Halloween is Saturday 31 October. Castle Spooky Tours are £23 that night, Blenheim's trail runs to 1 November from £13.50, pumpkin patches from £4.

Halloween falls on Saturday 31 October 2026, the last day of Oxford’s half term week. The city’s own big event is Ghost Fest at Oxford Castle & Prison, 23 to 31 October, whose after-dark Spooky Tours cost £23 on Halloween night and £21 on the other evenings. About eight miles north-west, Blenheim Palace runs its after-dark trail from 22 October to 1 November. The two pumpkin patches nearest the city are both open on the 31st.

The quick answer

  • Halloween night: Saturday 31 October. Ghost Fest’s Spooky Tours (ages 14+) run that evening from 6.30pm, £23; book ahead, they “regularly sell out”.
  • Blenheim Palace’s Halloween trail runs 22 October to 1 November, timed entry, adults £19 to £25 and children £13.50 to £19.50, plus £10 parking.
  • Pumpkin picking: Rectory Farm at Stanton St John (£7.50 to £8.50) and Millets Farm at Frilford (from £4), with pumpkins paid for on top.

Ghost Fest at Oxford Castle & Prison

Ghost Fest returns for its 17th year from 23 to 31 October, with three parts (Oxford Castle & Prison, Ghost Fest 2026):

Experience Dates Times Price Ages
Spooky Tours 27 to 31 Oct 6.30pm to 11pm, 60-minute tours £21, £23 on 31 Oct 14+ suggested
Potion Making Experience 25 to 31 Oct 10am to 2.30pm, about 60 minutes £16 one child and one adult, £14 extra child 5+ suggested
Spectre Ghost Tour Fridays (30 Oct in half term) 6.30pm, 90-minute walk £15.75 adult, £10.50 child, under 5s free All ages

The Spooky Tours are the grown-up end of it: an hour in the punishment cells and other parts of the prison not open by day, with “eerie moments, unexpected jumps and a few laughs”. Under 16s must come with an adult aged 18 or over. Arrive 10 minutes early at the gift shop; the castle says anyone more than 10 minutes late may not get in (Spooky Tours). None of the Ghost Fest tickets includes the daytime guided tour or St George’s Tower.

The Potion Making Experience is the one for younger children, held in the medieval crypt; each child makes a drinkable potion and a wand to take home. The Spectre Ghost Tour is an outdoor walk through the city with a costumed guide and runs every Friday all year, so it is not on Halloween night itself this year.

Halloween at Blenheim Palace

Blenheim’s after-dark trail runs from Thursday 22 October to Sunday 1 November through the grounds, with a new route this year: a Spider’s Lair, a Pirate’s Wreck, Vampire Hunters and the Catacombs (Blenheim Palace, Halloween). There are daylight, twilight and late night entry times. Blenheim says daylight sessions suit young children and the later ones are “a more intense experience for older children and thrill-seekers”. Dogs are not allowed.

Prices from the palace’s June announcement, including booking fees (Experience Oxfordshire partner release, 4 June 2026):

Ticket Off peak Standard Peak
Adult £19 £23 £25
Child £13.50 £17.50 £19.50

Parking is £10 on top. Entry is timed and capacity is limited. The trail ticket is separate from Blenheim’s Haunted Half Term daytime activities (24 October to 1 November, 10am to 4.30pm in the Walled Garden and Adventure Play), which come with an annual pass and do not get you on to the evening trail (Haunted Half Term).

Pumpkin picking near Oxford

Farm Open Entry Halloween day
Rectory Farm, Stanton St John, OX33 1HF Weekends in October, daily 24 to 31 Oct, 9am to 5pm £8.50 weekends, £7.50 half term weekdays, under 2s free Open, booked ticket needed
Millets Farm, Frilford, OX13 5HB Weekends from 3 Oct, daily from 22 Oct Off peak from £4, peak from £5, under 2s free Open 9am to 3pm, dog friendly day

Rectory Farm runs a full day’s programme on its event days: tractor and trailer rides, a bale maze, face painting, live music from 12.30pm to 2.30pm and Bertie Slippers shows for toddlers. Every adult and child needs a booked ticket, entry slots run until 3.30pm with the last window closing at 4pm, and the pumpkins are paid for separately. A quieter SEND morning runs from 8.30am to 11am on Tuesday 27 October, with carers free (Rectory Farm, pumpkin patch).

Millets Farm has a new pumpkin patch this year. Peak days (17 and 18 October and 23 to 31 October) add live entertainment and story sessions; SEND sessions run from 9am to 10am on Sunday 11 and Monday 26 October. Pumpkins cost from £1 each on top of entry, and a £1 booking fee applies to each online order (Millets Farm, pick your own pumpkins).

Its evening event, Pumpkins by Night, runs 16 to 18 and 23 to 30 October from 5pm to 9.30pm (last entry 7.30pm) at £15.99 online or £16.99 on the door. It is not on Halloween night. Millets suggests ages 8 and over and stresses it is “NOT a scare night”, though there are actors on the trail, smoke and strobe lights, and no dogs (Pumpkins by Night).

Halloween in half term week

Most Oxford state schools are off from 26 to 30 October, so Halloween is the Saturday at the end of the holiday. The museum programmes, shows and skating for the rest of the week are on our Oxford October half term page, and the month’s full listings are on what’s on in Oxford this month.

Getting there

Oxford Castle & Prison is in the city centre at OX1 1AY, a short walk from the bus and rail stations; check parking in Oxford before driving in on a Saturday night. Blenheim is at Woodstock, OX20 1UL, and both pumpkin farms are outside the ring road with their own car parks. Our roadworks and travel page lists what is closed that week. The week after, the fireworks are at South Park on Saturday 7 November: see Oxford fireworks.

Sources: Oxford Castle & Prison, Ghost Fest 2026 and Spooky Tours; Blenheim Palace, Halloween and Haunted Half Term; Experience Oxfordshire, 4 June 2026; Rectory Farm; Millets Farm, pumpkins and Pumpkins by Night. All checked 4 October 2026.