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

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 best UK dungeons, York ghost tours, and Edinburgh ghost tours. So you can rest assured that you're in safe — or should we say terrifying — 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:

• Ghastly Ghost Tour of London Bridge, £16
• UKG Bingo: Halloween Special, £17.50
• York Dungeon, from £21 (save £4 or 18%)
• Paranormal Investigations at Fonmon Castle, £23
• Jack the Ripper Walking Tour, £24
• SAW: Escape Experience, from £29
• Psychopath’s Den at AIM Escape, £30
• Fright Nights at Thorpe Park, from £59 £39 (save £20 or 34%)
• Scarefest at Alton Towers, from £42
• Immersive Magic Cocktail Experience, £75
• Halloween at Warwick Castle, from £80
• Zombie Shooting Virtual Reality Experience, £144
• Become a Zombie for a Day, £150
• Overnight Murder Mystery Break for two, £249.99

The best Halloween events for 2023

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 three thrilling Scare Mazes (one new for 2023), 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 £20 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 £59 £39 (save £20 or 34%) at Thorpe Park
• Buy Fright Night Short Breaks from £104 at Thorpe Park

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 £249.99 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 tickets for £150 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 £75 at Virgin Experience Days

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

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 £80 at Virgin Experience Days

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

Ghastly Ghost Tour of London Bridge

One of the RadioTimes.com team members loves a ghost tour: they’ve been to ones in Nottingham, Lincoln and Chesterfield, and they've even written guides to the best Edinburgh ghost tours and best York ghost tours. Next up on the list is this one in London. The area around London Bridge used to belong to criminals, killers, and just generally lawless folk, which means they’ve left behind some terrifying stories.

Buy Ghastly Ghost Tour of London Bridge tickets for £16 at Fever

Zombie Shooting Virtual Reality Experience 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.

Paranormal Investigations at Fonmon Castle, Wales

Visit rooms not usually open to the public in a paranormal investigations experience at Fonmon Castle. You’ll be guided by a paranormal investigation team who will share their experiences, findings and evidence of ghostly activity. And who knows, maybe you’ll have a spooky experience of your own by the end of the night… There are various dates available throughout autumn and winter, but with limited numbers, be sure to book to avoid disappointment.

Buy tickets for Paranormal Investigations at Fonmon Castle from £23 at Fonmon Castle

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

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 £21 (save £4 or 18%) at Daysout.com

York Dungeon is one of many, and you can find more of the best UK dungeons right here.

UKG Bingo: Halloween Special

Garage Bingo is the next big thing as you can enjoy the thrills of the game alongside the beats of the UK's best garage 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 UKG Bingo: Halloween Special for £17.50 at Fever

SAW: Escape Experience

Want to play a game? From now until Saturday 4th November, you can take part in a real-life SAW trap that Jigsaw himself could've designed. Although blood and guts will not thankfully be spilled, this escape room experience will test your courage, thinking skills, and even your morals.

Buy SAW: Escape Experience tickets from £29 at SAW The Experience

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.