October brings a month of spooky movies, pumpkin-based fun and Halloween spooktaculars for young and old. And Daily Info is here to help you decide how best to celebrate the spookiest time of the year.
Carrie
Cinema
October means there are loads of horror movies back in cinemas. Cinema Under the Stairs kicked off the month with a pretty much sold out festival of classics (follow them on the socials and keep an eye on next year’s festivals) but there are still other films you can watch. Jericho’s Phoenix Picturehouse have a trio in the form of Halloween, Carrie and The Shining, each the genre at its finest. And The Shining can also be caught at the Curzon.
On Cowley Road, the Ultimate Picture Palace’s annual showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show is there, ready to entice you into glorious Tim Curry-starring musical shenanigans. But the cinema has a range of other choices, from Lynchian nightmare fuel in Eraserhead to Haxan, a silent cinema great (complete with a live score), to the hilarious Young Frankenstein.
Young Frankenstein can also be found out the Vue, who are going all out with the classics. They too are showing Carrie, alongside Ghostbusters, Hocus Pocus, Evil Dead II, Saw and A Nightmare on Elm Street. And both Carrie and A Nightmare on Elm Street are showing at the Odeon George Street.
And two slightly different cinema experiences that Daily Info reckons you should consider are Mollie’s Drive-in movies and Tap Social’s Halloween screening. At Mollie’s there’s Hotel Transylvania for younger audiences and the very-different Se7en in the evening (do not confuse the two). Or you can head to the Tap Social Movement for a night celebrating all things Little Shop of Horrors.
Pumpkin Patch at the Earth Trust
Pumpkins
A key item for the spooky season is the pumpkin, and there are several locales to pick one up. High Lodge Farm have both a pumpkin patch and a spooky trail through the farm’s woods. They’re even running four after-dark sessions to really get your Halloween on. Another choice is the Earth Trust, where you can pick your own from their field and explore their enormous maize maze.
Ridgeway Adventures are also getting in on the pumpkin fun, with loads of choices from white casperitas to goosebump pumpkins. And Rectory Farm have their pick-your-own patch with thousands to pick from, plus face painting, garden games and tractor rides.
And Good Food Oxford’s annual Oxfordshire Pumpkin Festival will be running from the 21st October to the 3rd November, helping you make the most of this seasonal fruit.
Pumpkins by Night at Millets Farm
Family
The spooky time of the year is one open to all, with family fare timed perfectly for the half term break it's part of. There are many places in Oxford and the surrounding area that put on spooktaculars for all to enjoy.
The Museum of Oxford is always on hand for a seasonally appropriate crafting session and this Half Term you can decorate your own pumpkin and write a Halloween story at Little Pumpkins. And for older children they’re running a Ghost Stories workshop. Alternatively you can head to the Botanical Gardens for Halloween Potions & Witchcraft, a talk on Oxfords witchcraft, folklore & herbal magic.
The Harcourt Arboretum are hosting a Spooktacular Family Day, mixing hands-on activities and the beautiful natural surroundings. Also using all that their venue has to offer is the Oxford Castle & Prison, with their Ghost Fest offering potion making, spooky tours and a paranormal dinner if you want to go for the full spooky experience. Or maybe you just want to boogie with the young ones, in which case grab your dancing shoes and moise on down to St John’s Church in Kidlington for one of Dancin Oxford’s two family dance parties. Get ready to do the monster mash!
The fun can also be found in the surrounding areas. Crocodiles of the World’s Fright Nights gives visitors the chance to see their animals at night time, with feeds by torch light. Plus you can book for Dinner in the Dark to really enhance your time there. And over at Millets Farm they’ve a pick your own pumpkin field, Halloween-themed circus and a Spooktacular Disco in their soft play, so you really can make a day of your visit.
Fairytale Farm are also getting in on the fun with Scarily Ever After. You’ll find pumpkin carving, face painting, adventure trails and magical illuminations. Or you can head to Cogges Manor for their Witch’s House, with a pumpkin trail round the grounds and their locale transformed with sights and sounds to enhance the tricks and treats. And for Banbury residents, Banbury Museum are hosting crafting sessions throughout the half term with sessions to make haunted houses, Halloween hangers and lanterns.
At Oxfordshire’s big houses, you can find activities for the younglings to entertain them. Why not take them to a Spooky Afternoon Tea at Waddesdon Manor? Or take part in the Waterperry Gardens’ Halloween Hunt (not as violent as it sounds? Or you can stop in at Blenheim Palace’s light trail?
The Oxford Imps' Halloween Special
Adults
But Halloween isn’t just for the younglings. There’s a whole world of activities outside of your pumpkin carving and your trick or treating. For comedy fans, Comedy Ladder are providing a Halloween Special at the New Theatre piano bar, or you can take in Oxford Imps’ spooky special. Also promising to be entertaining is United Wrestling Oxford, who return to the Tap Social movement with an appropriately-themed Monster Bash.
For the artistic minded Oxford Doodle Club are hosting a screening of Ghostbusters followed by a crafting session. And PetalPunkINTL are hosting a Halloween Half Moon Wreath Workshop, as the experts guide you to create something out of freaky foliage and bedevilled blooms.
For those seeking some music there’s The Red Light District Halloween Horror at the O2 Academy or the Garage Love Halloween Day Party at the Black Swan. And for the truly brave there’s a silent disco walking tour.
Whatever you’re on the look out for, keep an eye on our events page and you’ll find the perfect Halloween treat.