Soon the ghosts will come out to play, cackling witches will take to the skies, blood-craving vampires will be seeking to quench their thirst and skeletal figures will be punching their way out of the dirt. When these supernatural beings roam the streets it can only mean one thing: Halloween in Manchester is here.
Whether you’re adding the final flourishes to a year-in-the-making costume or digging out crooked cat ears from the back of your cupboard, the haunting holiday promises plenty of dastardly fun in the form of ghost tours, candlelit concerts and even a ‘scare skate’ ice rink. Once you’ve sorted your own décor, picked up a pumpkin and done your trick-or-treating duties you might have your heart set on keeping the celebrations going. To help you decide, we’ve rounded up the best things to do in Manchester this Halloween…
1. Seek out spirits on this Manchester Ghost Tour
Dip your toe into the astral realm on a hair-raising hunt for ghosts around Manchester. Your smartphone will play the role of the guide; supplying clues that, when solved, lead you to some of the most haunted places in the city. On the spooky self-guided tour you’ll uncover stories that will send the shivers down the spine of even the most stoic non-believer and visit historic sites such as Manchester Cathedral, Palace Theatre and Albert Square. Grab your jumpsuits and proton packs, you’re in for a bumpy ride with this Manchester Ghost Tour.
2. Go for a ghoulish glide at Skate Manchester
The ice and chilly air won’t be the only thing making you shudder at Skate Manchester this October. The arena has something spooky up their sleeve, namely some curiously creepy décor and fancy dress is more than encouraged. New for this year, the spooktacular Manchester ice rink will see a frightfully realistic giant spider take centre stage this Halloween, wrapped in a bright white LED light web around the sparkling Christmas tree centre piece.
3. Enjoy a spooky night out at this huge, Halloween hip-hop party
Prepare for things to go bump on the dancefloor as one of the biggest and scariest hip-hop parties is happening in Manchester for Halloween. Taking place at Brazilian bar Floripa on October 28, club goers will have a scare with skeletons, flying ghosts, witches, vampires, and weird aliens lurking in the shadows. Enjoy free haunted potions, trick or treat sweets, amazing Halloween décor as well as props, Halloween masks, and Manchester’s finest DJs for the ultimate spooky night out.
4. Hunt down the giant monsters that have popped up around Manchester
If you embark on a walk through Manchester city centre anytime during Halloween week you’ll likely spy a giant inflatable monster or two. The menagerie of oddly-endearing creatures have been invading the city for the past five years and are set to do it once more. Hide-and-seek doesn’t seem to be their strong suit though, as these pop-up Halloween monsters are often spotted hunkering down behind Printworks or peering over Piccadilly Place.
5. Dare to enter a terrifying horror experience in an abandoned asylum near Manchester
Newsham Park Hospital in Liverpool could easily be mistaken for an old hotel left to ruin – its windows boarded up, perimeters overgrown. This Halloween, the haunted building less than an hour’s drive from Manchester will host a spooktacular in the form of Newsham Scream Park, a series of blood-curdling spooky attractions to get you in the gruesome spirit. Each experience will wind through the dark bowels of the building, filled with deepening dread and moments of sheer blood-curdling panic, as guests follow each nightmarish path through Newsham Scream Park.
6. Watch a creepy cabaret performance at the King’s Arms
Fans of spooky season (and live entertainment) rejoice – because Selina Helliwell’s lavish show is back to transform the gorgeous cabaret-style theatre at the King’s Arms in Salford into a night of sparkle and female empowerment – this time with a creepy, Halloween-themed twist. Expect mesmerising music, scary and sexy burlesque and spine-tingling spoken word as well as many more ghoulish surprises – including a fancy dress competition for the audience!
7. Sneak drink behind bars at Alcotraz
If the supernatural doesn’t scare you the stone-cold glare of the Alcotraz prison warden just might. A place where breaking the rules is the only way to survive the night, this experience is not for the lily-livered, in fact a concrete liver is exactly what you’ll need when it comes to the cocktail portion of the night. Once you’ve wiggled into your orange jumpsuits and smuggled in liquor, the next step is indulging in some delicious concoctions made by fellow inmates. If a day of booze-fuelled crime sounds like something that to tick off your bucket list then head to Alcotraz Manchester.
