Halloween in Leeds - from creepy tunnel tours to a haunted rave

There’s something about Halloween that really resonates me. Admittedly, I’ll take any opportunity to get into fancy dress and run around like an idiot, but it’s more than that. It’s a festival that, unlike a certain unmentionably horrid day in December, is only about fun – not consumerism hiding behind a tenuous façade of religion and family values. It’s also a brilliant time to get out and about, as Leeds comes to life and opportunities for people watching hit an all-time high. In fact, this year might be Leeds’ biggest yet for Halloween.

Get Down in the Tunnels

What could be more Halloween than spending the evening in a long, dark tunnel? On October 20^th, the canal tunnel at Standedge near Marsden will be open for visitors on a night called Paranormal Investigation. Visitors will be taken on a tour and invited to solve a mystery rooted in the takes of black magic rituals and ghostly activity that have been reported in the tunnel since it was built way back in 1811. A Paranormal Investigation: October 20^th, tickets £20

Explore the Queens Hotel

Continuing with our underground theme, the brains behind Leeds escape room Tick Tock Unlock are bringing their brand of immersive theatre to the underground tunnels and secret rooms of Leeds’ most recognisable hotel. Get a team of up to 6 together to go on a tour of the hotel that very quickly goes wrong when it’s discovered that the hotel manager is missing. It’s up to your team to find him within 60 minutes – but something is down there with you… Tick Tock Unlock, October 23^rd-November 3^rd. Choose Unknown Reservation, tickets £25 p.p

Visit the Scareground

This one’s got kind of a cabaret feel to it, as you visit the Firelake restaurant in The Light’s Radisson Blu for a two-course meal accompanied by all the sights and sounds of a full-on Halloween freak show and circus. Expect pumpkin soup, black rice and devilled chicken liver along with some suitably punilicious cocktails as you enjoy scary clowns and, er, the Queen of Nails. The Scareground: October 27^th, tickets £30

Conquer the Escape Haunt

Escape rooms are geared up to be Halloween favourites admittedly, but the Escape Hunt team are going all out, with a Halloween fancy dress challenge. Turn up to do their Halloween themed room between October 27^th and October 31^st and the best-dressed team will win six tickets to play one of their regular games on a date of their choice. Who can resist a two-for-one deal? Escape Hunt Leeds: October 27^th-31^st, tickets from £20 per person

Rave it up at the Haunted Mill

It’s only been a few weeks since the devastating news that Canal Mills will close its doors for the final time on 1^st January 2019. There are still a few opportunities to give it the send-off it deserves though. One of these is Halloween at the Haunted Mill – a night full of DJs – including Norway’s Tod Terje and Ireland’s Krystal Klear, tunes and dancing with a haunted theme. Get your sad rags on and get on down; there are still a few tickets left. Canal Mills: October 27^th, tickets £25.88

Play Scary Board Games at Kirkstall Abbey

Kirkstall Abbey is an ideal setting for pretty much any kind of Halloween shenanigans, but a live adult board game is a new one on me. Called Face Your Worst Fears, players become a part of the board, meeting terrifying figures and possible doom with every roll of the dice. The event is organised by Sneaky Experience, who have a bit of a reputation for excellence when teamed up with Kirkstall Abbey, so this is certainly an event not to be missed. Face your worst fears: October 27^th, tickets £8.50

Go on a Haunted Tour of Temple Newsam

Gruesome Newsam returns this year with a family-friendly tour of the cellars and dark passageways of the Tudor-Jacobean Temple Newsam House. Enjoy listening to tales of terror and hauntings throughout the building’s history as you make your way around sections of the estate that aren’t open to the public at any other time. Gruesome Newsam: October 27^th-November 4^th, call for tickets

Watch Some Old-School Horror

Of course, if all else fails, you can always go to the cinema. Halloween is the ultimate time for horror lovers, as the cinemas in Leeds all seize the opportunity to put on some classics. This year, the Hyde Park Picture House will be showing Sam Raimi’s 1981 classic Evil Dead, Vue on Kirkstall Road are showing the original Halloween as part of the film’s 40^th anniversary celebrations and Kirkstall Abbey are putting on an outdoor showing of comedy classic Hocus Pocus. Evil Dead, Hyde Park Picture House: October 27^th, tickets £7.80 Halloween: from October 19^th, tickets from £5.74 Hocus Pocus: October 26^th and 27^th, tickets from £13.52