Spanning Wales and encompassing theatre, music, trains, wicker men and pumpkins, check out this litany of events and activities for Halloween 2024, compiled by Julia Bottoms.

Family-friendly  

Llancaiach Fawr Ghost Tours

One of the most haunted buildings in Wales is offering a selection of torchlit ghost hunts and tours, alongside witch trials and potion classes suited for ages four and up. 

Llancaiach Fawr Manor, nr Caerphilly, until Fri 22 Nov.

Tickets: prices vary per activity. Info: here

Mini Ravers Little Monsters Halloween Festival 

Baby’s first rave! This event at Cardiff’s Depot promises a family-friendly indoor Halloween festival, featuring giant inflatable balloons and a resident Mini Ravers DJ.

Depot, Cardiff, Sun 6 Oct.

Tickets: from £11. Info: here

Zip World: Ffear Forest / Monsters Of The Mine

Be terrorised by a hoard of demonic clowns at Ffear Forest. And at Monsters Of The Mine, you can run but you can’t hide… not even in the carpark. 

Ffear Forest: Zip World, Betws-Y-Coed, Fri 11 Oct-Sun 3 Nov; Monsters Of The Mine: Zip World, Aberdare, Fri 18 Oct-Sun 3 Nov.

Tickets: £28/£22. Info: Betws-Y-Coed / Aberdare

Cardiff Halloween Festival

Returning to Coedarhydyglyn Park with two instalments, Daytime and Twilight, under cover of darkness punters can explore Scarefest, featuring live action mazes, thrill rides and axe-throwing.

Coedarhydyglyn Park, Cardiff, Sat 12-Thurs 31 Oct.

Tickets: £6.50-£15. Info: cardiffhalloweenfestival.com

Terror Mountain

“Wales’ biggest Halloween night out” (their claim) promises five live-action horror experiences, including Killerz – nominated for Best Overall Scare Experience at 2023’s Scarecon awards. 

The Silver Mountain Experience, Aberystwyth, Fri 18-Thurs 31 Oct.

Tickets: £34-£40. Info: terrormountain.co.uk 

Fonmon Castle Halloween Nights

Located in the Vale Of Glamorgan, this sell-out annual event returns with a variety of trails, haunted castles and marquees, including an adult’s scare run.

Fonmon Castle, nr Barry, Sat 19-Thurs 31 Oct.

Tickets: £15. Info: here

Silver Mountain Experience Half Term Halloween

One of Aberystwyth’s top visitor attractions boasts a spread of half-term Halloween activities, including the Black Chasm tour of a 250-year-old Victorian mine and its history of awful mining conditions.

The Silver Mountain Experience, Aberystwyth, Sat 19 Oct-Sun 3 Nov.

Tickets £13.95-£21.95. Info: here

SpookWood 2024 

Snowdonia’s GreenWood Park has been voted the Best Family Attraction in north Wales, and its SpookWood forest festival features scare mazes and pumpkin trails suitable for the whole family. 

Greenwood Family Park, Y Felinheli, Mon 21-Thurs 31 Oct.

Tickets: £25/£10 under 1m tall/FREE babies and carers. Info: here

Spooky Dam Open Day 

This rural family-friendly trail leads you through Elan Valley’s Penbont Woods and under the sparkling curtain of Pen y Garreg Dam to claim a reward.

Pen y Garreg Dam, Elan Valley, Tue 29 + Wed 30 Oct.

Tickets: £1.50-£5. Info: here

National Museum Of History Halloween Nights

Back by popular demand, St Fagans offers a taste of Wales’ frightful folklore for children aged 5-12, including wicker man-burning and potion-stirring.

National Museum Of History, St Fagans, Tue 29-Thurs 31 Oct.

Tickets: £14. Info: here

Steam’n’Scream

The Rheilffordd Talyllyn railway tracks a spooky steam train ride through the Dolgoch woods. Each ticket includes a two-course meal to enjoy whilst chugging through Snowdonia. 

