These Halloween Events You Can't Miss

Trick or Treat? This weekend, Halloween is celebrated again with witches, pumpkins, vampires, or zombies! Across Europe, there are many parties and festivals. We'll show you where you can join the festivities.

Long before our time, the Celts celebrated Samhain on October 31st - at the time, people marked their harvest, the beginning of a new season, and the upcoming calendar year. However, the scare factor was present even among the Celts in Ireland: they believed that on this special day, contacts to the realm of the dead were possible.

Today, Halloween is celebrated almost everywhere - especially in the USA. But the trend has also caught on in Europe; at numerous parties, some zombies, witches, and vampires will roam around again this year, dine together on brain jello, drink blood lemonade, and dance to eerie music. Where you can join in, we'll show you - here come seven cool Halloween events in Europe.

If you want to travel back to the beginnings, Ireland is the right place for you! Europe's largest Halloween festival is the Derry Halloween in Londonderry - a vibrant city on the banks of the River Foyle in northwestern Ireland. Over 35 years ago, the spooky festival was brought to life by the locals.

From October 28th to 31st, you can join in as night owls from around the world bring a program of art, food, music, and culture to life. Particularly spectacular are the magical Awakening the Walled City, the colorful carnival parade, an impressive fireworks display, or the terrifying Little-Horrors-Family program, which even the youngest can enjoy.

Most horror enthusiasts know the story of the young Swiss Victor Frankenstein, who created an artificial man in his laboratory. In Hesse stands a castle that even bears the name of the fearless researcher.

Halloween has been celebrated at Frankenstein Castle since 1977, until the blood freezes in your veins. On more than 3,000 square meters, eerie monsters meet you here, and special shows provide nightmares in the old walls with their dark crypts. From October 21st to November 6th, you can visit the castle.

Also at Movie Park Germany in Bottrop, North Rhine-Westphalia, the annual Halloween Horror Festival is taking place again this year. Until November 13th, the amusement park is haunted by horrifying figures. Additionally, the new horror house 'Hell House' and the new Halloween Live Show 'Madhouse - Insanity Lives Here' in Studio 7 bring the worst nightmares to the stage.

An entire amusement park dons its spooky attire - at Parque Warner in Madrid, visitors can join on October 31st when witches and zombies celebrate and dance at the big Halloween parade.

All over there are spooky attractions and events, and more than 100 characters of the night roam through the park and scare visitors in so-called scare zones. Particularly popular with older visitors is the 'Pasajes del Terror' - where you encounter some well-known scenes from Warner horror films.

Even the youngest have lots of fun with spooks - Walibi amusement park in Holland organizes the Halloween Spooky Days especially for kids aged six to twelve. Throughout the park, little ghost hunters can go on a monster hunt.

Meanwhile, for the older kids aged 16 and up, the Halloween Fright Nights take place in the park. In total darkness, the brave enter haunted houses. Plus, you can join a dinner in a freak-show camp full of frightening experiences.

Where could it be spookier than in the homeland of Count Dracula himself? Transylvania is worth a visit all year round. The medieval chambers of the old Bran Castle - the supposed home of the bloodsucking Count Dracula - are so eerie that they make your blood run cold.

This experience is topped with a special Halloween tour on October 29th, where you're led through the impressive estate and haunted by some spooky figures as you personally hear the horror stories of the bloodsucker. Until November 12th, you can also visit a creepy special exhibition about the Count.

In Austria, it's tradition to welcome old acquaintances every year at Halloween: With water, bread, and a lamp, deceased relatives are greeted, who according to legend come to visit on the night of October 31st to November 1st.

A very special event is the Vienna Ghost Run in Vienna on October 30th. Under the motto 'We're running away from the Grim Reaper,' all sorts of spooky figures set off here. Zombies run away from werewolves and even do good: Participants support children with lung diseases by joining the run.

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