1. Visit The Nightmare Realm at the RDS or in Cork
This year The Nightmare Realm has three different haunts. The first one has a clown theme, which is sure to traumatise anybody who was particularly frightened of IT. The second is a hostel full of creepy children. The final haunt is the Gruber Asylum.
If you’re scared of anything jumpy, The Nightmare Realm is guaranteed to freak you out. Maybe have a drink or two beforehand to calm your nerves. If you book online, it costs €19-21. At the box office, it’ll cost €21-23 depending on whether or not it’s a peak time.
2. Check out Tayto Park’s Halloween attractions
For teens and adults, Tayto Park’s Morbid Manor opens from the 20th of October until the 30th on various nights from 7.30pm – 11pm. You can explore the haunted manor and the rest of Tayto Park in the dark and even have a go on Tayto Park’s Cu Chulainn roller coaster after hours.
If you’ve got young kids, Tayto Park have an attraction called ‘The Ghost Hunters’ where visitors receive a torch and enter an abandoned manor as ghost hunters and investigate what’s going on inside. They then use clues to help them get into the next room. There’s also free entry to Tayto Park on the 31st of October for any children in Halloween costumes.
3. Farmaphobia at Causey Farm
On Friday the 13th, Farmophobia reopens at Causey Farm in Meath. They’ve got five haunts this year, but you need to buy a premium ticket to access two of them. They’ve got The House of Dolls which they reckon will be their scariest room to date, as well as ‘Dead & Breakfast’, a ‘Vamporium’, a ‘Mutation Morgue’ and their classic ‘Field of Screams’.
All in all you’ll be spending at least 2.5 hours here, if that’s something you’re brave enough to commit to. They also run a bus from O’Connell Street to the farm at an added cost.
4. Stokerland in St. Patrick’s Park
This one’s a free family-friendly event in Dublin 8′s St. Patrick’s Park. There’s street theatre from Victorian undertakers Morbid & Sons and a ‘Kids vs Adults-themed Sing Along Social’ as well as other rides and attractions. They encourage fancy dress and although there will be a food village, they welcome visitors to BYOPicnic.
5. The Gravedigger Ghost Tour
Unlike Stokerland, this ghost bus tour is not very family-friendly. For ages 14+, this bus picks you up and brings you on a tour that begins at St. Audoen’s Church, or as the tour guides call it, ‘hell’. After this, you get a spooky visit to Kilmainham Jail in the dark, followed by a trip to Bully’s Acre.
To end the tour, they bring you to The Gravediggers Pub for a jar while you watch their actors tell scary stories about body snatching. The tour costs €25 and includes a free walking tour of Dublin worth €13 that can be redeemed within a month of your ghost tour.
6. Turning Vampire at Vicar Street
On the 29th of October, as part of the Bram Stoker Festival (which is also responsible for organising Stokerland and the Horror Expo, Vicar Street will be hosting an evening of scary songs and collaborations.
The lineup includes Lisa Hannigan, Paddy Casey, Saint Sister, Adam Matthews and Ham SandwicH’s Niamh Farrell as well as more acts which will be confirmed in the coming weeks. Expect music along the lines of Thriller and the Ghostbusters theme song. Fancy dress is encouraged. Tickets cost €31.50.
7. The events at IFI and Lighthouse Cinema
As always, Lighthouse will be screening horror films for the duration of the Halloween season. From Friday the 13th, they’re kicking it off with classic Stephen King movies like Misery, Carrie, Pet Sematary and The Shining, as well as Francis Ford Coppola’s take on Dracula.
IFI will be running their annual Horrorthon, featuring a selection of the latest Irish and international horror films that have been appearing on the festival circuit. Tickets cost around a tenner per movie, but if you’re big into horror movies, you can buy one day, two day, three day and full festival passes.
They’ll also be holding a more child-friendly screening of The Little Vampire on the 26th of October at 11am if you’re looking to entertain your kids over the midterm.
8. Horror Expo Ireland
For the second year running, the Horror Expo is running in Dublin’s Freemason’s Hall. Tickets are between €25-35, but there’s a load of speakers and academic experts discussing all things gory and gruesome. Experts from the world of horror will be demonstrating how to use prosthetics and SFX while discussing all aspects of the genre in a pretty spooky setting.
9. Murder Mystery at The National Wax Museum
If you’ve got a group of 6-12 mates looking for something to do in the run up to Halloween, why not try solve the Wax Museum’s Murder Mystery? No, it’s not them trying to get you to reveal who broke the pope, but rather Cluedo IRL. The event runs for an hour between 6pm and 8pm and costs €15 (but there’s a 10% discount for group bookings).
The premise of the Murder Mystery at the Wax Museum is to try and figure out who murdered The Wax Creator. They’ve also got a creepy ghost story session for kids on the Friday before Halloween, as well as a (temporary) Tattoo Parlour in the Writers Room. There’s also a Chambers of Horror section of the Wax Museum too, which is there all year round and recommended only for those above 16 (unless they’re accompanied by a parent).
