Dust off the rubber spiders and glow-in-the-dark fangs, the countdown to Halloween has begun! And of course, Oxford has come through with a ghoulish gaggle of ways to mark spooky season from the cinematic to the crafty - hop on the Daily Info Ghost Train as we take you through all the local thrills and chills…
Halloween Trails
Of course, no Halloween season is complete without a haunted trail, and there are plenty of options to let the kids run wild on their own spooky adventure. There’s the big kahuna, Blenheim Palace, with its annual Halloween trail taking you on an immersive journey through medieval dungeons, cursed tombs and pagan rituals (followed, of course, by a spot of grisly afternoon tea, if you book ahead).
Or head to your local farm to search for the perfect Jack-o-lantern on your terrifying travels! High Lodge Farm’s Spooky Trail leads you deep into the witchy woods for games in the Halloween Play Patch, an activity sheet challenge and the chance to muck around (literally) in their mud pile, as well as picking your very own pumpkin; or head to a Pumpkin Night for marshmallow toasting burgers and beers for the grownups. The magical - and legally distinct, JK - Hogshaw School of Witchcraft and Wizardry gives all of its new wizarding students a free pumpkin for their Herbology class; you can also enjoy potion making, a trail to determine your wizarding House, and meeting some magical creatures, including Hogshaw’s baby dragon!
Feeling a little villainous? Join the Bumbling Wizard of Oz and the Un-wicked Witch of the West at Fairytale Farm for Scarily Ever After, solving the Mystical Trail of Puzzles and Riddles and collecting incantations for your Spell Book passport - plus, face painting, pumpkin picking and magical illuminations. Come in costume for a sweet treat! And Cotswold Farm Park also opens its vast pumpkin patches to the public, with carving sessions, live music in the evenings and free face painting on weekends and throughout half term.
Cinema
Nothing gets the heart racing like a good horror flick, and no one knows that better than our pals over at Cinema Under the Stairs, whose beloved Shocktober Halloween season has become a staple for Oxford’s frightful film buffs. Several of their movie nights this month are already sold out, but you’ve still got the chance to see classics like Cronenberg’s body horror masterpiece The Fly (you’ll really believe Jeff Goldblum can be unattractive!), the birth of the film zombie in Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, Coppola’s stylish and sexy take on Dracula (we’d cross oceans of time for you, Gary Oldman), and Tobe Hooper’s haunted-house crowdpleaser Poltergeist.
Several of these will be showing at the Ultimate Picture Palace, but the UPP’s got a spine-tingling season of its own! Fright’s Out curates horror movies spanning six decades that explore the intersection of queerness and horror in film - look out for a double bill of Tim Burton’s Ed Wood and Wood's own Plan 9 from Outer Space, the chilling and sapphic-coded The Haunting, the seductive pre-Hays Code horror Dracula’s Daughter, 90s self-aware classic Scream, and topped off with none other than the camp classic Rocky Horror Picture Show.
And Tap Social gets in on the action with a special screening of Edgar Wright’s suburban zombie classic, Shaun of the Dead. Spooky cocktail in hand, enjoy Shaun’s hapless attempts to survive the apocalypse in Crouch End, then dance the night away to the decks of DJ Jamie Mykaela - how’s that for a slice of fried gold?
Dining Out
Two uniquely devilish dining experiences await you if you’re brave enough. First, Professor Sandie Byrne hosts a Halloween dinner at Rewley House, featuring three courses of frightful fare - enjoy the severed (chicken) leg in devilled sauce - a complimentary drink and live readings of some of English literature’s creepiest passages.
And if you’ve got the cash to splash, swing by the Head of the River for The Monster’s Ball, an immersive murder mystery dinner theatre experience featuring five courses, a Halloween themed cocktail on arrival and theatrical twists and turns, as you uncover the perpetrator of a murder most foul down at Castle Dracula.
Crafts
From costumes to decor, Halloween encourages creativity, and if you want to get crafty, your options are wide open. West Ox Arts will be running workshops throughout October crafting velvet pumpkins, macrame autumn leaves and other seasonal decorations that will last for years to come - bring the kids along for their Halloween Family Workshop on the 28th!
At the Beacon, get hands-on (or hands-in) as you sew your own Halloween hand puppets. With local artist Eden on hand to help out, little ones are free to get as scary strange and silly as they like with their designs.
Want to make your pumpkin stand out from the rest? Head to Howbery Park for their pumpkin carving workshop on the 29th to learn how to give your gourd a grin - all materials provided, so just bring your imagination!
Nightlife
The time has come to do the Monster Mash, but where can you get your oogie-boogie on? MONGA’s Halloween Party at the Oxford Retreat brings together eerie beats from KeylaKiller and Francesco Gatto with iconic visuals from horror cinema to create a nightmare you won’t want to leave - dress up strongly encouraged. Or find your lost soul at The Revelator’s Halloween Special, where soul, rhythm and blues are the order of the day to wake the dead.
If the kids are up for dancing, make the club a family affair, with two family-friendly dance nights to choose from. Museum of Oxford host a fancy dress Fam Jam full of movement activities and sensory play, while the Tap Social gets out the balloons and foam for the Big Fish Little Fish Family Rave.
Of course, the Tap’s got plenty for adults only too - on All Hallows Eve itself, Deep Cover’s futurist Dystopia rave takes things in a 90s/Y2K direction. With synthwave, nu-metal and industrial graduating to big beats, techno and psytrance, featuring special guest SWARM6IX, this is one for the Matrix lovers. Then the following day, Jeskee’s DJ crew brings seven acts of pure fire to the dancefloor from 5pm to midnight.
Image credits: Beth Teutschmann (Unsplash), High Lodge Farm, Annie Spratt (Unsplash), Museum of Oxford, Big Fish Little Fish Rave