Blogs.
A guide to your Halloween Half-Term
9th October 2025
It’s happening; the nights are getting longer, the jumpers are getting chunkier and the weather is creeping into its darker seasons. Christmas is just around the corner… but not yet!
We’ve rounded up some of the best activities this Halloween for family friendly frights over half-term in Leeds.
(Leeds Industrial Museum, credit Leeds Museums and Galleries)
Movies
It’s that time of year when you need to grab some popcorn and sit down with the family to watch a frightening film.
Sit out under the stars at the grand Harewood House for open-air cinema with screenings of Beetlejuice, Hocus Pocus, and The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Hyde Park Picture House is a cosy spot to enjoy some spooktacular movies including Corpse Bride, Hotel Transylvania and to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Casper. Check out their autism friendly screenings too for a relaxed and safe environment.
Visit the smallest cinema in the North of England at Leeds Industrial Museum for their Mystery Matinees, starting 2pm every day of the half term holidays.
Or if you prefer some real life then check out the screening of The Invisible Mammal at Leeds City Museum, where you can learn about bats and their conservation.
(Julie Nunes in Northern Ballet’s Little Red Riding Hood, credit Brian Slater)
Shows
A reimagining of the much-loved fairy tale, Northern Ballet’s production of Little Red Riding Hood at The Stanley & Audrey Burton Theatre is the perfect opportunity for your little ones to enjoy the magic of live ballet, music, and theatre.
An expert thief is on the loose, and only you can catch them! Bring your thinking-caps, your magnifying glasses and all your crime-solving skills: this is a mystery like no other, where the suspects are some of the greatest opera characters of all time – and the detective is YOU at the The Big Opera Mystery, from Opera North and performed at the Leeds Grand Theatre.
Dive into Eric Carle’s bright and colourful world as his beloved stories are transformed from page to stage using a menagerie of 75 lovable puppets and charming music. Created by Jonathan Rockefeller, the critically acclaimed The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show is a vibrant celebration of Eric Carle’s adored classic and the perfect introduction for young children to live theatre at the Carriageworks.
(Red Deer in the Deer Park credit Anthony Hicks and Harewood House Trust)
Pumpkins & Parks
Take the pumpkin express to this award-winning Autumnal activity at Lotherton. Grab a pumpkin and take part in the craft activities
Pick from over 250,000 pumpkins with 40 different varieties to choose from at the UK’s biggest and original Pumpkin Festival at Farmer Copley’s.
Kemps Farm is a fourth-generation family-run pumpkin patch, complete with tractor rides, wheelbarrows to help carry your haul and even a pumpkin carving station!
Bert’s Barrow’s pumpkin patch has its biggest haul of pumpkins ever, as well as squashes and gourds, and is dog friendly and hosts a fairground for small children. Check out all the photo opportunities too for those family memories.
Spooky adventures await as Swithens Farm comes alive at night! The Pumpkin Festival is hosting night-time adventures with a moonlit tractor ride to the glowing pumpkin patch before carving your own spooky designs and enjoying a vintage funfair.
If an animal adventure is what you’re looking for then check out the special Halloween Deer and Bat Park Safari at Harewood House. The expert guides at the British Deer Society will take you up close to majestic Red, Fallow, and Roe deer as they battle for dominance in a thrilling display of power and grace during the Autumn rut.
For an exhilarating outdoor activity for the whole family check out Go Ape Temple Newsam treetop adventures.
Find more walks out in nature at our Autumn spots blog here.
(Leeds Discovery Centre, credit Leeds Museums and Galleries)
Crafts & Workshops
Did you know that spirograph was created here in Leeds? Enjoy a series of crafts and workshops at the Leeds City Museum including a full family fun day.
Spiders, clowns, birds… what are you scared of? Join the team at the Leeds Discovery Centre to take a look at objects that some people find scary and then learn to love them. Enjoy this family craft workshop at the Frightening Phobias Workshop. Or take a store tour of the 1.3 million objects in the collection as the Discovery Centre opens its door every weekday during the half term.
As part of the Big Draw Festival, a four day project for families at the Leeds Art Gallery will use the human body to fill a room with a community of mysterious human-like paper sculptures, inspired by Lynette Yiadom Boakye’s charcoal drawings of people.
(Once Upon a Nightmare at Lotherton, credit Leeds Museums and Galleries)
Experiences
A haunted Harewood House is the setting for many scary adventures this Halloween half term. The ghosts of Harewood have been struck by a curse and become scarecrows, and it’s up to you to follow the clues, solve the puzzles and uncover the culprit behind the Spooky Scarecrow Mystery. The Family Scarecrow Trail has been designed for kids aged 2-7. For very brave kids over 7, uncover the secrets that lurk in the shadows of Scarewood House Unlocked with the help of Mr Hibbert, the elderly gatekeeper, and find out the untimely demise of each of the ghosts of Harewood.
