That spooky time of year is almost upon us once again.
If you’re looking for a Halloween themed event to take the kids to there are plenty to choose from.
Here’s our round-up of some of the best events happening across the region.
Happy Halloween at Sky High Adventure
Tameside’s adventure climbing centre is hosting lots of Halloween fun at two special parties on the day itself.
Kids are encouraged to wear fancy dress for the events, which will include chocolate apple making and face painting.
The first party is 4pm to 5.30pm for four to seven year olds and costs £10 a ticket. That will be followed by a party for children eight and above, from 6pm to 8pm and costs £12 per ticket.
Visit www.skyhighadventure.com.
Sky High Adventure, Active Medlock, Gardenfold Way, Droylsden, M43 7XU.
Halloween Ghost Trains, East Lancashire Railway
Ghost trains will be rattling through Greater Manchester on the East Lancashire Railway this Halloween.
Creepy clowns and circus freaks will be joining any passengers brave enough to board the spooky steam train services from Bury to Rawtenstall and back.
Legend has it that they’re part of a lost carnival and they need YOUR help to break the curse that dooms them to reappear every year – if you dare.
There’ll be goody bags full of tricks and treats for every child as well as food and drink for everyone at the station buffet.
Bury Transport Museum will also be hosting a mad scientist craft workshop as part of the fun.
The ghost train will be running on October 28, 29 and 31, at 5.30pm, 6.30pm, 7.30pm and 8.30pm each day.
Tickets are on sale now, priced at £14 for adults and £5 for children aged 3 to 15, at eastlancsrailway.org.uk .
The Witches at Tatton Park
Visitors can get into the Halloween spirit over half term with a week of witchy fun and mischief.
Activities are running as part of Roald Dahl’s Tremendous Adventures at Tatton Park, a year-long programme of events celebrating 100 years since the beloved author’s birth.
From Saturday, October 22 to Sunday, October 30, The Old Hall – the park’s oldest building – will be transformed into Hotel Magnificent (the scene of most of the action in Roald Dahl’s famous book) where visitors are invited to dress up and attend a Spooktacular Halloween Party.
Find all the ingredients for the Formula 86 Delayed Action Mouse-Maker (the potion that turns children into mice), visit the creepy sweet shop laboratory and listen to spooky storytelling in the barn.
Grab Tatton’s Witch Spotting Checklist which might prove to be a handy guide when you visit.
In the mansion, little ones will need to be extra careful not to be turned into mice. Follow the trails around the mansion’s treasures and servants’ quarters to find those unlucky ones who have been transformed already.
When the clock chimes, it’s time to head to the farm and collect your conker from the Witches’ Tree. The whole family can join in a creepy and chilling conker challenge.
To top off the fun at the farm there’s even more fun to be had taking part in the Fantastic Mr Fox Farm trail.
Visitors headed to The Gardens should expect some gruesome surprises….and there’s still time to go on an adventure with Danny the Champion of the World with Roald Dahl activities throughout the gardens.
Get a Totally Tatton Twit Ticket to enjoy discounted entry to three of the above attractions.
Family £27.50, adults £11, children £5.50. Car entry £6.
For more information visit www.tattonpark.org.uk/Halloween.
Halloween Laboratory at Play Factore
This year’s annual Halloween extravaganza is themed around a mad science laboratory.
The venue, which houses Europe’s largest play frame, will be welcoming Manchester’s Family Gorgeous to host the evening and perform as well as an 11ft LED Transformerbot.
The event runs from 7.20pm to 9.30pm on Friday, October 28.
Tickets are priced at £19.95 and admit one child and one supervising adult.
Call 0844 824 6030 to book.
Play Factore, Trafford Way, Trafford Quays Leisure Village, Manchester, M41 7JA.
Our Kids Social at Sale Masonic Hall
The much-loved Our Kids Social is back to Sale Masonic Hall for a Spooktacular Hallowe’en Extravaganza.
