North Cumbria
Museum of the Moon, Carlisle Cathedral, Abbey Street
Bus route: Multiple services into Carlisle
A giant moon has moved in beside Carlisle Cathedral’s distinctive ceiling stars. Created using Nasa images, Museum of the Moon is a touring installation by artist Luke Jerram, and each centimetre of the 7m-diameter sphere represents 5km of the moon’s surface. During half-term week the month-long project will feature a Space Slime Workshop, a PJ Party for primary-age children, the Little Stars toddler session, and a series of talks about the moon. Click here for details.
Carlisle’s Big Thrill Halloween Mass Dance, Green Market
Bus route: Multiple services into Carlisle
Pull on one white glove and moonwalk down to Green Market this Halloween for a mass dance event at midday. The session, run by Dance Ahead CIC, seeks to bring people of all ages together for an unforgettable performance based on Michael Jackson’s graveyard hit Thriller. And don’t worry if you can’t dance like a Smooth Criminal – because with every ticket comes a choreography guide and a chance to join in with rehearsals. For details, click here.
Carlisle Fireshow 2026, Bitts Park
Bus route: Multiple services into Carlisle
The city’s annual free fireshow event explodes with a bigger bang this year to celebrate the countdown to the Tour de France’s arrival in Cumbria in July. Around 35,000 spectators are expected to watch 2,000 fireworks light up the sky, backed by a musical soundtrack, from 6.30pm on October 31. The Castle car park’s half-term funfair will be closed on Halloween but the Fireshow will include food and family entertainment from 5pm to 8.30pm. For details, click here.
Gamesworld, Tullie, Castle Street, Carlisle
Bus route: Multiple services into Carlisle
Imagine the terror of being hunted through a maze then eaten by a ghost! Well, okay, Pac Man was never really that scary, but it’s one of the 100 retro video games at the Tullie’s Gamesworld event, which also features Street Fighter II, Super Mario titles, Sonic the Hedgehog, classic FIFAs, Tomb Raider and Halo. Three 90-minute sessions are being run daily until October 31, with evening events for adults. The Museum also has spooky storytelling and drop-in family crafts through the week – for details and to book, click here.
Wildwood, Vue Cinema, Botchergate, Carlisle
Bus route: Multiple services into Carlisle
Prue and her classmate Curtis are drawn to a hidden, magical forest in an attempt to save Prue’s baby brother Mac, who’s been snatched by a murder of crows. The stop-motion animation, from the makers of Coraline, is a dark story of love, sacrifice and magic, and features the voice talent of Richard E Grant, who has been causing murderous mayhem in the current BBC series of Celebrity Traitors. Rated 12A, it’s on until November 5. To book, click here.
Little Scare-lings, Dobbies Carlisle, Orton Grange Roundabout
Bus service: 300/400/600
If you hunger for something spooky this half-term, try a Halloween tea party where the kids can stir potions and make slime while you have a cuppa and cake or a full-blown afternoon tea. Designed for families with children aged from 3 to 10, the 90-minute sessions run until October 31 and include a themed children’s afternoon tea, games and activities, and a goodie bag to take home. Children’s tickets are £15, and adult options cost from £7.50. For details, click here.
West Cumbria
Halloween Family Festival, Muncaster Castle, Ravenglass
Bus route: X7
Bus stop: Castle car park
If you can carve out a full day for Halloween fun, Muncaster’s festival, complete with pumpkin patch, will keep the family entertained until the sun sets and the owls take flight. Running until November 1, the event returns with a scary maze, parades, the Weapons Hall, haunted castle, costume contest, birds of prey, torchlight march and All Owls Eve. Click here for details if you dare…
Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway, Ravenglass
Bus route: X7
Bus stop: Ravenglass and Eskdale station
Perfect for youngsters who need to blow off steam, the heritage railway will have a Halloween theme until November 1. Stations and cafes will be draped in blood and spider webs, and the Ravenglass Railway Museum will stage children’s activities. Plus, ‘double-header trains’ with two steam engines will run all week, giving trainspotters two for the price of one. For details, click here.
Ghost Walks, The Moot Hall, Keswick
Bus route: 77, 77A, 78, 509, 553, 554, 555, X4 & X5
Ghosting has become a modern scourge, but The Lady promises she will return your calls if you book onto one of her spooky tours of Keswick. That’s because her ghosting is the traditional kind – a 90-minute tour that tells of the town’s history “full of murder, intrigue and tortured souls”. Her walks are on throughout October and November and cost £15 for adults and £12 for concessions, though her tales are considered too gruesome for the under-10s. For details, click here.
South Cumbria
Pumpkin carving, Allan Bank, Grasmere
Bus route: 555, 599
Bus stop: Grasmere, near Heaton Cooper Studio
Kids can veg out with some Jack-o’-Lantern carving this half-term at Allan Bank. For £5, plus the usual admission cost, each child gets Halloween’s most treasured prop and parents don’t have to mop up the orange mush. Then after that’s done, set them off on a tour with Old Crone, who guides visitors to find ‘Stranger Folk’ via a phone app. The pumpkin carving session runs on October 31. To book, click here.
Bat box making, World of Beatrix Potter, Crag Brow, Bowness
Bus route: 6, 508, 599, 755
Bus stop: Royalty Cinema
Let the children be a real-life Batman and Batgirl for the day by building a bat box at World of Beatrix Potter. The drop-in session is being run from 10.30am to 4pm on October 31, and since it’s Halloween, there will be paints and foliage to make the boxes as spooky and spectacular as possible. It costs £6.50 to take part on top of admission. Other events are being run during half-term at the venue too, to book, click here.
Stories, crafting and shows, Jetty Museum, Rayrigg Road, Bowness
Bus route: 508
Bus stop: Windermere Jetty Museum
You’ll be impressed by the scale of events at the Jetty Museum, starting with fish mask making. This drop-in activity will encourage youngsters to imagine what lurks in Lake Windermere, with sessions on October 30. On October 31 there are two performances of Animals!, an interactive family show where a buzzard, rabbit and porpoise despair at the most frightening animals of all… humans. For details, click here.
Monster Mash Party, Swan Hotel, Newby Bridge, Ulverston
Bus route: X6, 6
Bus stop: Newby Bridge
Actually, there’s no mash to eat at all, it’s an evening of pizza and chips, Halloween-themed treats, a disco with UV lights, games, and spooky cocktails for the parents. The hotel is running its Halloween party on October 29 from 5pm to 7pm for £12 per child and parents get in free. Dressing up is encouraged. To book, click here.
Earth trail, Sizergh Castle, near Kendal
Bus route: X6, 555, 530, 755
Bus stop: Brettargh Holt
If after all the Halloween excitement you need to bring the kids back down to earth, National Trust property Sizergh has the answer – a trail about soil. The Wonder World: Earth trail, designed with children’s publisher Nosy Crow, reveals what lives beneath the ground. We all know about the worms, but what else is down there? It runs all October and ends on November 1 – for details, click here.