The best Halloween events happening in Manchester 2021
From an immersive drive in cinema with a 'scare tunnel' to dinner in the dark and a horror maze set in an old mill, there's loads going on for Halloween in Manchester this year
There is so much happening for Halloween in Manchester this year, with a host of truly frightening spooky events taking place across the region in 2021.
From the return of the much-loved inflatable monster trail to some new events including an immersive horror maze featuring live actors, and even a spooky skate rink where you’ll glide on the ice alongside monsters, there’s plenty to get stuck into this Halloween.
Keep reading to discover some of our top picks for what’s going on in the city (and further afield) this year.
Image: Manchester BID / City Co
An inflatable monster trail in Manchester city centre
Every year City Co pulls out a host of inflatable monsters, which perch on rooftops and hang off buildings around Manchester city centre throughout the spooky season. This year, there will be eight dotted around town created by artists Filthy Luker and Pedro Estrellas.
Find the list of their locations and more info here.
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A classic murder mystery tale, reimagined at the theatre
The Manchester Opera House is hosting a reimagined telling of the classic murder mystery tale The Cat and The Canary. Having inspired three classic movies starring the likes of Bob Hope, Honor Blackman, and Olivia Hussey, it’s now coming to Manchester for a week-long run starting on Monday 25 October.
A series of Film4 FilmFear festival screenings at HOME
Bringing a line-up of horror, dark fairy-tales, eerie thrillers, and chilling tales to HOME, FilmFear returns to HOME for its sixth year. You can also catch it on the Film4 channel throughout the Halloween period.
Dinner in the dark at Manchester’s highest restaurant
Manchester’s highest restaurant 20 Stories is hosting its annual dining in the dark event on Sunday 31 October, offering a four-course menu alongside a welcome drink for £55 a head in partnership with Belvedere. Bookable in three sittings, the blackout dinner is a seasonal favourite.
An immersive horror maze, set inside an old Victorian mill
A walk-through horror maze, set within an old Victorian mill, this immersive live Halloween experience is not for the faint of heart. Think live actors, sensory experiences, intense soundscapes, strobe lighting and atmospherics.
Complete with Halloween-themed music, lighting, and a band of ghoulish skating monsters, the scare skate ice rink experience takes place from 22 to 31 October. Suitable for the whole family, fancy dress is very welcome.
A Halloween-themed mini escape room series for kids
With ten different rooms to choose from, this series of Halloween-themed mini escape rooms are tailored towards primary school-age children. Your group gets 5 minutes in each room to solve the riddle and move on to the next, with the whole experience lasting 50 minutes in total.
Lego Discovery Centre Manchester / Image: Jason Lock Further
A ‘Brick or treat’ event at Legoland Discovery Centre
Featuring a special Lego pumpkin building session, a scarevenger hunt and a Halloween boogie with the centre’s character mascots Scarecrow and Lord Vampyre, this ‘brick or treat’ event is great for kids this Halloween. You’ll get to make a giant lego vampire with the Master Model Builder and loads more.
Park N Party’s Scare City returns to Trafford’s Soccer Dome, screening a frightening selection of films whilst terrifying performers swarm on unsuspecting viewers’ cars. There’s also a drive-through scare tunnel, for those feeling brave.
All indoors, the specially-created Trick or Treat town at Alton Towers is full of townsfolk who trick or treat visitors. Walk down Spooky Avenue before moving onto houses in Treat Street, Witchy Woods, The Graveyard, and The Hill – knocking on doors to collect lots of sweet treats, as well as some spooky surprises.
Billed as a ‘family-friendly freakshow’, New Cathedral street will be transformed for spooky season with roaming circus monsters, sideshow stalls, a kids’ carousel and a traditional helter-skelter. You can also get up close and personal with the inflatable monster, Creepy Annie.
DJ Ghostman isn’t the first selector to hide his identity, but he might be the first to do so with a bed sheet. Find him playing a host of Halloween hits and monster bops from the Monster DJ Truck on Market Street across Halloween weekend.
Dr. Mancenstein’s exploded castle and garden experience
Visit the home of Manchester’s mad-for-it scientist, Dr. Mancenstein, encountering dragons, giant marauding crows, Mr Arsenic the castle butler and eerie groundskeepers along the way whilst dodging the man-eating plants. Free to attend, her garden and cemetery are also home to a menagerie of creepy characters.
A ‘monsters welcome’ procession through Manchester
Walk The Plank, who also create the annual Manchester Day parade, are putting on a crazy procession of monster puppets, stilt walkers and a five-piece band across the Halloween weekend – and everyone is invited.
Two decades at the forefront of clubbing: Manchester is celebrating 20 years of WHP
Danny Jones
You heard us right: The Warehouse Project is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and with 2026 already shaping up for another stellar programme, it’s a truly great moment in which to mark the milestone.
But besides the still-to-be-completed WHP26 lineup itself, the promotion has gone TONNES more in-store to help toast two decades of remarkable nightlife and music-filled autumns and winters.