The events were launched as a unique weekend social gathering for parents and kids offering silent discos, vinyl revival, creation station, family photo frames and a fully licensed bar.
At this one – from 2pm to 4.30pm on Sunday, October 30 – organisers will be collaborating with Kids Creative to provide a mysterious multi-sensory experience for the littlest community members.
There will be Make, Do and Mess craft tables to inspire imaginations, fancy dress, face painting and more.
Professor Jigett and his ghostly cabinet of curiosity will be bringing his chillingly spine-tingling spooky story-telling – suitable for all ages – there will be a mucky yucky dip and Halloween themed balloon modelling.
Last but by no means least there will be a Thriller dance-off.
Tickets start from £7.50 for single tickets, to £27 for a family ticket for four.
Visit ourkids.social to book.
Sale Masonic Hall, Tatton Road, Sale, M33 7EE.
Get spooky on the show at Chill Factore
There is freakish fun to be had for the whole family at Chill Factore.
Between October 17 and 31 the Snow Park will have a haunting transformation and guests can enjoy spotting spooky characters as they race on Sledge ‘O’ Mania or speed down the new Snow Luge built entirely from real snow.
Little ones can have some frightfully good fun at Mini Moose’s Haunted House, but make sure they are careful for what’s lurking in the Snow Maze or down the Snow Tunnels. Parents go free in Mini Moose and until October 23.
Head down to the Chill Factor in fancy dress for a true Halloween experience.
Passes start at £15 each when booking two. Book via www.chillfactore.com.
Chill Factore, Trafford Quays Leisure Village, Trafford Way, Manchester, M41 7JA.
The Enchantment of Chester Zoo
An evil sorcerer is casting a spell on Chester Zoo, trying to steal the super powers of nocturnal animals. Visitors this Halloween will have until dusk to break the spell.
Chester zoo has released tickets for its first ever large scale Halloween event, as a host of performers, musicians, aerialists and acrobats prepare to welcome families to the visitor attraction.
The Enchantment of Chester Zoo has been specially created for the zoo by the pioneering experts at Wild Rumpus – architects of the award-winning Just So family arts festival.
The spectacular will help to reveal the remarkable natural super powers of some of the zoo’s most mysterious species.
Families at the zoo will meet a cavalcade of curious animal characters with incredible skills – from wise old owls to acrobatic spiders.
Visitors will need to keep their wits about them on a journey through the newly enchanted zoo, as they meet the inspirational animal characters before discovering the real life nocturnal animals as families explore the dark fruit bat forest, search for the nocturnal aye-ayes in their shadowy habitat and discover the magnificent Montserrat tarantula.
The Enchantment of Chester Zoo runs 10am to 2pm daily from October 22 to 31 and is free with zoo entry, but booking is advised to guarantee a place.
Visit www.chesterzoo.org/enchantment .
Halloween at Ordsall Hall
The hall attracts visitors of all ages over Halloween who turn up hoping for a glimpse of the ghosts who are said to haunt it.
There are a number of events taking place including the Spook-tacular Party on Wednesday, October 26.
The party, costing £5 a ticket, runs from 6pm to 7.30pm and will include themed fun and games. Are you brave enough to visit the hall and see what’s in store?
It is suitable for all ages – as long as you’re brave enough!
On Thursday, October 27 and Thursday, November 10 there are ghost and history tours at 7.30pm and 8pm. Tickets £5.
A spooky quiz runs at the venue during opening hours from October 23 to 30, costing £1 per quiz, and over half term kids can enjoy making mini brooms and magic potions, with £1 sessions running from 10am to 12pm and from 1pm to 3pm from Monday, October 24 to Thursday, October 27.
For more details visit www.salfordcommunityleisure.co.uk/culture/whats-on/hh-2910 .
Ordsall Hall, 322 Ordsall Lane, Salford, M5 3AN.
Forbidden Forest at Lowry Outlet
The Lowry Outlet is hosting a FREE spine-chilling walk-through Forbidden Forest experience this half term.
