Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash
As October settles in, the days grow shorter. Dark nights draw in. Leaves turn gold and crimson. There’s a shift in the air across the UK. The Halloween decorations are out.
It’s that curious pocket of time between autumn settling in and the festive season properly beginning. Birmingham’s Christmas markets are still being assembled, and bonfire night is just around the corner.
Halloween arrives just before the big seasonal shift, and with it comes an invitation to embrace both the eerie and the playful, whether you’re planning a cosy night in or a weekend packed with thrills.
While Halloween has long been seen as a children’s holiday, it’s evolved into something far more inclusive. Adults now have just as many reasons to celebrate Spooky Season.
Even as daylight fades faster and the cold creeps in, October remains one of the most vibrant months for social events and activities. Both indoors and out.
Here are a few ways to make the most of Halloween this year, whether you’re after genuine scares or simply want to soak up the seasonal atmosphere.
Decorate the House and Go Trick-or-Treating
Halloween begins at home. There’s something deeply satisfying about transforming your space for the season. The ritual of pumpkin carving sets the tone. Scooping out seeds, choosing just the right menacing grin. Cobwebs stretched across doorways, and battery-powered candles in the windows create that perfect spooky ambience.
You know the house. Every neighbourhood has one. The place that goes absolutely overboard each year with decorations to make the front garden look like a film set.
In Birmingham, streets like those around Crestline and Harborne see friendly competition for the best displays, while areas like Sutton Coldfield’s residential roads transform into unofficial pumpkin trails.
For adults, hosting offers its own rewards. Themed cocktails (a smoking blackberry martini, perhaps), carefully curated playlists heavy on Thriller and Monster Mash, and converting your back garden into a mini haunted trail can turn an ordinary Saturday into something memorable. Stock up on full-size chocolate bars if you want to be the legendary house on your street.
Watch a Scary Movie
After the decorating’s done and the pumpkins are lit, there’s something timeless about settling in for a proper horror film.
October is when cinemas dust off the classics. The Exorcist on a big screen hits differently than at home, while Halloween and Scream get annual late-night screenings that often sell out weeks in advance.
Independent venues add their own flair. Curzon screens arthouse horror with post-film discussions. Everyman runs Halloween double bills where you can sink into a sofa with cocktails during the interval, and Birmingham’s Mockingbird Cinema has plenty on at the nest.
At home, streaming platforms now offer curated Halloween collections. Build your own fright fest. Dim every light, grab popcorn, and let the tension build with each creak and shadow flickering across the screen.
Attend a Halloween Event
October’s social calendar explodes with themed events. Fright Nights, Bongo’s Bingo Halloween specials, and costume-required club nights mean you’re spoiled for choice.
Nightclubs host elaborate costume contests with genuinely impressive prizes. Pubs run horror-themed quizzes where knowing obscure slasher trivia finally pays off.
Casinos get in on the festivities too. Dealers dress in full costume, Halloween-themed tables appear, and seasonal promotions run throughout the month. You can even try new online slot games as well as specific Halloween-themed games and classics like Blackjack to get a taste of the thrills before heading out. It’s entertainment with a twist. And a great way to mix socialising with seasonal fun.
The atmosphere on Halloween night itself, with everyone in costume and the energy running high, turns an ordinary evening into something theatrical.
Visit a Theme Park
For full immersion, theme parks transform throughout October into elaborate scare zones. Alton Towers, just up the road in Staffordshire, and Thorpe Park further south don’t just add decorations. They rebuild entire areas with roaming actors, fog machines, and haunted mazes that feel like walking through a horror film set.
The Smiler at night becomes something else entirely. Surrounded by industrial fog and strobing lights, that already intense ride takes on a ghostly quality.
The twisted metal tracks are barely visible until you’re hurtling through them. At Thorpe Park, Saw: The Ride in the dark combined with the Trailers scare maze creates an atmosphere where the screams from the rides blend with those from the walkways.
During the day, families can enjoy gentler Halloween experiences with pumpkin decorating workshops and character meet-and-greets. But after dark? That’s when the parks truly come alive.
Try an Escape Room
Escape rooms take on a whole new energy in October. What’s a detective mystery in July becomes a haunted asylum or zombie outbreak by Halloween. Chains like Escape Hunt and ClueQuest offer seasonal rooms with creaking floorboards, eerie soundscapes, and perfectly timed jump scares.
The real fun is in the group dynamic. There’s always someone who screams first. Someone who claims to be great at puzzles (they’re not). And someone who ends up doing all the work while everyone else panics.
The tip is to book early as Halloween weekends fill up fast. Groups of four to six work best as there are still a couple of weeks to go. And maybe agree in advance who’s brave enough to touch the creepy props.
Dress the Part, Embrace a Costume
Costumes are where Halloween gets personal. The best costumes hit that sweet spot between recognisable and unexpected. Go full commitment with makeup, props, the lot. Or keep it subtle with themed accessories. Dressing up is part of the fun.
Some plan for weeks. Others panic the week before and raid the nearest charity shop. But honestly? Those last-minute looks often steal the show. From high street staples to handmade Etsy finds, there’s no shortage of inspiration.
The Season Is Yours
Halloween has become less about a single night and more about a season of creativity, connection, and embracing a little chaos.
Whether you’re queuing for a scare maze, solving puzzles in a haunted escape room, rewatching The Shining for the tenth time, or simply carving pumpkins on your doorstep while the neighbourhood kids shriek past, there’s no wrong way to celebrate.
So grab your costume, light a candle or twelve, and dive in. The spooky season is here, and October won’t wait.