From its raw beginnings over at the Boddies Brewery in Strangeways, through its formative years at Store Street, the Victoria Warehouse era, and now the modern Depot Mayfield era, WHP has truly only gotten bigger and better as time has gone on.
Now world-famous and even hosting overseas events in the likes of Rotterdam, people travel all over and from all over; nothing quite compares to a long night and well into the early hours over at the warehouse.
As you can see, in addition to the upcoming gigs and sets themselves, they’re looking back on their contribution to Manc club culture, including a brand-new film, podcast series, photography exhibition, and tonnes more.
WHP are even commissioning a special limited-edition print magazine.
This will document the countless people, artists and spaces, as well as Greater Manchester and creative communities that have shaped The Warehouse Project since its inception in 2006.
Speaking of the new six-minute documentary movie, Twenty Years In Manchester, is directed by filmmaker Leigh Powis, reflecting on the WHP story through the lens of iconic and some never-before-seen archive footage, as well as fresh scenes shot across Manchester.
Alongside the film, WHP is also launching a new podcast uncovering untold stories from its history, an outdoor photography exhibition, which will also feed into the aforementioned one-off music mag. documenting the artists, nightlife and culture that have shaped the past 20 years.
Shot across three nights in Manchester, this ‘definitive’ piece of cinematic art positions the city itself as a central character alongside a cast of authentic local dancers and clubbers who have graced these rooms over the years.
Some of it’s even been captured on the last remaining rolls of Kodak Ektachrome film in the world.
A cross-generational retrospective on pure Manc and UK dance music heritage.
The WHP film is set for digital online release globally from Thursday, 29 May, and will be available exclusively to Apple Music subscribers 48 hours before general release HERE as part of their continued collaboration with the streaming platform.
WHP co-founders, Sam Kandel and Richard McGinnis, said in a statement: “Reaching 20 years is a huge moment for us. The Warehouse Project has always been about progression and pushing the boundaries wherever possible.
“Since that first event when Public Enemy played the opening night at Boddingtons Brewery, we’ve always tried to keep things moving and respond as the music and culture around us have evolved.
“That feels like only yesterday! We have some truly incredible parties and line-ups in the pipeline for this 20th season, and both feel so proud to still be here in Manchester, being able to do this.”
We’re already thinking ahead to 2026 and we want to hear your feedback on your experience with us this year. Share your thoughts in our survey and you’ll be in with the chance of winning a season pass to WHP26, giving you access to two tickets to every… pic.twitter.com/xUpsudM4SL
Featured Images — The Warehouse Project (supplied)/Rob Jones
What's On
Sustainable clothing brand Lucy & Yak to host first-ever PreLoved Weekender in Manchester
Emily Sergeant
Popular sustainable brand Lucy & Yak is set to host its first ever pre-loved clothing event this bank holiday weekend.
Lucy & Yak is turning its stores into dedicated PreLoved hubs for an entire weekend – celebrating second-hand shopping with communities across the UK.
Since 2023, Lucy & Yak – which is an independent, people-focused brand with all items made using organic, natural, recycled, or deadstock fabrics – has kept more than 42,000 items, also known affectionately as ‘Yaks’, in circulation through its PreLoved scheme, where customers bring in and return their old pieces, and once processed, will then receive a money-off voucher to put towards their next purchase.
Damaged pieces are repaired or upcycled by the Re:Yak Studio team in Yorkshire, before being sold on in-store to find their new homes.
While Lucy & Yak stores carry a dedicated PreLoved rail year-round, this late May bank holiday weekend from Saturday 23 – Monday 25 May, the whole Manchester store experience will be transformed – with a much larger, expanded PreLoved section.
There’ll be everything from old gems to one-off pieces available to get your hands on – all still wearable, all still loveable.
As well as here in Manchester city centre, the PreLoved Weekender will also be taking place at Lucy & Yak stores in Brighton, Bristol, Cambridge, Canterbury, Chester, Edinburgh, Exeter, London, Norwich, Nottingham, Sheffield, and Portsmouth, so no matter where you are in the country this bank holiday, you don’t have to miss out.
What’s more is that fashion lovers in Manchester will also get to take part in a series of upcycling workshops in store on Bank Holiday Monday, with more events planned in the coming weeks.
The brand says its stores are ‘more than just shops’ – they’re spaces for the community to connect, and where Lucy & Yak’s values come to life in person.
Lucy & Yak’s first-ever PreLoved Weekender is coming to Manchester this bank holiday / Credit: Supplied
“We’re so excited to bring the PreLoved Weekender to our stores this May,” commented Lydia Coley, who is the Managing Director at Lucy & Yak.
“Lucy & Yak has always been built around community, creativity, and doing things a little differently, and PreLoved brings all of that together. We’re incredibly proud of keeping over 42,000 Yaks in circulation. Every second-hand Yak has a story, and this weekend is about helping those pieces find their next home in a fun way.”
The PreLoved Weekender will be taking place at Lucy & Yak’s Manchester store in the Northern Quarter this Saturday 23 – Monday 25 May, and you can find out more here.
Georgina Pellant -
5th October 2021 
