Little horrors have a huge range of Halloween activities to enjoy in Kent this half term, from terror trains to ghost walks and creepy crafts. And older thrill seekers are also catered for, with some adrenaline-pumping events sure to scare the hardiest of souls. What’s On rounds up some of the best.

CANTERBURY

Whitstable’s Horsebridge Centre is staging a Halloween Howler on Saturday October 26. Youngsters can enjoy a Little Workshop of Horrors from 12.30pm to 4.30pm, with entertainment including Halloween crafts, games, face painting and a treasure trail. Then from 6pm to 7.30pm, teenagers and grown-ups can have some fun, with a team of make-up artists who will create some scary looks in preparation for a screening of cult 1975 movie Rocky Horror Picture Show. Rated 15, it stars Tim Curry as transvestite scientist Dr. Frank N. Furter, and includes hits including Time Warp and Sweet Transvestite. The screening starts at 7.30pm, and the night will end with a horror disco from 9.30pm.
Open: Events from 12.30pm to late
Cost: Admission to the Little Workshop of Horrors is free, with extra charges for some activities. Face-painting is priced £3. Admission to the film is £5 and admission to the disco is £5, or £9 for a combined ticket.
Address: 11 Horsebridge Road, Whitstable, CT5 1AF
Contact: 01227 281174

For gruesome chills head to the Canterbury Tales visitor attraction after dark. Chaucer’s classic stories will be given a sinister spin in evening show The Terrible Tales, featuring live horror performances in the church graveyard. Take a guided tour through the diseased streets of medieval England, where nasty surprises lurk.

Open: 7.30pm from Friday, October 25 to Thursday, October 31Cost: £7 per person (not suitable for under 12s)
Address: St Margaret’s Street, Canterbury, CT1 2TG
Contact: 01227 479227

_________________________ Little witches, wizards and vampires are invited to search for ghosts by torchlight at the South Foreland Lighthouse in Dover. Fancy dress will be welcome for visitors to the junior Halloween event, which will also feature spooky activities including mask making and toffee apple decorating. Adults can head along later to explore the tower by torchlight and listen to ghostly tales of its past.

DOVER

Feeling brave enough to enjoy a spooky Halloween adventure at Dover Castle? Enter the Tunnel of Terror and say boo to a ghost or two, or have a go at creating creepy crafts. Youngsters are also invited to wear fancy dress, with a prize for the best children’s Halloween costume given to the most spine-tingling attire each day.
Open: 10am to 4pm, Saturday, October 26 to Sunday, November 3
Cost: £17 adults, £10.20 children aged five to 15, £44.20 family.
Address: Castle Hill Road, Dover, CT16 1HU
Contact: 01304 211067

Will you step aboard the East Kent Railway’s Train of Terror? Passengers can expect an action packed ride as it goes through the Haunted Tunnel, along with some scary surprises.
Open: It runs from 11.15am to 5.45pm on Saturday, October 26, Sunday, October 27, Saturday, November 2 and Sunday, November 2. It will run from 3.15pm to 7pm on Thursday, October 31.
Cost: £6 adults, £3 children, £15 family
Address: Station Road, Shepherdswell, Dover, CT15 7PD
Contact: 01304 832042

Open: The junior event runs from 6pm to 8pm and 8pm to 10pm; the adult event runs from 10pm to 11.45pm; both on Thursday, October 31
Cost: £10
Address: The Front, St Margaret’s Bay, Dover, CT15 6HP
Contact: 01304 852463 The first Howl-O-Ween event is being held at Port Lympne this weekend. The gates to the wild animal park will creak open after dark and the Trucks of Terror will transport visitors on a shocking safari as zombies, ghouls and witches roam the 600 acre park. Explore the Monstrous Mansion and Gardens, where werewolves and ghosts howl through the corridors, and the Murky Maze will be full of things that go bump in the night. There will also be some devilishly delicious treats including eyeball and entrail hot dogs and witches’ finger chips.