Kicking off the hair-raising activities will be the Halloween Trail, where young visitors are given a map to find skulls hidden in store windows for the chance to win a prize at the end.
Once they’ve survived the trail, they’ll be welcomed inside the Forbidden Forest where they will experience characters and challenges to test the nerve of the bravest young souls.
It features a haunted ‘hole in the floor’, a petrifying Pumpkin Patch – where children have to try to destroy the ghosts and ghouls who are trying to steal the pumpkins – and a Witches Garden, filled with scary slime for children to put in their hands in to find the missing potions.
Children who make it through the Forbidden Forest will be rewarded with sweet Halloween treats.
The Forbidden Forest experience is recommended for children aged four plus and is running from 11am until 4pm from October 22 to 30.
Lowry Outlet Mall, The Quays, Salford Quays, M50 3AH.
Halloween fun at Intu Trafford Centre
There’s an awesome week of making and baking planned at the Trafford Centre over half term.
The full line-up includes:
Monday, October 24 – spooky cookie making
Visit the creepy kitchen to create your own spooky cookies with scrumdiddlyumptious designs and make an awesome trick or treat bag to take your scrumptious creations home in.
Tuesday, October 25 – Bat making workshop
Come hither all little monsters! It’s time to go batty for crafty bat making today at the Halloween crafty station. Get creative, show your bat fangs and take your creepy creature home.
Wednesday, October 26 – Witch and Wizard School
Budding wizards and witches of Manchester! Enrol at witch and wizard school to be put through your paces by good witch Gertrude. Learn how to ride a broomstick, do the witch and wizard wand-wave and also cast a spell around the cauldron.
All new witches and wizards need a hat so get making and customising your very own witch or wizard hat to take home.
Remember to pick up your new witch or wizard certificate too before grabbing your broomstick and flying home.
Thursday, October 27 – Creepy cupcake time
The creepy cakes are ready and coming straight out of Halloween oven and ready for kids to make spider-ific cupcakes.
Kids also get to design their own Halloween inspired trick or treat bag to take their scrumptious creations home in.
The events run from 12pm to 5pm on Regent Crescent near Topshop.
intu Trafford Centre, Manchester, M17 8AA.
Legoland and Sealife
Both venues will be hosting some spooky fun over half term.
Build a pumpkin out of Lego bricks, or get really creative and make a giant spooktacular castle at Legoland Discovery Centre.
The attraction has been transformed into the world of Ninjago to celebrate the brand new Lego Ninjago adventure Day of the Departed.
Visitors will get some stylish Ninja goggles on arrival and anyone in Ninja Warrior fancy dress will receive a limited edition Lego poster from admissions (while stocks last).
Families can build their own Ninjago Eye Mask, take part in the Laser Maze Challenge, and use their Ninja creativity to build a Ninjago vehicle in the Racers Build and Test area.
Kai, the Red Fire Ninja, will be at the centre every day until October 31.
For Lego movie lovers, there’s also two films that visitors can see. Guests can download themselves into an all-new 4D film experience starring the Lego Nexo Knights and also see The Lego Movie 4D A New Adventure.
Just next door, families can dive into the Spooky Seas event at SeaLife Manchester, coming face to face with thousands of mysterious sea creatures, including devil crabs, batfish, wolf-fish, vampire tangs and more.
Not to miss the scariest of them all this Halloween, Frankie the Giant Pacific Octopus and Otto the Common Octopus in Octopus Hideout, the newest additions this year.
There will be lots of fishy fun too, including a Yucky Dip, a novel pumpkin hunt, origami making, spooky fact finding, scary face painting and some Halloween crafts.
Events are running from October 15 right up to Halloween itself and combi tickets to visit both places on the same day start from £17.50 online.
For more information and to buy tickets, visit www.legolanddiscoverycentre.co.uk/manchester or www2.visitsealife.com/manchester.
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