Halloween in Belfast 2026: events, family days out and the Derry day trip

Halloween is a big deal round here. Its roots run deep in Ireland, home of Samhain, turnip lanterns and barmbrack, and every October Belfast and the rest of Northern Ireland lean right into it. Our Halloween in Belfast 2026 guide pulls together what has actually been announced so far: official event dates, times and prices where they’ve been published, plus a clear flag wherever a venue hasn’t confirmed its 2026 plans yet.

We checked every listing against the organiser’s own website on 26 September and updated it on 11 October 2026. Plans do change, so always check the booking link before you head out. For the full family list and the grown-up scares, see our Halloween family fun in Belfast 2026 and scariest things to do this Halloween round-ups.

Halloween 2026 at a glance

• Halloween night: Saturday 31 October 2026
• Halloween at W5: 17 October to 1 November 2026, included with general admission
• W5 Halloween Family Night: Wednesday 28 October, 6pm to 9pm
• W5 Late – Halloween (18+): Friday 30 October, 7pm to 11pm, £17
• Ulster Folk Museum Halloween: Thursday 29 to Saturday 31 October, 10am to 4pm
• Montalto Trail of Tiny Terrors: 24 to 30 October
• Boo at the Zoo, Belfast Zoo: Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 October
• Halloween at Hillsborough Castle: 24 October to 1 November 2026
• Cinemagic festival: runs until 1 November, with a Halloween week of screenings
• Derry Halloween: 28 October to 1 November 2026, the festival’s 40th anniversary
• Belfast One Halloween Takeover: monsters across the city centre from 26 October; Pumpkin Patch Madness at City Hall on 30 and 31 October
• Monster Mash at the MAC: Saturday 31 October, 11am to 1pm, circus, storytelling, crafts and face painting for families
• Better Halloween holiday schemes (ages 5 to 14): 28 to 30 October, 10am to 2pm
• Titanic Food & Craft Market, Hamilton Dock: 24 and 25 October, with a free hay bale maze 24 to 31 October

Belfast City Council Halloween events

Belfast One Halloween Takeover, city centre

The city-centre programme is in, funded by Belfast City Council and run by Belfast One. From Monday 26 October, nine giant inflatable monsters take over buildings from the Fountain Bar to CastleCourt, with a downloadable map to track them all down. Pumpkin Patch Madness returns to the grounds of Belfast City Hall on Friday 30 and Saturday 31 October, with more than 1,000 pumpkins to pick (tickets online from Thursday 8 October at 10am), and you can take yours to 2 Royal Avenue for a pumpkin-decorating workshop. 2 Royal Avenue also has storytelling, face painting and a spooky disco over the Halloween weekend. New this year, an adults’ Horror Trail winds round the city centre on Saturday 31 October. More in our Belfast One Halloween Takeover 2026 story, and book at belfastone.co.uk.

The council also lists two events for the October break, both part of Belfast’s European City of Sport 2026 year:

• Halloween Box Cup, Girdwood Community Hub (October 2026). The annual international amateur boxing tournament brings more than 400 boxers to north Belfast for three days of bouts across several rings. Ticket news comes from the Irish Athletic Boxing Association. It runs from Saturday 24 to Monday 26 October 2026, according to Boxing Ireland’s national calendar.
• Better Halloween holiday schemes at 10 leisure centres across Belfast, for children aged 5 to 14: Wednesday 28 to Friday 30 October, 10am to 2pm each day, with swimming, multi-sports and arts and crafts. Active and Able camps for children with learning or physical disabilities run at Avoniel (26 to 28 October) and Brook Leisure Centre (28 to 30 October), 1.30pm to 3.30pm. Booking is online only at better.org.uk.

Check belfastcity.gov.uk/events for anything added nearer the time.

Family Halloween days out around Belfast

Halloween at W5, Titanic Quarter

From 17 October to 1 November 2026, W5 is running Halloween fun that’s included with general admission. There’s a Halloween House and Spooky Square to explore in AMAZE on Level 4, where Boo Ghost has lost the festival supplies and needs help finding them. Climbit gets a haunted makeover with a pumpkin arch, the Hocus Pocus Café serves themed treats and the Science Bar has Halloween shows. W5 asks everyone to pre-book, and last admission is two hours before closing. W5 is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in its standard weekly hours, so check the calendar for half-term changes. More in our W5 Belfast guide.

• W5 Halloween Family Night: Wednesday 28 October, 6pm to 9pm. £15 per child, £10 per adult, £5 per toddler. It’s an after-hours evening with trick-or-treat stations, so bring a Halloween bag.