The Romans take over the Royal Armouries Museum this half term with Roman Tales featuring live-action performances, craft activities and an Animals of the Armouries Museum trail. Don’t forget to check out the Gladiators: Heroes of the Colosseum exhibition too on its last week.
Join the team at Temple Newsam’s Home Farm for a family friendly ghost walk. Experience the magical mysteries of Halloween without any of the frights, dip into our cauldron of silly tales that are spooky enough to send shivers down your spine, but daft enough to deliver plenty of fun and laughter along the way. Suitable for under 7s.
Designed for children and their curious grown-ups, Freaky Phobias is a light-hearted – but still spooky – look into the things that keep us up at night. Thackray Museum of Medicine will also be hosting their Science Live sessions every day, hands-on dissections, crafts and more.
Left Bank Leeds invites the whole family for their Pulp & Pumpkins Spooky Family Disco with fun games, fancy dress and snacks to keep the kids entertained.
A world of magical fun awaits at The Hole in Wand. Take on 9 challenges at this enchanting mini-golf attraction in the heart of Leeds, and face against trolls, dragons and your fellow players. For half-term, the ancient villains have escaped their prison and you’re needed to help defeat them!
Wander the spooky streets of Abbey House Museum and encounter scary spiders, wicked witches, wily wolves, beguiling bats and skeletons pulling pints! There will be a terrifying trail and creepy competitions as you go around the museum and kids are encouraged to dress up!
You are also invited to meet the past residents of Temple Newsam Estate including the notorious Blue Lady, who is said to roam the corridors at night. Explore the house to discover its hidden histories and hear tales of spooky goings on. For older children and adults, dare you venture into the cellars of Temple Newsam House?! Check out the dark and scary route below the creaking floorboards, but please check out the important information to see if this experience is for you.
Come along to Leeds Industrial Museum to find the scarecrows that have made their home there for half term. Find them throughout the museum and then head into the newly opened picnic grounds area by the canal to find more lurking there! You can also drop in to get creative with their Vegetable Printing Portraits workshops.
Scary fairytales come true at Lotherton, from Snow White’s eerie encounter with the poisoned apple, to Little Red Riding Hood’s perilous journey through the woods and a Mad Hatter’s bone-chattering tea party in the House. Enjoy a fun and slightly spooky exploration of Lotherton that’s perfect for families and younger visitors. Or for 9+ Once Upon A Nightmare: The Next Chapter is an immersive thrill-seeking experience that transforms the serene grounds and gardens of Lotherton into a haunting world where your favourite fairy tale characters live out their darkest versions of reality.
Enjoy some wand training, themed games, balloon modelling and more at Kirkgate Market with their half term wizardry fun and it’s all free!
Calling all little monsters, witches and spooky superstars! Bibis is hosting a fang-tastic Halloween party designed especially for families — it’s time for the Monster Mash, with mocktails, a family friendly menu, face painting fun and spooky sing-along monster hits. There’ll be prizes for the best dressed kids (and grown-ups too!).
The Yorkshire Ghost Tours are led by real ghosts, so you know you’re with the experts! For the Leeds Ghost Tour you will be led by ghostly nobleman: Lord Bartholomew Catch for tales of witches, murderers and all things ghouly. Or head over to the Otley Ghost Tour led by Otleyenzian ghost, Spindleshanks McScrew. Normally they are only out for the weekend, but this Halloween there is also the chance to catch the guides in new locations and times for ghost talks, so check out their Instagram here for more details. Did you also know you can book for a private tour? Perfect for birthdays.
Leeds Central Library’s Spooktacular Family Day features spine-tingling stories from authors Laura Ellen Anderson, Lucy Farfort, Patrice Lawrence, Jack McKay and Piers Torday, as well as other activities like drawing.
Head into Tropical World for some half term Monkey Madness. Go bananas for some fun facts, bingo, keeper-talks and the monkey tucker trial.
Enjoy the last couple of weeks of The Art of the Brick Leeds: A LEGO® Art Exhibit, where LEGO and art fans can see amazing displays of LEGO built animals, objects and more.
The White Rose Shopping Centre will be welcoming Peppa Pig, Mummy Pig, and recent arrival baby Evie Pig as part of a meet-and-greet event on the 1st November which you can book here. The centre is also hosting a free Halloween Pumpkin Trail for visitors to enjoy from Friday 24th to Friday 31st October, just grab your map from the Guest Services desk!
NEW FOR 2025! Leeds Scare Maze is the very first scare maze experience located right in the heart of Leeds city centre on Lower Briggate. It’s a fully immersive journey through darkness, suspense, and fear, featuring live actors, cinematic sets, and carefully crafted scares. Each twist and turn of the maze is filled with surprises, making it the perfect event for thrill-seekers, horror fans, and anyone brave enough to face the unknown. Minimum age 12.
*featured image credit Harewood House Trust and Jonny Harris