over the UK, too. We have castle experiences like a spooktacular festival at Warwick Castle and the chance to go on your own paranormal investigation at Fonmon Castle in Wales. Plus, there's spine tingling scare fests at the country’s biggest theme parks and devilish dungeons in every city.

The RadioTimes.com Going Out team are something of horror fanatics. If we're not telling you how to get SAW: Escape Experience tickets, Scarefest tickets, or Fright Night tickets, we're pointing you in the direction of the York ghost tours, and Edinburgh ghost tours. So you can rest assured that you're in safe hands when it comes to choosing the most grisly Halloween events to sink your fangs into.

So without further ado guys and ghouls, let’s take a look at the best Halloween events happening in the UK this autumn.

Need Halloween costume ideas? We've got the best Barbie outfits, best Squid Game costumes and best Hocus Pocus costumes just for you.

Halloween events at a glance:

• Old Skool Bingo: Halloween Special, £16
• York Dungeon, from £25 £18 (save £7 or 28%)
• Jack the Ripper Walking Tour, £24
• Psychopath’s Den at AIM Escape, £30
• Ghostbusters in Concert, from £28
• Fright Nights at Thorpe Park, from £66 £37 (save £29 or 44%)
• Scarefest at Alton Towers, from £42
• Immersive Magic Cocktail Experience, £76
• BucketRace Scavenger Hunt: Halloween Edition, £15
• A Terrifying Night in Soho Halloween Cabaret, from £30
• Halloween at Warwick Castle, from £80
• Zombie Shooting Virtual Reality Experience for Four, £144
• Become a Zombie for a Day for two with lunch, £153.50
• Rooftop Film Club Halloween edition with unlimited popcorn for two, £55
• Overnight Murder Mystery Break for two, £259

The best Halloween events for 2024

Fright Nights at Thorpe Park

For a terrifying night that will shake up even the bravest of theme park goers, you need to check out Fright Nights at Thorpe Park. Featuring rides in the dark, Scare Zones, and fourthrilling Scare Mazes (one new for 2024, as well as the first horror movie-themed rollercoaster in the UK, SAW — The Ride, Thorpe Park is one of the best places to be for thrill-seekers this October.

Plus, if you book in advance, you can save almost £30 on your park and Fright Nights admission. For more theme park deals, here’s how to get cheap Thorpe Park tickets.

• Buy Fright Nights Halloween event tickets from £66 £37 (save £29 or 44%) at Thorpe Park
• Buy Fright Night Short Breaks from £98 at Thorpe Park

BucketRace Scavenger Hunt: Halloween Edition

It's time to get interactive. This Halloween, you can take part in a three hour long scavenger adventure around London where you can compete against other teams. Get ready to build potions, mummify your team mates, get caught in a spider web and more spooky activities across the UK capital.

Buy BucketRace Scavenger Hunt: Halloween Edition for £15 at Fever

A Terrifying Night in Soho Halloween Cabaret

Impressive stunts, drag artists, aerial acts and themed cocktails all set in a haunted West End theatre? Sounds like our sort of Halloween celebration! You can enjoy all of this and more at The Phoenix Artist Club this Halloween, where you'll even have the chance to win a prize for the best Halloween outfit.

Buy A Terrifying Night in Soho Halloween Cabaret from £30 at Fever

Scarefest at Alton Towers

We’re huge fans of a scare maze, and Alton Towers has three multi-award-winning ones, as well as hair-raising attractions like Wicker Man and the Alton Towers Dungeon.

Like with Thorpe Park, if you book Scarefest in advance, you’ll save on admission. Plus, here’s how to get cheap Alton Towers tickets — you can tell the RadioTimes.com team are in a generous mood!

Buy Scarefest tickets for £42 at Alton Towers

Overnight Murder Mystery Break for two

As soon as you step through the door at this overnight Murder Mystery experience, the game begins. Enjoy a three-course meal while the murder mystery evening plays out, then you’ll be whisked away for a good night’s kip, before being served a cooked breakfast the following morning.

Buy Overnight Murder Mystery tickets for two for £259 at Buyagift

You can find more murders in our best murder mystery experiences.

Become a Zombie for a Day at The London Tombs

Dress up as a zombie and scare London’s general public in this one of a kind experience. You’ll transform into one of the London Tombs' zombies and join in on live shows, but not before receiving a FX make-up tutorial to help you look suitably gory. Lunch at Bermondsey Bierkeller is also included — being a zombie is thirsty work, you know.

Buy Become a Zombie for a Day for two with lunch tickets for £153.50 at Virgin Experience Days

Anyone with braaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiins would love this best UK zombie experiences guide.