Halloween at the Ulster Folk Museum, Cultra

For a Halloween with real history behind it, head to the Folk Museum. From Thursday 29 to Saturday 31 October, 10am to 4pm each day, it’s marking Halloween the way Ireland once did. Expect a murder mystery, the Armagh Rhymers in their traditional masks and costumes, cabbage-reading fortunes, clay Cailleach and Púca figures to make, turnip-carving demonstrations, and barmbrack and apple pie to taste. Spooky stories are told in English and Irish. The official page doesn’t list a price, so check with National Museums NI before you go. There’s also a paid add-on talk, From Samhain to Witches, on Thursday 29 October at 2pm (£18, ages 16+, booking essential). See our Ulster Folk and Transport Museum listing.

Trail of Tiny Terrors at Montalto Estate, Ballynahinch

The moon has gone missing at Montalto, and little adventurers are needed to find the words of a spell and bring it back. The Trail of Tiny Terrors runs 24 to 30 October, with timeslots at 10.30am, 11.30am, 12.30pm, 1.30pm and 2.30pm. The trail takes about an hour and ends with a pumpkin to pick from the patch.

• Child (1 to 16) £13.50, pumpkin included. Adult (17+) £11.50. Under-1s free.
• Members: child £11, adult £9. Extra pumpkins £5. Carer ticket £2.50 (book by phone).
• Quiet/ASD sessions: Tuesday 27 October at 9.30am and 10.30am.
• You need a separate Halloween ticket, because a standard Trails & Gardens ticket doesn’t cover the trail. It’s outdoors, wheelchair and pram friendly, and wellies are a good idea.

Halloween in the House at Mount Stewart

The National Trust’s events calendar lists a Halloween experience inside the house at Mount Stewart from 24 October to 1 November 2026, where visitors follow old tales of witches and dragons from room to room. Sessions are listed from 11am to 4pm. Normal admission applies (National Trust members free), and it’s worth checking the event page for exact times. See our Mount Stewart listing.

Spooky Storytelling on Cave Hill

The Belfast Hills Partnership is hosting a family Spooky Storytelling afternoon in Cave Hill Country Park on Saturday 24 October, 2pm to 5pm. It starts with an autumn walk around the Belfast Castle grounds, then a storyteller shares tales of Halloween, Samhain and local nature. Booking opens closer to the date and it depends on the weather. Details at belfasthills.org. Make a day of it with our Cave Hill and Belfast Castle guides.

Boo at the Zoo, Belfast Zoo

Boo at the Zoo, Belfast Zoo: Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 October. Children in full fancy dress go free with each paying adult (a mask, face paint or headband on its own doesn’t count). Winter hours apply: 10am to 4pm, last entry 2.30pm. See our Belfast Zoo guide.

Halloween at Hillsborough Castle and Gardens

Halloween at Hillsborough, 24 October to 1 November 2026: a Halloween garden trail included with admission, a Walled Garden pumpkin patch (£5 per pumpkin add-on), mask-making on 24–25 October (£3 per child add-on), free outdoor workshops through the week, and the Armagh Rhymers on 31 October and 1 November. Castle and garden tickets include a spooky story in the Drawing Room. Members go free.

Castle Weird Hallowe’en Trail at Castle Ward, Strangford

The National Trust’s Castle Ward page lists the Castle Weird Hallowe’en Trail from 24 October to 1 November 2026, daily 10am to 4pm. The trail starts at the stable yard and winds through the sunken garden, with Mary Ward’s “creepy crawly” creations along the way. The event itself is free but normal admission to Castle Ward applies, and no booking is needed. See our Castle Ward listing.

Half-term at Titanic Belfast

Titanic Belfast hasn’t announced a Halloween event this year, but its free autumn programme fills half-term. The Titanic Food & Craft Market sets up at Hamilton Dock on Saturday 24 October (10am to 4pm) and Sunday 25 October (12pm to 4pm). A free hay bale maze runs from 24 to 31 October, 10am to 4pm, and there’s chocolate apple decorating on SS Nomadic on 24 and 25 October (12pm to 2pm) and in the Grand Atrium on 31 October. Inside, the free Autumn Abundance display in the Grand Atrium (until 17 November) tells how Samhain and harvest were marked in Ireland in Titanic’s day. Some activities may charge, so check titanicbelfast.com. See our Titanic Belfast guide.

