Spooktacular Suppers and Ghastly Goings On

It‘s that time of year again. The air is turning crisp, the days are growing dark and the trees are beginning to shed their leaves. As the Western Hemisphere prepares once again for a long, cold winter, festivities are becoming an exciting focal point for many.

Taking place every year on October 31, Halloween as we know it today has its origins in the Pagan festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in), which traditionally marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the long, dark winter. For the Pagans, the hours between sunset on 31 October and sunrise on 1 November are a time when the barrier between this world and the next is thought to be at its thinnest. Believing that lost loved ones would return for the night, the Pagans would prepare bountiful feasts in honour and remembrance of the dead, who were invited to join in the celebrations.

Today, Halloween remains a time for indulgence, with a great number of parties and banquets held every year in celebration of all things ghostly and ghastly. With so many food events taking place over this Halloween weekend, we thought we’d compile a good old list to help you celebrate in spooktacular style. Wherever you happen to end up, be sure to dig out your best fancy dress! 

Ethicurean Day of the Dead Supper

Visit the award-winning Ethicurean restaurant and celebrate Halloween the Mexican way with a Day of the Dead-themed six-course supper. Bring along a message for your lost loved ones and honour their memory in style.

Halloween by Bootleg Banquet

Ghoul up, ghoul up! A night of madness and mayhem awaits at Bootleg’s pop-up Halloween Banquet – dress to impress or die! 

Haunted Halloween Banquet

Prepare for a night of fancy dress, feasting and phantoms at County Durham’s resplendent Lumley Castle, which is said to be haunted by Baroness Lumley. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled during your visit!

Ghillie Dhu’s Dance of the Damned

Feast til you’re full and then dance til your dead at Ghillie Dhue’s Dance of the Damned, it’s sure to be a night to dismember. 

The Medieval Banquet’s Zombie Ball

Set in the vaults of Ivory House, The Medieval Banquet’s Zombie Ball promises a night of darkness, despair and debauchery – enter at your own risk!