Immersive Magical Cocktail Experience at The Cauldron

Fans of Harry Potter are in for a treat with this magical cocktail experience; for almost two hours, you and a friend will mix-up some wicked cocktails at The Cauldron in London. The RadioTimes.com team were lucky enough to try out this experience for ourselves, and you can read our The Cauldron review here.

Buy Immersive Magic Cocktail Experience tickets for two for £76 at Virgin Experience Days

We've also waved out wands and conjured up even more Harry Potter Experiences for you to try.

Rooftop Film Club Halloween edition with unlimited popcorn for two

On top of Peckham's famous Bussey Building, you can find the iconic Rooftop Film Club. Here you can enjoy movies, both classic and modern, underneath the stars. Sound romantic? Well, let's add a little fear factor.

Rooftop Film Club are screening iconic Halloween films throughout the entire month of October. Choose from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Scream, MaXXXine, Hocus Pocus and many more.

Buy Rooftop Film Club Halloween edition with unlimited popcorn for two tickets for £55 at Indytute

Jack the Ripper Walking Tour

Horror fanatics will love this Jack the Ripper walking tour - but be warned, it's definitely not for the faint-hearted, as you'll see original crime scene photos and hear gruesome stories like how The Ripper got his name.

Walkers will wander past old slums, the new financial district, and visit the 300-year-old pub which Jack the Ripper's victims frequented, and probably The Ripper himself...

Buy Jack the Ripper Walking Tour tickets for two for £24 at Red Letter Days

For more walking tours in the Big Smoke, check out the best London walking tours.

Psychopath’s Den at AIM Escape

There are some seriously scary escape rooms, and if you’re braver than the RadioTimes.com team, London has plenty for you to check out, including Psychopath’s Den. It challenges you and your friend to escape the clutches of a psychopath by solving a variety of challenges.

• Buy Psychopath’s Den tickets from £30 at Fever
• Buy two Psychopath’s Den tickets for £82 at Virgin Experience Days

For more gruesome escape rooms, be sure to check out the best London escape rooms.

Zombie Shooting Virtual Reality Experience for Four at Navrtar

VR experiences use headsets or multi-projected environments to create sensations that a user would experience in the real world. You're able to look around, move, and interact with things in the pretend world — sounds freaky, right? Now imagine there's zombies involved! Gather three friends and defeat the undead enemies in this Halloween experience.

Buy Zombie Shooting Virtual Reality Experience tickets for Four for £144 at Red Letter Days

If you're a fan of Virtual Reality, we have the best VR experiences in London and the best London immersive experiences, such as Frameless, BBC Earth Experience, and Batman Unmasked.

Halloween at Warwick Castle

They say Warwick Castle is haunted by the ghost of Sir Fulke Greville, who lived there in 1604 and was murdered by a traitorous servant. But your little ones won't have to worry about any of that at Warwick Castle's Halloween festival. Featuring a witches den, a haunted hollow and a spooky school where you kids can learn all about the gory world of medieval times, this experiences is an eerie and educational treat. Plus, from £80 per person, you can stay over in The Fright's Village.

Buy Halloween at Warwick Castle tickets from £80 at Warwick Castle Breaks

Ghostbusters in Concert

What's better than watching a good old classic Halloween movie? Watching it accompanied by a live orchestra, of course! Now you can watch the 1984 classic on the big screen whilst Elmer Bernstein’s famous score is performed live by a full orchestra. Who you gonna call?

Buy Ghostbusters in Concert from £28 at Ticketmaster

We're no strangers to watching a film live in concert— did you know you can see Twilight in Live in Concert this autumn?

York Dungeon

Step into a world of bloodthirsty Vikings, sinister plague doctors and horrifying executioners at York Dungeon. Found in one of the most haunted cities in Europe, York Dungeon is the place to hear haunting stories from the past. Across the various rooms, you'll learn the infamous tale of Isabella Billington, who was accused of being a witch, and always remember remember the story of Guy Fawkes, who you might see along the way.

Buy The York Dungeon tickets from £25 £18 (save £7 or 28%) at The Dungeons

Old Skool Bingo: Halloween Special

Old Skool Bingo is the next big thing as you can enjoy the thrills of the game alongside the beats of the UK's best throwback RnB hits. Except now, there's a Halloween twist. This year, you can dress up in your best scary get-up and prepare yourself for some hefty competition.

Buy Old Skool Bingo: Halloween Special for £16 at Fever

For more events, be sure to check out our Going Out section where we give advice on how to spend your weekend, including recommendations of the best West End shows.