Stratford Halloween Festival attracts record numbers

The annual Victorian Halloween Festival in Stratford-upon-Avon, which took place from 1 – 31 October, attracted record numbers and has been hailed the town’s most successful Halloween Festival to date.

Now in its fifth year, the month long festival took place at the award winning Creaky Cauldron Museum and attracted over 7,500 people to over 100 events.

Halloween in the UK is a thriving business. Back in 2001, the market was only worth £12 million; however £280 million was spent this year on fancy dress outfits, sweets and pumpkins. Organisers of the Victorian Halloween Festival in Stratford reported that demand for tickets was up 25% on last year.

The spectacular festival was packed with child friendly activities including free pumpkin-carving workshops, ghost stories and competitions. Over 200 pumpkins were carved in the workshops which had queues of children waiting patiently in line for the carving of their choice. The most unusual carving request was that of "Sonic the Hedgehog". Creepy Crawlies from the Stratford Butterfly Farm including a curly haired tarantula and giant hissing cockroaches attracted plenty of attention and the potion lessons with Dr Thaddeus Bombay also proved incredibly popular.

The adult events, included ‘Terrifying Tales by Candlelight’, overnight Gothic Ghost Hunts, Victorian Séances and A Night at Scare School workshops were particularly popular and many of them sold out in the summer with extra events being added to cope with the demand.

Dave Matthews, CEO of Seek the Magic Org said "Our fifth Victorian Halloween Festival has been an unprecedented success. With pumpkin carving workshops, potion lessons, the giant Pumpkin Father, Scare School and a whole host of terrifying events for adults, the Festival provided something for everyone and we look forward to planning an even bigger and scarier Festival next year as we celebrate ‘Seek The Magic's’ 21st birthday”.

For more information on the Festival please visit the website at: stratfordhalloweenfestival.com