Have a Howl at Halloween Fest at Westport House. Shauna Baynes, Jude Rowland aged 2 from Belcarra, Castlebar who took part in a Jack O’Lantern Workshop at Westport House Halloween Fest. Pic: Michael Mc Laughlin
With a tingle of terror, we offer you five frighteningly fabulous Halloween events that are taking place in Westport or close-by. Something to sink your teeth into at Samhain. So rev up your broomsticks and read on… if you dare…
1. Halloween Fest at Westport House
Can you imagine a more perfect setting for spooky shenanigans than a historic house, complete with its own real-life dungeons?
Westport House’s renowned annual Halloween Fest is specially designed for families, with loads on offer – from the bone-chilling basement, ghoulishly transformed for the season that’s in it, to Scary Story Time with wicked tales from the Westport’s very own White Witch. There’s pumpkin carving, goblin-cake decorating, and even a Thriller dance class, where little ones (and big ones!) can learn Michael Jackson’s legendary zombie moves.
This year’s Halloween Fest runs from October 26 to October 31, from 11am to 5pm each day. Tickets (€70) include full access to the estate’s famous Pirate Adventure Park. For more, see westporthouse.ie.
2. Spooky Tours
Ireland is the heartland of all things Samhain, and to find out more about our eerie heritage, head over to the National Museum of Country Life in Turlough Park on Tuesday, October 29. Learn about changelings, fairies, banshees and bogeymen as tour guide Brendan McDonnell brings you on a terrifyingly good Halloween-themed tour of the National Folklife Collection.
This event, which starts at 2.30pm, is part of the Halloween at the Museum programme, which runs from October 26 to November 2 and includes talks about bats and scary storytelling. See museum.ie/country-life for more details of all events. Booking required.
3. Yarns for Youngsters
Part of the Westival programme, Yarns for Youngsters sees storyteller return with grisly tales to thrill little ones and get their imagination bubbling. Kids will be enthralled as she reads from the famous classic folk-story collection, ‘Old Peter’s Russian Tales’ – including ‘Baba Yaga’, the story of a child-eating witch who lives in a house that walks on chicken’s legs, and ‘Prince Ivan and Witch Baby’, the tale of a young prince’s adventures as he runs from the clutches of his little witch sister, who has iron teeth and likes to eat people. Perfect Halloween fare!
Yarns for Youngsters takes place in West Coast Rare Books, James Street, Westport, on Saturday, October 26, at 11am, and again at Books at One in Louisburgh on Sunday, October 27, at 12.45pm. This family event is free of charge.
4. Dracula Live
Experience Dracula like you never have before, with Westival’s screening of the 1931 classic starring the legendary Bela Lugosi, complete with a dramatic live score that was commissioned by the Bram Stoker Festival in 2016 – think macabre music performed live, with haunting vocals and nerve-shredding guitar riffs. The film’s heart-stopping visuals and scintillatingly scary musical score are guaranteed to unsettle, startle and fill you with dread. How delicious! If an evening with the blood-thirsty Count doesn’t get you in the mood for Halloween, nothing will…
Dracula Live takes place in the state-of-the-art Westport Town Hall Theatre on Monday, October 28, at 7pm. For tickets (€15) and more details, see westival.ie.
5. Festival Halloween Ball
Who says Halloween is just for kids? Westival – Westport Music and Arts Festival – takes place from October 23 to October 28, and the Westival Halloween Ball is a devilishly delightful opportunity for grown-ups to create startling costumes and slither, shiver and shimmy alongside fellow creepy creatures of the night.
This year’s theme is Shock and Awe… Will your frock shock, or will your outfit inspire awe? Go on, get your ghoulish garb on and dance the night away to terrifyingly good tunes from three top-tier Irish acts – zombie-dance the night away to funky Zaska, hip-hop duo TPM and deck diva DJ Glamo.
The Westival Halloween Ball takes place at Westival Club at The Mill Times on Sunday, October 27, from 10pm. For tickets (€25), see westival.ie.