Talyllyn Railway, Tywyn, Wed 30 + Thurs 31 Oct.

Tickets: £5-£27. Info: here

Adults only 

Devil’s Staircase Race  

Can you outrun the devil? This extreme sporting activity consists of a 31.5-mile, 5,200-foot race up Devil’s Staircase in Llanwrtyd Wells. Truly horrifying. 

Devil’s Staircase, Llanwrtyd Wells, Sat 5 Oct.

Entry fee: £45. Info: here

Goner

A choreographic journey into themes of Caribbean migration, violence and Black horror, this surrealistic work by Marikiscrycrycry explores the doomed figure of the Goner – someone with no chance of survival. 

Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff, Fri 18 Oct.

Tickets: £14/£12. Info: here

Period Drama

A surreal blend of circus and spoken-word, Olga Kaleta’s Period Drama dives into autobiographical episodes of bloody knickers and slasher flicks through a feminist lens.

Small World Theatre, Cardigan, Fri 18 Oct.

Tickets: £12. Info: here

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Dammit Janet! Choose between a film screening at Hay Castle or live at New Theatre, but expect audience participation, water guns and creatures of the night at both.

Hay Castle, Sat 26 Oct (tickets: £10. Info: here); New Theatre, Cardiff, Mon 4-Sat 9 Nov (tickets: £24-£56. Info: here)

Cŵm Rag / House Of Deviant

Welsh drag saucepots Cŵm Rag serve some hex-quisite realness with new seasonal show Nos Galan Gay-AF, while Wales’ only learning disabled drag troupe House Of Deviant are dropping (dead) on the runway in ‘Slay’ance.

Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay, Sat 26 Oct / Fri 1 Nov.

Tickets: £15. Info: Cŵm Rag / House Of Deviant

A Night With A Serial Killer

This case-study analysis of some of history’s most heinous serial killers finds Lucy Huskinson, Bethan Loftus and Lisa Sparkes exploring our morbid fascination with true crime. 

Pontio, Bangor, Wed 30 Oct.

Tickets £15-£17.50. Info: here

Necromancy

Where better to host a sacrificial ritual to appease the underworld gods than a thousand-year-old castle? Kestrel Morton’s spoken-word storytelling weaves together traditional legends and modern myth. 

Hay Castle, Thurs 31 Oct.

Tickets £10. Info: here

The Haunting Of Blaine Manor

In the spirit of M R James and Hammer Horror, Joe O’Byrne directs this tale of sceptical American parapsychologist Doctor Earle attending a seance at Blaine Manor. 

Pavilion Theatre, Rhyl, Thurs 31 Oct.

Tickets: £19-£23. Info: here

Pumpkin picking places

Hooton’s Homegrown, Ffingar Farm, Anglesey

Throughout October. Admission: FREE. Info: here

Forage Farm, Cowbridge

Fri 4-Thurs 31 Oct. Tickets: £9 per car. Info: here

Billy Bob’s Farm, Castle Farm, Llangybi

Sat 5-Wed 30 Oct. Tickets: £10 per car. Info: here

Powells Farm, New Radnor

Sat 5-Wed 30 Oct. Tickets: £12 per car. Info: here

Bellis Brothers Farm, Wrexham

Sat 5-Thurs 31 Oct. Tickets: FREE. Info: here

Gower Fresh Christmas Trees, Poundffald Farm, Swansea

Sat 5-Thurs 31 Oct. Admission: FREE. Info: here

Pencoed Fach Farm, Blackwood

Sat 5-Thurs 31 Oct. Tickets: £6 per car. Info: pencoedfachfarm.co.uk

Twilight Pumpkins, Abergavenny

Sat 5-Thurs 31 Oct. Tickets: £3 per car. Info: here

Cardiff Pumpkin Festival, Coedarhydyglyn Park, Cardiff

Sun 12-Thurs 31 Oct. Tickets: £6.50. Info: here

Manorafon Farm Park, Abergele

Sat 12-Thurs 31 Oct. Tickets: £16. Info: here

words JULIA BOTTOMS