8. Get on a board a Halloween ghost train
Are you brave enough to board the “spooky” steam train? Once every ten years at Summerseat tunnel a portal opens to the dark past… but what evil beasties and nasty things await on the other side? Join the East Lancashire Railway in your best fancy dress this Halloween to find out. There will be ghoulish goodies galore, and you’ll meet monstrous new friends including a fang-tastically friendly vampire, a chatty Zombie, mad Dr Frankenburger, a snappy plant creature and more oddballs and curios. Also, don’t miss the all singing, all dancing “Skeletonettes” on the platform!
9. Dance the night away at a spooktacular silent disco at Victoria Baths
One thing that’ll have you shaking in your boots this Halloween is a silent disco known as The Silence of the Baths at one of the most historical buildings in Manchester, Victoria Baths. For the first time ever, Victoria Baths will bring you all the thrills of Halloween with a spooktacular silent disco, ‘The Silence of the Baths’, setting your heart racing and sending tingles running down your spine with a takeover by legendary Girls on Film plus special guests THT GRL (Not Bad For A Girl) and DJ MX WORLD.
10. Stop a ghostly menace on the Haunted Manchester tour
On a fateful (and fictional) day in Manchester a student named Loky met his watery end when he drowned in the icy depths of the canal. The act was not an isolated incident or unfortunate accident but the malicious work of a serial killer who roamed the banks of the canal, his name: The Pusher. On this Haunted Manchester tour you’ll explore the darker side of the city, solving clues and uncovering stories about the trapped spirits who fell victim to this murderer. Keep your wits about you: everything might not be as it seems…
11. Celebrate Halloween with a spine-chilling schedule of events at GRUB
To celebrate the Spooky Season, GRUB will be hosting a full week of Halloween-themed events running from October 25 to 29. In addition to these events, guests can expect a spookily decorated venue, a special Halloween-themed beer and cocktail menu, street food specials, tunes and lots of candy.
Last year at GRUB’s independent cinema, Cultplex, saw the birth of STAB, a weekend long celebration of horror movies, and it was such a wild success that they’re doing it all again. This time, it won’t just be a weekend worth of Halloween treats but a whole month of some of cinema’s best horrific output. Kicking off with a Scream marathon on October 1, things continue to get scarier, climaxing with a double bill of Monster Squad (1987) and An American Werewolf In London (1981) on Halloween night.
12. Prepare to enter a world of horrors at this Zombie experience
The abandoned Camelot Theme Park has opened its doors to the public once more, but it’s not the joy-filled kingdom of fun it once was. A darkness has swept through the land and left a swarm of zombies in its wake, each one burning with an all-consuming hunger for human flesh. This time the screams you’ll hear won’t be from thrill-seekers riding rollercoasters but from pale-faced pedestrians who couldn’t resist a trip back to the nostalgia-inducing amusement park they once visited as a kid. Ever heard of that phrase curiosity killed the cat?…
13. Tremble with fear as you enter a terrifying virtual reality experience
Manchester’s largest virtual reality arcade, DNA VR, is giving guests the chance to live out their horror movie dreams (and nightmares!) with an array of horrifying and gruesome immersive virtual reality experiences. Visitors will find a wide-range of hair-raising virtual horror simulations to complete, such as navigating their way out of the Hospital Of Horror escape room, evading the supernatural in Manor Of Escape, or fighting off hordes of the undead in Arizona Sunshine, there is something for every horror-lover at DNA VR.
14. Watch an entertaining performance of 2.22 A Ghost Story at The Lowry
The new stage phenomenon that has taken the West End by storm is coming to Salford in time for Halloween. 2:22 A Ghost Story comes fresh from record-breaking seasons at five West End theatres with a host of acclaimed star performances. It’s a brilliantly funny and adrenaline filled night where secrets emerge and ghosts may or may not appear… What do you believe? And do you dare discover the truth?
15. Dare to visit this spooky Halloween takeover at the Trafford Centre
Coming just in time for Halloween, SPOOKFEST will bring an array of activities for all ages to enjoy at the Trafford Centre, with plenty of food and drink also available to accompany. Taking place within the outdoor space at the Manchester shopping centre, SPOOKFEST will kick off on October 13 right up until October 30, bringing the Halloween vibes to town by the bucketload. Guests will be able to enjoy an array of fairground rides and heated big top circus as well as fun attractions such as a spooky ghost train and a pumpkin tower installation.
