Tricks and treats from English Heritage this Halloween
Only the daring will have the nerves to uncover the dark secrets and spine-chilling stories at some of English Heritage’s oldest properties this October, with ghoulish goings-on from the Tudor to the Victorian that are anything but ordinary.
By daytime, younger visitors can enjoy spooky-themed trails and treasure hunt treats at properties including Framlingham Castle in Suffolk and Pendennis Castle in Cornwall.
Then at night, the terror is turned up as ghostly figures from the past at Dover Castle, creepy storytellers at Belsay Hall in Northumberland and even gothic funeral processions at Whitby Abbey emerge from the darkness to thrill the senses and chill the bones!
Event Information:
THE ENCHANTED GARDEN
Brodsworth Hall, near Doncaster, South Yorkshire
Fri 23 Oct – Sun 1 Nov, 6.30pm – 9pm (last admission 8.30pm)
Enter a magical world for a bewitching night-time experience as the magnificently restored Victorian gardens are illuminated to become a place of enchantment. Out of the darkness the hall emerges draped in light, music drifts across the night air as you wind your way through the gardens with surprises waiting around every corner. This garden walk will delight young and old alike. Supported by Ecclesiastical*.
Adults £7.50/ Concessions £6.50/ Children £6.00/ Adult Member £6.00 / Concession Member: £5.00 / Child Member £4.50. Advance bookings save £1 per person.
DAYS OF VICTORIAN GOTHIC & NIGHTS OF VICTORIAN GOTHIC
Whitby Abbey, North Yorkshire
Thu 29 – Sat 31 October, 12pm-3pm and 6pm-8.30pm
Whitby Abbey is going gothic for the weekend, with a variety of characters from a Victorian surgeon to the hangman. At night, the floodlit abbey will play host to live action storytelling, rifle firing and a dashing highwayman, plus a special night time appearance of the full Victorian gothic funeral procession complete with horse drawn carriage.
Price: Adults £6.00/ Concessions £5.00/ Children £4.00/ Family Ticket £16.00 / English Heritage Members: Free
HAUNTED HALLOWEEN & ADULT GHOST TOURS
Pendennis Castle, Cornwall
Sat 24 and Sat 31 October, 10am-4pm
Visit the usually off-limits Tudor Kitchen where the spirit of head cook 'Maude' is said to wait, walk the underground tunnels guarded by soldiers of the past and listen out for the sound of horses' hooves thought to belong to ill-fated horses eaten by their desperate owners during the Civil War siege…
Adults £5.70/ Concessions £4.80/ Children £2.90/ Family Ticket £14.30 / English Heritage Members: Free
Tour times commence at 11am, 1.30pm, 3pm, 7.30pm and 9.30pm
SPOOKY FUN AT ELTHAM PALACE
Eltham Palace, Greenwich
Wednesday 28 and Sunday 1October, 10am-5pm
This Halloween come along and see the spookier side of Eltham Palace. Children will be able to try their hand at some of our chilling craft activities and take part in our terrifying tours! Don’t forget to dress for the occasion, a small prize will be given for the best children’s costume.
Price: Adults £8.30/ Concessions £7.10/ Children £4.20/ Family Ticket £20.80
English Heritage Members: Free
Thu 29 and Sat 31 October
Fearless adults have the opportunity to show the kids how it’s done during the eerie evening Adult Ghost Tours, before a well deserved hot drink and traditional Cornish pasty to relieve the chills down the spine.
Adults £12.00 / English Heritage Members: £10.00
HALLOWEEN FUN & HALLOWEEN TOURS
Bolsover Castle, Derbyshire
Sat 24 Oct – Sun 1 Nov
11am – 4pm
Children can scare their socks off on the creepy castle trail and make their own ghoulish creations for a frighteningly fun time!
Price: Adults £7.00/ Concessions £6.00/ Children £3.50/ Family Ticket £17.50 / English Heritage Members: Free
Halloween Tours Sat 31 Oct pm
Adults can take part in spooky torch-lit tours around the grounds covering the ghostly parts of the castle.
