Katie Marie Recommends: What to do This Halloween!

Spooky ideas

Halloween is getting closer, and with it, plans are afoot for fun things to do to celebrate the spooky season.

It’s sometimes nice to do things a bit differently, there are only so many Halloween parties you can go to before it gets dull. So, I am going to share with your different things to do besides the usual trick-or-treat and parties.

Go on a Local Ghost Tour 

In the UK (I’m not sure about across the pond or channel), a lot of our towns and cities do Ghost Walks or Ghost Tours. A guided tour around the town/city where you get to hear all the spooky local legends. Some go all out and involve actors playing the various roles of your town/city’s local spooks. It’s a fun and creepy way to spend an evening, not to mention interesting, I get a lot of inspiration by researching local legends and tales.

Enjoy a Scare Experience 

I attended my local ‘Scare Experience’ the Halloween before last with my partner (last Halloween we were holidaying in Wales and went to the local Scare Experience there) and I cannot recommend them enough. They are amazing, fun and exciting way to spend an evening. Each one will involve something different depending on location. The one I attended in Wales took place in a mine, an actual mine that offered daytime tours for the public but had opened its doors at night to the Scare Experience troop. Generally, there will be several attractions that you will walk around, sometimes they will be themed, haunted houses, the werewolf in the woods, zombies in the mine etc. It’s a fun way to experience Halloween.

Halloween Parade

If a personal, up-close experience with zombies, ghosts and werewolves is too much for you, then how about a creepy parade? A lot of towns and cities offer Halloween parades, where you get to admire the inventive floats, awesome costumes and stuff your face with as many sweets and hotdogs as you can manage. These types of events are fun for all ages, and a great way to spend Halloween.

Museum Nights

I really love history, I have a deep-rooted love for museums, so many do so well at bringing history alive and making things interactive that it’s hard to tear myself away sometimes. A lot of museums are starting to really get involved in themed nights, and I have seen it advertised that some museums in London are now putting on Halloween nights. I’ve never been myself so cannot speak from personal experience, but I’m excited to give it a go and will visit soon!

Also, if you have any local historical landmarks such as castles, old manor houses, monasteries then check them out, a lot of these places offer great Halloween experiences. Like the scare experiences or the murder mystery nights in some respects, but where better to set an event like that than an ancient castle or haunted manor?

Murder Mystery Nights

Murder Mystery nights are a lot of fun, like playing Cluedo but with actual people. You find yourself sucked in and before you know it, you’re suspecting everyone. These take place in many places, from hotels to castles, to old ships each has its own unique take on the genre. A fun and exciting way to spend an evening, a good way to give the old brain muscles a stretch.

Film Night 

If you’re put off by the cold or being outside after dark, then how about a cosy film night? Invite a few friends over, make some festive treats and pile up the pillows and blankets for a night of terrifying cinema.

I love a good movie night or a series binge night. I recently binge-watched the entire Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House and cannot recommend it enough, it’s a wonderfully written, character-driven series that doesn’t rely on jump scares to be frightening. The fear it creates is insidious, it creeps up on you without you noticing until suddenly you sweat and shaking. With no spoilers I loved every episode save for the ending, it was still very good but the last episode is the weakest of the ten episodes. It suffered a bit of a tone shift that I wasn’t a huge fan of. Despite this, it is still a magnificent series that I will be re-watching, probably more than once lol.