16. Sit back and watch Halloween screenings at the King Street Townhouse
Fancy curling up and relaxing in a luxurious setting this Halloween? One stunning Manchester hotel, King Street Townhouse, is hosting an array of wonderful screenings over Halloween weekend, including a couple of family-friendly films to enjoy. Cuddle up with spooky classics like The Shining and Nightmare on Elm Street while enjoying popcorn, pick n’ mix, and even a cocktail, mocktail or soft drinks and even afternoon tea beforehand.
17. Make a run for it and head to this Halloween trail at Chester Zoo
This October, escape Manchester and head to Chester Zoo where it will be running a new free interactive Halloween trail set to give you the creeps and allow you to get to know these curious creatures better. Visitors can take a wander along the zoo’s indoor trail where they will encounter interesting species like the Komodo Dragon, Gaboon Viper, Poison Dart Frogs, Blue Komodo Viper, Tarantula and the upside-down Jellyfish.
18. Tuck into this spooktacular bottomless brunch at Zouk
Zouk Tea Bar & Grill is hosting a Halloween Brunch on October 28, where guests will be greeted with a Red Dragon cocktail, before dining amongst the spookiest of settings, from suspended skeletons to giant spiders crawling the walls, and life-sized ghouls to Zouk’s very own spine-chilling graveyard. Following a starter of poppadoms & pickles and Pani Puri shots, guests can choose either Baked Eggs Makhani, Channa Puri, Bollywood Benedict or Chicken Shwarma & Fries as their main. For dessert, indulge in the likes of Zouk’s Chocolate Graveyard, created exclusively for Halloween. While dining, guests can enjoy bottomless prosecco or orange juice for 90 minutes, plus an array of spooktacular entertainment, including a DJ, scare artists and live music.
19. Creep into Afflecks’ Halloween House of Horror for a ghoulish tour
Afflecks, Manchester’s ever-popular independent shopping emporium, is getting ready for some spooktacular celebrations this Halloween, with plenty of spine-tingling activities happening to get everyone in the spooky spirit. The iconic building will be transformed into a Halloween House of Horror on October 28 as a very special Halloween experience brings tricks and treats to the 180 year old building in equal measure. brave explorers can join a ghoulish food and drink tour and get involved in a spirit stones and spellcasting session and more.
20. Dance the night away at Ducie Street Warehouse’s Monster Ball
This Halloween, Ducie Street Warehouse has revealed its terrifyingly fabulous Halloween line up and events. Celebrate spooky season with the globally renowned DJ Fat Tony at the Monster Ball on October 27, as well as Femme Fatale, a female founded, and female run dance group set to get everyone on their feet. You can also expect a spooktacular special edition of Ducie Street’s famous Disco Brunch on October 28, which will be soundtracked by Manchester’s finest DJs. Indulge in Gochujang Fried Chicken Wings served with waffles, maple sauce and topped with peanuts or opt for a classic Shakshuka or the Monte Cristo Sandwich.
21. Take on Scary Skating at Paradise Skate World
Strap on your rollerskates and go back to the 80s at Paradise Skate World in Great Northern Warehouse. Enjoy a host of scarily good offers this Halloween at Paradise Skate World, including 50% off walk-in tickets across Halloween weekend – just be sure to come dressed up in your spookiest Halloween costume to be eligible for the offer. Make sure not to miss the haunting Halloween cocktail special, the ‘Dead On The Beach’, made with vodka, cranberry, orange juice, pineapple juice, and finished with an edible eyeball and a grenadine shot.
On Friday 27 October, Paradise Skate World is also hosting the Cosmic Creep skate event, in collaboration with international roller-skater, Brats on Quads! From 7pm – late, join the ultimate Halloween party on the skating rink, complete with Halloween face painters, and spooky surprises along the way.
22. Tuck into spooky slices at Nell’s Rocky Horror Pizza Show
Manchester’s beloved New York style pizza dealers Nell’s are getting into the Halloween spirit with their one night only event, Rocky Horror Pizza Show, on Friday 27 October. Each of their sites will be led by a Rocky Horror themed host. Riff Raff will host at The Beagle, Common will be welcoming Magenta, and Nell’s Kampus has Frank N Furter.
