Happy Halloween from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland!
22nd October, 2026
It’s Halloween season and now is the perfect time to get out and about and enjoy some spooktacular arts events, all supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland exchequer and National Lottery funding!
In Your Space Circus has four large-scale productions taking place as part of Derry Halloween's 40th Anniversary celebrations on 28, 29 & 30th October including:
• Witchy Wonderland: site-specific walkthrough immersive experience on the city walls with 15 artists
• Walter's Wake: New-Orleans Jazz Funeral inspired processional performance with 20+ artists
• Through the Veil - Co-production with Fidget Feet Aerial Dance - spectacular Halloween aerial crane show
• Samhain Sisters: Co-production with Levantes Dance Theatre offering a stunning sway pole performance
• They will also have their Youth Circus participants offering 'Freaky Circus' roaming, a highly interactive circus and dance performance
https://derryhalloween.com/wp-...
The Nerve Centre, Belfast
Get ready for the Nerve Centre’s spooktacular Belfast workshops this Halloween. Young people aged 11–15 can enjoy a range of fun, creative activities this Halloween, including:
• Creature Creation: Build Your Own Monster, Wed 28 October, 10am–1pm
• Deadly Looks: SFX Make-up and Photo Shoot, Thurs 29 October, 10am–1pm
• Spooky Game Makers, Friday 30 October, 10am–1pm, Age: 11–15
Location: Nerve Centre, Belfast, W5 LIFE, Odyssey Place, 2 Queens Quay, BT3 9QQ
Cahoots NI, Belfast
• Frights, Camera, Action, 26 October, suitable for age 15+
Double the Spirits. Twice the Terror. First, test your nerves with spine-chilling Halloween Storytelling with Aoibheann ‘The Banshee’, setting the stage for the fog-drenched dread of The Woman in Black.
Next, journey into a nightmare of static screens and restless spirits in Poltergeist. Before the malevolent entities tear your world apart professional SFX Make-Up and Prosthetics Artist David McAneaney will host a live introduction revealing the gruesome, skincrawling secrets behind Hollywood’s most iconic paranormal illusions. Brace yourself for a terrifyingly good time!
• The 13 Chairs, 29 Oct – 1 Nov, suitable for age 13+
Are you brave enough to take a seat at the table?
A forgotten room. Thirteen chairs. A dinner party you will never forget. Every chair holds a secret, every guest has a choice… and every ghost has a story. Guided by your curious host, your choices shape the night. Immersive storytelling with spine-tingling scares, The Ghost House meets The Traitors in this interactive, Halloween experience.
Please note: This performance contains themes of death, grief and violence. Some scenes may be frightening. This is a walkthrough experience with audience members required to stand for a portion of the show. Featuring in Belfast International Arts Festival 2026.
If you have any questions or need to discuss additional needs/requirements ahead of the show, please email [email protected]
• The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, 10-25 Oct, suitable for age 6+
Featuring original music, magic, and mayhem, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is a spectacular, dramatic, and fun-filled theatrical adventure for the whole family. Featuring in Belfast International Arts Festival 2026.
Please note: This production features loud noises, bright lights and flashing or strobe effects. These elements may affect individuals with photosensitivity or other light sensitivities.
https://cahootsni.com/producti...
Belfast Music Society/ Northern Lights Music Fest, Saturday 31 October | 7.30pm | The Harty Room, Queen's University Belfast
Memento Mori with Sarah Richmond (mezzo-soprano) & Ian Tindale (piano). Join Belfast Music Society on Halloween night for a recital of haunting songs, wandering souls and dances with death. From Barber’s The Monk and His Cat and Britten’s A Charm of Lullabies to Schubert’s Death and the Maiden and Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, this evocative programme explores memory, longing and the supernatural. Saint-Saëns’ Danse Macabre and Strauss’s Allerseelen complete an evening that is playful, mysterious and deeply moving.
Seasonal dress welcomed but not required. https://www.belfastmusicsociet...
Lyric Theatre
• Halloween Community Day, Fri 30 OCT 2026. Bring your family and friends for a day filled with boo-tiful creative fun. From spooktacular storytelling sessions to vibrant face painting and hands-on arts and crafts, there’s something for children of all ages to enjoy. Come along in fancy dress for an extra fun ghoulish time. Tickets are FREE, but places are limited, so be sure to book your child's spot in advance to secure your experience. Space is limited to two accompanying adults per child’s space.
The Playhouse, Derry-Londonderry
• The School On The Edge Of Reality, 24 Oct - 1st Nov. With a brand-new opening, new digital artwork and sound, and more magic, mystery and mayhem than ever, this is a spooky Halloween adventure the whole family can do together.
• The Last Class, 29 Oct – 1 Nov. Age guidance 16+. The classrooms of Artillery Street emptied long ago. The children left. She stayed. Part seance. Part experiment. Part late night ghost story, told in the room where it started. You won’t sit and watch this one. You’ll be the reason it happens!
THE MAC
Monster Mash Halloween Special, 31 Oct, 11am-1pm. Bring the whole family along for a spooktacular morning packed with fun, creativity and entertainment. Enjoy exciting circus performances, magical storytelling and hands-on Halloween arts and crafts for little monsters of all ages. Drop in. www.themaclive.com
Strand Arts Centre
Halloween Crafternoon & Cartoons on Saturday 24th October & Mon 26 Oct, £12 per child. Location: The Strand offices are now based in Strand Studios, Studio 1 (Ground Floor next to the Strand) and is accessible. www.strandartscentre.com
Oh Yeah Centre Belfast, 27 Oct, 7:30pm
Volume Control presents HallowEMO, Volume Control's annual Halloween party is back this mid term break! Featuring the Emo Queen Susi Pagel as headliner, with support from AOA and Synapse. Come in your best fancy dress. https://www.ohyeahbelfast.com/...
The Black Box
Phantom of the Opera: Live Score, 25 October, doors 7:30 pm / event start 8 pm
The Phantom Of The Opera (1925) with live score written and performed by Andrew Wasylyk & Tommy Perman.
To celebrate Halloween season, The Black Box in Belfast is very excited to be screening one of the earliest horror masterpieces, 1925’s ‘The Phantom of the Opera’. For this very special screening and performance, Scottish composers Andrew Wasylyk and Tommy Perman have created a new haunting and dramatic score befitting of this silent era classic. Not to be missed! www.blackboxbelfast.com
Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin, Derry~Londonderry
• 22-30 Oct, Costume workshop
• 22 Oct, Halloween Pop Quiz
• 29 Oct, Club Óige - Halloween Youth Disco
• 30 Oct, Spooky Tunes
• 31 Oct, Halloween Family Day, 11am-1pm
Visit https://www.culturlann.org/eve...
Streetwise Community Circus
• Streetwise Community Circus presents Lisburn Twilight Nights, 21-22 Oct, in partnership with Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council. Featuring spooky Halloween trails, a community lantern parade, a tots Halloween disco and more, view the programme at https://www.lisburncastlereagh...