Spooky season is round the corner, and you can tell. The evenings get darker, skeletons appear in shopfront windows and bright orange pumpkins invade supermarket shelves. If you really want to get into the spooky spirit this year, there are plenty of opportunities to do just that. Take a look at our list below to get inspired:
The Haunted Bedroom, Talliston House, Essex
Homeowner John Trevillian stepped into his three-bedroomed, semi-detached, ex-council house in 1990 with one aim in mind – to take an ordinary house in Essex and transform it into an extraordinary labyrinth of locations from different times and places, so that not a single square centimetre of the original remains.
Well, John (with help from others) managed to do just that and within that house includes The Haunted Bedroom – a spooky-looking Edwardian child’s bedroom. If you’re up for the challenge, you can actually stay the night there. Good luck with that!
Zombie Survival Experience, Various Locations
If there’s a better way to celebrate Halloween than by battling zombies then we don’t want to hear about it, because waging war with the undead army on the spookiest night of the year is impossible to beat.
Taking place at abandoned asylums, derelict schools and former factories, these incredibly immersive experiences give you an ultra-realistic taste of the zombie apocalypse – and we guarantee you’ll love every second. If you thought The Walking Dead was scary, get ready for the fright of your life!
STK, London
Throw those frightening sweets in the bin, and chow down at London’s low-lit lounge and restaurant which focuses on beef, burgers and cocktails instead. But, this Halloween, they’re serving up something a bit more sinister.
STK’s Freak Circus brunch is a live event, which takes place inside the restaurant itself and it features contortionists, bearded ladies, ghoulish burlesque and some rather unusual items of food, such as the Brainiac dessert! This layered red velvet cake, with bourbon vanilla butter cream, Swiss meringue, blood red raspberry sauce and deathly sugar shard makes the Brainiac a lot tastier than it sounds!
Escape Rooms, Various Locations
As if being locked in a room with just 60 minutes to escape wasn’t scary enough, some of the UK’s most impossible escape rooms now have a terrifying twist!
These mind-bending mystery rooms are embracing all things Halloween and once the door slams shut you never know what might be lurking inside! From characters from classic horror films, to hordes of the living dead, anything is possible and every second counts in your bid to escape your chosen room.
Chillingham Castle, Northumberland
As the name suggests, this castle is a Grade I listed building based in the village of Chillingham, Northumberland. Originally a monastery in the 12th century, this medieval structure used to house the Grey and Bennett families from the 15h century, until the 1980s, when Sir Humphry Wakefield claimed and painstakingly restored the castle.
The current owners of the castle claim that this is the most haunted castle in Britain – that’s probably because that is was the site of thousands of traumatic deaths! You can see these (maybe) for yourself at one of their Ghost Tours which run throughout the year. Get in quick though, as the spaces book up fast!
Final Thoughts
So, if the usual trick or treating or apple bobbing just doesn’t cut the mustard, then why don’t you consider heading to one of the above eerie attractions. You can check out our range of Zombie Survival and Escape Room locations across the country by heading over to our website. Whatever you end up doing, make sure you have a safe and spooky one – Happy Halloween!