Prices: Tours at 6pm, 7.30pm and 9pm at £22, Midnight Tours at £32
HALLOWEEN FREAKY FUN TRAIL FOR CHILDREN
Framlingham Castle, Suffolk
Sat 24 Oct – Sun 1 Nov, 11am – 4pm
Kids can take part in a freaky fun trail around this creepy castle to find all the spooky objects.
Price: Adults £5.70/ Concessions £4.80/ Children £2.90/ Family Ticket £14.30 / English Heritage Members: Free
THE HAUNTED CASTLE and FAMILY FRIGHT NIGHT
Dover Castle, Kent
Mon 26 – Sat 31 Oct, 10am-4pm
With nine ghosts reported to have been seen and heard at Dover Castle, spooky characters will lead children through one of England's most haunted castles. Beware of the horrible hag! Dare you walk through the tunnel of terror? A prize will be bestowed on the most bloodcurdling Halloween costume each day.
Adults £13.40/ Concessions £11.40/ Children £6.70/ Family £33.50 / English Heritage Members: free
Sat 31 Oct, 5pm-8pm
A one-off spooktacular family evening at Dover Castle. A creepy character will lead you on a special evening around the castle to hunt out the friendly ghosts of Dover Castle.
Adults £10.00/ Children £8.00/ Family £28.00
HAUNTED HALLOWEEN & GHOST TOURS
Kenilworth Castle and Elizabethan Garden in Warwickshire
Tue 27 – Sat 31 October, 10am-5pm
The ground floor of the Leicester Gatehouse will be transformed into the 'Dungeon of Doom'. Younger visitors will be invited to solve creepy cryptic clues around the site and win a prize.
Adults £7.00/ Concessions £6.00/ Children £3.50/ Family Ticket £17.50 / English Heritage Members: Free
7.30pm, 8.30pm, 9.30 pm with a special tour on Halloween night at 11.30pm
Meanwhile, there are eerie evening Ghost Tours for grown-ups only around the castle and gatehouse, where you can hear terrible tales of dark deeds, ghostly apparitions and scary happenings.
Adults £15.00 (over 16s only)
N.B Late Night tour at 11.30pm on Saturday 31st October is £25.00
VICTORIAN TALES OF FEAR - THE SIGNALMAN & OTHER GHOST STORIES
Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens, Northumberland
Fri 30 and Sat 31 October, tours at 4.30pm, 7.30pm and 9pm
Three unsettling tales for Halloween, adapted from the works of Charles Dickens and M.R. James into dramatic form by Found Theatre. Eccentric Victorian ghost hunter Montagu Furzan leads you through all three floors of the empty house, from the genuinely chilling bedrooms to the echoing depths of its cellars, where someone, or something, lies chained up on a bed of straw…not for children under 10 or the fainthearted!
Adults £10.00/ Concessions £9.00/ Children £8.00/ Adult Member £8.00 / Concession Member: £7.00 / Child Member £6.00. Advance bookings save £2 per person. Booking essential on 01661 881636
HAUNTED HALLOWEEN – VICTORIAN GHOST STORIES
Richmond Castle, North Yorkshire
Fri 30 and Sat 31 October, tours at 5.30pm, 7pm, 8.30pm and 10pm
Celebrate Halloween season in style with tales of doom and gloom from the time of Dickens. Costumed characters will lead families through wicked stories and tales, and events conclude with a one-off “spooktacular” friendly ghost hunt on Halloween evening itself.
Adults £9.00/ Concessions £8.00/ Children £7.00/ Adult Member £7.00 / Concession Member £6.00 / Child Member £5.00. Advance bookings save £1 per person
Miss these events at your peril! Visit english-heritage.org.uk for more details.
Why not become an English Heritage member? English Heritage members get free or reduced-price entry to events, as well as free entry to over 400 unique historic sites - so why not join today? Join online at english-heritage.org.uk/membership.
* The Enchanted Garden at Brodsworth Hall and Gardens is sponsored by Ecclesiastical Insurance.