Fangtastic fun: loads to do with kids this Halloween

Are We There Yet? Spooky events for boos and ghouls over the mid-term break

I’m old enough to remember when an elaborate Halloween costume meant a black plastic sack with a hole cut out for your head. Your witch’s hat was made from cereal boxes that you painted black and stapled together. At the end of the night, as well as singed hands from dodgy sparklers, you’d have a mouldy bag of apples and monkey nuts and – if you were very lucky – penny sweets.

They were memorable, magical times.

All is changed utterly now. Costume-wise, the kids are in a different league. Last year I saw a boy dressed in a very scary costume that involved an ill-fitting suit, a long red tie and a preposterous blonde wig. (Shudder).

And standing around a damp squib of a bonfire just won’t cut it for entertainment anymore. In Dublin and around the country there’s an extensive array of spooky events including a free programme of happenings in the capital. Fang you very much, Dublin City Council!

Spooky events and attractions in Dublin and around the country

Dockers & Demons festival

The second Dockers & Demons festival takes place again this year in the Irishtown/Ringsend/Docklands area. Choose from the curious cabaret, a zombie teen disco, freaky funhouse, seniors’Halloween monster’s ball and loads more. The festival ends with the Dockers & Demons Parade and Street Party which takes place on Thorncastle Street from 6.30pm to 9.30pm on Halloween night. (Warning: watch out for the Banshee). Wednesday October 31st dockersanddemons.com

Ballymun Otherworld Festival

Channel their inner zombie at this year’s Otherworld Festival in Ballymun, with lots of spooky stuff including a circus, funfair rides and an arts and crafts tent. Witches Brew cafe will serve up ghoulish cakes, tea and coffee and Muck & Magic soup stall will offer deadly good homemade soup from vegetables grown on a local community patch. The parade starts at the Virgin Mary National School, Shangan Road at 4.45pm and the festival starts on the plaza at 6pm. Wednesday October 31st

Sandymount Halloween Pumpkin & Scarecrow Festival

The festival takes place on Sandymount Green in Dublin 4 with a special prizegiving and awards night on Friday October 26th in Christchurch Hall from 5 - 7pm. For more details, check out Sandymount’s Tidy Towns Facebook Page. Until Wednesday October 31st

The Cauldron of Smithfield

Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble. The Cauldron of Smithfield event is back again this year with even more thrills. Expect fangtastic activities at Smithfield Square including the 1,000ft zip line and a 150ft-high bungee jump. New this year: Cirque Du Freak Scare Tent, Climbing Wall and “Lost Souls” Parade. (Cirque Du Freak Scare Tent opening times: 4:30-5:30pm; 5:45-6:45pm; 7-7:30pm. Arrive early to secure your place in the pot. Smithfield Square, Dublin, Wednesday October 31st