Halloween on Spooky Isles
Events, traditions and terrifying tales. Explore the old customs, real haunted places, live scares, horror favourites and strange folklore that make Halloween the spookiest night of the year.
Halloween is not just one night at Spooky Isles. We explore ghosts, folklore and dark history 365 days a year. This guide brings the best of that archive together for the season.
Start with the Halloween essentials
All Halloween stories →
The dark origins of Halloween
How the night of the dead grew from ancient belief into the celebration we know.
Ireland’s Cave of Cats
Enter the legendary opening to the Otherworld at Oweynagat in County Roscommon.
Carve a turnip Jack o’Lantern
Forget the pumpkin. Make the smaller, tougher and much more frightening original.
Why we keep Halloween traditions
The creepy reasons behind the customs that still shape the season.
Explore Halloween across the Spooky Isles
Find haunted places →Robert Burns, guising, haunted Edinburgh and Halloween’s deep Scottish roots.
Explore Scottish Halloween →Nos Galan Gaeaf, the Hwch Ddu Gwta and eerie customs marking winter’s arrival.
Explore Welsh Halloween →Samhain, Púca, Oweynagat and the ancient Irish traditions that helped shape Halloween.
Explore Irish Halloween →Discover Hop tu Naa, turnip lanterns and the island’s distinctive celebration of 31 October.
Explore Hop tu Naa →Halloween events and live scares
More live experiences →
FEAR at Avon Valley
Immersive scare attractions, theatrical horror and a full festival atmosphere near Bristol.
Farmaggedon
Heavy-metal horror, movie-quality sets and two decades of scares at Farmer Ted’s.
The Nightmare Realm
An intense Dublin attraction that turns live horror into immersive theatre.
Ireland’s Púca Festival
A modern celebration shaped by the ancient places and traditions of Ireland’s Ancient East.
Halloween at home
More horror →
Creepy British TV for Halloween
Unsettling British television chosen for a long autumn night.
Poems to read by candlelight
Old and new verse for a quieter, darker kind of Halloween gathering.
Remembering Ghostwatch
The BBC programme that terrified Britain and changed paranormal television.
Find a spooky book
Browse ghost, folklore, paranormal and horror books from across Britain and Ireland.
Keep exploring
Latest stories →Haunted places near you
Search the Spooky Isles database for ghosts, legends and haunted locations across the UK and Ireland.
Search haunted places →Haunted hotels
Turn Halloween into a night away with historic stays, reported hauntings and room links.
Explore haunted hotels →Haunted pubs
Find old inns and atmospheric pubs where the resident spirits may not all be behind the bar.
Explore haunted pubs →