Manchester city centre will undergo a spooky transformation for Halloween this year. From 24 October – 31 October many buildings including the Town Hall, Harvey Nichols, Manchester Arndale, House of Fraser and Selfridges will be illuminated by spooky green light, shop windows will take a sinister twist and a scary sound trail of howling wolves and cackling witches will follow people across the city’s shopping streets. And look out for huge cemetery gates, pumpkin lined streets and a giant spider crawling across the city.
You’ll be able to discover the darker side of Manchester city centre on a ghost walking tour whilst Wild Rumpus, producers of the award-winning Just So Festival, will be inviting families to take part in a mysterious adventure across the city centre to find a code to unlock and enter the secret and spellbinding world of Dr John Dee, the Elizabethan astrologer, alchemist and occultist.
Follow a haunting historic map to track down clues, surprise happenings and curious characters in unexpected locations. Find the location of the Secret Curiosity Shop – an intriguing and mysterious establishment only accessible every 421 years – and discover a spine tingling palace of curiosities that will change the way you see the city.
And on Sunday 30 October, The Printworks and Horrorwood Productions will be encouraging witches, ghosts, zombies and vampires to join their Halloween costume and zombie walk across the city centre.
The Halloween festivities are the brainchild of the Heart of Manchester BID, the city centre’s business improvement district, the retail consortium behind events like the King Street Festival, One Big Summer Weekend and Dig the City.
“Halloween has grown exponentially in recent years, presenting a major opportunity for the BID to produce a city wide celebration unlike anything anywhere else in the UK,” says Phil Schulze, Heart of Manchester BID manager
“From immersive family friendly adventures such as Dr Dee’s curiosity shop to ghost walking tours and a Halloween costume and zombie walk, we’ve got spine-tingling activities for everyone and we’re confident that Manchester city centre will be the most spooktacular place to be in the UK this Halloween.”
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