Plans for a new Halloween event in Manchester are being cooked up by the city centre’s business improvement district, the Heart of Manchester BID.
From 24 – 31 October, Manchester city centre will undergo a spooky transformation including huge imposing cemetery gates, pumpkin lined streets and a giant spider which will crawl across the city. Iconic buildings including the Town Hall, Harvey Nichols, Manchester Arndale, House of Fraser and Selfridges will be lit up green adding to the city’s gothic beauty, shop windows will take a sinister twist, while a scary sound trail of howling wolves and cackling witches will follow people across the city’s shopping streets.
Those feeling brave can join a ghost walking tour and discover the darker side of Manchester city centre, while on Saturday 29 October, producers of the award-winning Just So Festival, Wild Rumpus, will be inviting families on a mysterious adventure across the city centre to find a code to unlock and enter the secret and spellbinding world of Dr Dee, Manchester’s most famous alchemist. 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. Forever.
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.
Phil Schulze, Heart of Manchester BID Manager said: “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.
“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.”
