5 Things to Do in Edinburgh this Halloween

With only a week to go to Halloween it is about time to start planning your Halloween weekend – and Edinburgh being the spooky city it can be you won’t struggle to find something to do! We’ve got five options for you, some suitable for children and some not.

Royal Botanic Halloween Trail

When: 15th – 31st October, 10am – 3.45pm

Where: Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Price: £1 per map

This is a fun trail for the whole family where you need to help the Garden witch’s cat Mi-agh to find healing plants and cast a spell to cure the witch from her cold. There’s no booking required and you can pick up a map at the John Hope Gateway reception desk for only a pound.

Edinburgh Horror Festival

When: 28th – 31st October

Where: The Banshee Labyrinth, The Tron, Otherworld Books, The White Horse

Price: Mix of free and charged events

This is a newcomer on the Edinburgh Festival scene. It’s a not-for-profit association that wants to create a platform for artists with paranormal, supernatural, gothic or horror themed acts. There are lots of interesting events to take part in (and most of them free!) such as a show about Burke & Hare, a show about how to talk to the dead, a make-up session where you can learn to do an oozing, bloody gash to the head (with make-up!) and many more comedy, magic and horror acts.

Samhuinn Fire Festival

When: 31st October at 9pm

Where: Processing down the Royal Mile to West Parliament Square where the stage performance will be taking place

Price: Free (donations only)

The Samhuinn Fire Festival has been organised by the Beltane Fire Society since 1995 and grown to be an event watched by thousands. It’s a mysterious event with street theatre and performances, dance and music, drums and fire and much more.

There will also be a free Family Samhuinn event on Saturday 29th October from 12pm to 3pm at the Scottish Storytelling Centre with crafts, storytelling, face painting and games for accompanied children over 5 years.

Mercat Halloween Tours

When: 28th – 31st October

Where: Various locations

Price: from £13 to £18

Mercat Tours is offering a great selection of the most unsettling, spine-chilling tours this Halloween, both during day and night. For example: how does exploring the gothic past of the Georgian House sound? Or taking a closer look at Edinburgh’s spookiest closes, wynds and vaults? Or getting up close with notorious murderers Burke and Hare?

Explore the Old Town after dark

When: whenever you want!

Where: Edinburgh’s Old Town

Price: free

Edinburgh’s Old Town is a maze of eerie alleyways, ghostly closes and haunted graveyards – the perfect setting for an after dark walk on All Hallow’s Eve. And the best bit is that it’s entirely free, you can explore wherever you like, for as long as you like and whenever you like! If you fancy a warming drink at a cosy-looking pub you can just step inside and continue your walk after your drink of courage…We recommend you walk down Royal Mile’s closes, visit the spooky Greyfriar’s Kirkyard and just boldly explore every nook and cranny of the Old Town that looks scary. For more ideas also read our blog post about The most haunted places in Edinburgh’s Old Town.

Whatever you choose to do this All Hallow’s Eve, we hope you feel suitable scared and enjoy some of Edinburgh’s more spooky attractions. If you find something that scares the living daylights out of you, we would love to hear all about it. Tag us on Instagram or Twitter and let us know what you’re up to!