All three sites will kick off their night from 8pm onwards to bring an immersive evening of drag artists, DJ’s, games and theatre to guests. Nell’s will be offering special cocktails and pizza options to accompany the theme, as well as serving all of their classic favourites. Fancy dress is strongly encouraged – best dressed will win tickets to see the Rocky Horror Picture Show in theatre at the Opera House in 2024.
23. Race through the dark at Chaos Karts
The all-new VR karting attraction in Manchester, Chaos Karts, will be welcoming all the ghouls and boys for an exhilarating spine-tingling experience this Halloween for a thriller-ing night out. Gather the squad and prepare for a hair-raising race through the dark and immersive realm of augmented reality. With each race varying in design, complete with pumping music, fully interactive karts, and usable power-ups, players can battle right up to the finish line at this unique state-of-the-art experience.
24. Brew your own magical potions at this masterclass at Bird & Blend Tea
On October 31, Bird & Blend Tea Co in Manchester will remain open after hours for any wizards and witches keen on learning the mastery of potion brewing whilst tea tasting. This is a special one-off Halloween Magic Potions Brewing Workshop that combines the worlds of tea mixology, science and Bird & Blend’s magic autumnal tea elixirs.
Wannabe potion makers will enjoy a tea tasting experience and learn to make elaborate spooky special tea infused potions, whilst being taken on a magical journey discovering teas, blending herbs, flowers and spices, whist learning about the power they hold. There will be a magical 10% off the whole store on the night too, with fancy dress encouraged.
25. Sing your heart out at this Halloween-themed lip-sync showdown
Prepare for a night of terrifying harmonies as Printworks Manchester goes all out for its latest lip-sync event with a Halloween special this October. Taking place on October 27 at Printworks iconic nightclub, Cargo, the Halloween Lip Sync is taking over The Vault from 7pm – 10.30pm.
Hosted by an array of local drag queens, guests can expect a freaky soiree where they will be invited to beat the stage ‘fright’ and grab a mic to be in with a chance of winning a range of hilarious trick or treat prizes. Lip-syncers who manage to ‘get their freak on’ and impress the audience will make their way to the grand finale, where they will be able to battle it out in a final ‘Thriller’ showdown to be in with a chance of winning a £250 Printworks gift card.
26. Jump til your heart’s content at Inflata Nation’s Pumpkin Palooza
The popular inflatable theme park, in Trafford Park, Manchester is gearing up for a Pumpkin Palooza to entertain youngsters throughout half term and Halloween. The indoor arena of inflatables will be transformed to match the thriller theme and one lucky family could even win a free pass to any Inflata Nation site. Its Manchester site offers slides, climbing walls, giant ball pools and assault courses, with something for all ages and abilities to enjoy. A 15% discount can be obtained by booking online using the code PUMPKINMANC.
27. Spice up your drinks order with these spine-tingling cocktails at Mean-Eyed Cat
Northern Quarter’s newest bars on the block, Mean-Eyed Cat and Tiki Hideaway, are serving up spooktacular cocktails this Halloween. The deep-south inspired dive bar on Oldham Street is also throwing a Halloween weekender with free shots to everyone dressed as a Mean-Eyed Cat, a Halloween playlist as well as the chance to nab some discounts and free pizza before 9pm.
Mean-Eyed Cat has given the classic Old Fashioned a spooky makeover, featuring pumpkin spiced syrup, orange zest and pumpkin chocolate. Downstairs in a hidden Caribbean paradise, Tiki Hideaway is serving up a twist on the traditional Pina Colada, with winter spices and pumpkin purée to get you into the Halloween spirit.
28. Celebrate Halloween with your pooch at this spooky pawty at Freight Island
In celebration of this spooky season, Freight Island has collaborated with Dog Days Out to bring a new and exciting experience for owners and their companions. On October 29, Freight Island is hosting a Halloween Pawty called Stranger Breeds, a quirky twist on the popular TV series, welcoming pooches of all shapes and sizes, ranging from dalmatians to demogorgans. As part of an array of Halloween festivities, you can all unite with frightening companions and enjoy a fun-filled evening with prizes up for grabs for the best costumes, a range of themed games and props and photo opportunities.