Halloween at the movies: Cinemagic

The 37th Cinemagic International Film and Television Festival for Young People runs until 1 November at venues across Belfast. Its Frights, Camera, Action strand is a Halloween week of scary films with special-effects introductions and face painting. There’s also an atmospheric screening of The Woman in Black with Cahoots NI. On Halloween night itself, Mark Kermode’s Film Night is at Queen’s Film Theatre with Jason and the Argonauts. Book at cinemagic.org.uk.

For grown-ups (and brave teens)

W5 Late – Halloween

W5’s adults-only Halloween late is on Friday 30 October, 7pm to 11pm. Tickets are £17 and it’s strictly 18+. Expect talks from the NI Paranormal Research Association, a horrible-histories look at Victorian Belfast, speed quizzing, face painting, a fancy dress competition and licensed bars.

Jail of Horror at Crumlin Road Gaol

Crumlin Road Gaol has put its Jail of Horror scare attraction on sale for 2026 at £20 per person, with an early-bird discount. It runs from 17 to 31 October 2026 and is for ages 12+ (dates per Crumlin Road Gaol’s own social post; the ticket page hasn’t been updated with dates yet). Tickets are sold online only and in advance. Every visitor needs a printed ticket with a signed declaration, and flat, enclosed shoes are compulsory. It isn’t suitable for anyone who is pregnant or has a heart condition or epilepsy, and it isn’t wheelchair accessible. Book at crumlinroadgaol.com. For a daytime visit, read our Crumlin Road Gaol guide.

Derry Halloween 2026: the big NI day trip

If you do one Halloween trip this year, make it Derry. Derry Halloween calls itself Europe’s largest Halloween festival, and 2026 is its 40th anniversary. The official programme runs from Wednesday 28 October to Sunday 1 November 2026. For five days the Walled City becomes Halloween HQ, with the Awakening the Walled City Trail, live music on the Samhain and Cathedral Quarter stages, Little Horrors family activities, and street food around Guildhall Square and Waterloo Place.

The finale is on Saturday 31 October: the homegrown Carnival Parade winds through the city, then fireworks go up over the River Foyle. The 2026 programme confirms the Carnival Parade at 7pm on Saturday 31 October, with the Fireworks Finale at 8.15pm (weather can delay the fireworks). The Awakening the Walled City trail runs 28–30 October, 6pm–9pm. It’s free, though a designated section on the City Walls needs a free timed ticket from derryhalloween.com. The full programme is out now on derryhalloween.com. Strabane runs its own Halloween events too, with street theatre, live music and light displays.

Getting there: Derry~Londonderry is on the Translink rail line from Belfast Grand Central, and there are Goldline coaches too. Trains and car parks get very busy on the 31st, so plan your journey home before you go. Check translink.co.uk for Halloween timetables.

Halloween in Belfast 2026: FAQ

When is Halloween 2026?

Halloween falls on Saturday 31 October 2026. Many attractions run events across the whole half-term week around it.

When is Derry Halloween 2026?

The official programme runs from 28 October to 1 November 2026, its 40th year. The Carnival Parade is at 7pm and the fireworks at 8.15pm on Saturday 31 October.

Is Derry Halloween free?

Yes. The official FAQ says the Awakening the Walled City trail (28–30 October, 6pm–9pm), the Carnival Parade and the fireworks are all free. Only a designated section of the trail on the City Walls needs a ticket, and those tickets are free too.

What are the best family Halloween events in Belfast?

The confirmed 2026 highlights are Halloween at W5 (17 October to 1 November), the W5 Halloween Family Night (28 October), the Ulster Folk Museum’s traditional Halloween (29 to 31 October), Montalto’s Trail of Tiny Terrors (24 to 30 October), Boo at the Zoo at Belfast Zoo (24 and 25 October), Halloween at Hillsborough (24 October to 1 November), Pumpkin Patch Madness at City Hall (30 and 31 October) and Spooky Storytelling at Cave Hill (24 October).

Are there adults-only Halloween events in Belfast?

Yes. W5 Late – Halloween is 18+ on Friday 30 October (£17), and Crumlin Road Gaol’s Jail of Horror (ages 12+) runs from 17 to 31 October at £20 per person (dates per the Gaol’s own social post).

Is Belfast City Council running Halloween events in 2026?

Yes. The council is funding Belfast One’s Halloween Takeover in the city centre: monsters from 26 October, Pumpkin Patch Madness at City Hall on 30 and 31 October, and a Horror Trail for adults on 31 October. The council also lists the Halloween Box Cup at Girdwood Community Hub and Better (GLL) holiday sports programmes for 5 to 14-year-olds.

Looking for more to do this season? See our autumn 2026 things to do guide, our what’s on in Belfast this month round-up and the What’s On hub.