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ASHFORD

There will be plenty of ghostly goings on at the Kent and East Sussex Railway. Meet Mr Mystery and enjoy spooktacular entertainment at Tenterden Station with themed ‘make and take’ activities, including designing and carving a pumpkin to take home with you. All activities are included in the ticket price and trains leave Tenterden station at 10.40am, 11.45am, 1.15pm and 2.45pm. Brave travellers can also take the Fright Night Train from Tenterden to Northiam Station. Children can enjoy face painting and pumpkin carving at Tenterden Station prior to departure, and once aboard be prepared to be frightened silly with ghostly goings-on. Every youngster will receive a snack box and spooky free gift. Families are encouraged to go in fancy dress.
Open: Halloween activities run from 10am on Monday, October 28 to Friday, November 1. The Fright Night trains leave at 6.30pm on Thursday, October 31 and Friday, November 1
Cost: Normal Halloween day fares are £15 adults, £10 children, £42 family; Fright Night is priced £15 - booking is essential
Address: Station Road, Tenterden, TN30 6HE
Contact: 01580 765155

Open: 5pm to 7pm (families) and 7pm to 9pm (adults) from Friday, October 25 to Sunday, October 27
Cost: £49 for adults, £39 for children.
Address: Aldington Road, Lympne, Hythe, CT21 4PD
Contact: 0844 842 4647 The annual Pumpkin Day takes place at Godinton House in Ashford this weekend. It will include pumpkin lantern carving workshops, children’s arts and crafts, a treasure hunt and scary stories in the cellars. A selection of pumpkins and gourds will be for sale, along with other local produce.
Open: 11am to 4pm on Sunday, October 27
Cost: £9.95 for adults, £8 for children, family £28

Horrifying half term fun is on offer at Howletts Wild Animal Park. Enjoy listening to ghost stories in the education centre, or get to grips with real animal bones and teeth at the Terrifying Touch Tables. Other activities include Creepy Crafts, where young visitors can make spiders and spooky eyes to take home and scare friends and family.
Open: 9.30am to 5pm, Saturday, October 26 to Sunday, November 3
Cost: £23.95 adults, £19.95 children aged three to 15, free for under threes.
Address: Bekesbourne Road, Bridge, Canterbury, CT4 5AE
Contact: 0844 842 4647

Vunderbar the Wonderful Wizard will entertain visitors to the Rare Breeds Centre with scary stories and Halloween songs during half-term week. Other activities will include a Scare Glow ultra violet show, Spot the Spook trail, Halloween quiz trail through the woods and Devil’s Pig Race. Young visitors can also have their faces painted and compete for prizes in the daily fancy dress competition.
Open: 10.30am to 4.30pm, Saturday, October 26 to Friday, November 1
Cost: £5.45 for adults and children
Address: Woodchurch, Ashford, TN26 3RJ
Contact: 01233 861493

Address: Godinton Lane, Ashford, TN23 3BP

Contact: 01233 643854 Youngsters can go Trick or Treating in the unusual location of Sittingbourne’s Forum shopping centre. Children are invited to search for pictures of pumpkins, cats or witches in the shop windows. Whenever they spy one, they can enter the shop to request a sweet.

Will you dare to ride the Halloween Express at the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway? In addition to an eerie ride across the Marsh, there will be ghoulish games, ghostly face painting, a special Halloween quiz and Halloween-themed party food. And every child in fancy dress will receive a goody bag.
Open: It departs from Hythe station at 3.10pm, returning at 5.45pm, on Wednesday, October 30 and Thursday, October 31
Cost: £22 adults, £15 children (three to 15 years)
Address: Hythe station, Scanlons Bridge, Hythe, CT21 6LD
Contact: 01797 363256

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SWALE

As Britain’s oldest brewery, Faversham-based Shepherd Neame has a few ‘old’ friends. A Ghostly Tour will offer visitors an insight into the workings of the brewery, and also reveal some strange sightings and unexplained happenings at the site as actors bring some ghostly tales to life.
Open: Tours from 10.30am to 2.30pm on Saturday, October 26
Cost: £12.50
Address: 11 Court Street, Faversham, ME13 7AX
Contact: 01795 532206

Open: 11am to 4pm on Thursday, October 31

Cost: Free

Address: Sittingbourne, ME10 3DL

Contact: 01795 428054 Fiendish family fun is on offer at Leeds Castle, including creepy crafts, face painting, a spooky maze and a pumpkin trail through the grounds. Raggedy Jack will regale visitors with ghostly stories, and young visitors are invited to come dressed to scare for the daily fancy dress competition at 2pm. Older visitors can discover the unpleasant side of Leeds Castle with the new Blood, Boils and Black Death evening tour. Join the castle guides to hear grisly tales about the Black Death and ruthless 16th century ‘sawbones’ surgery. Open: 10am to 5pm from Saturday, October 26 to Sunday, November 3. The Blood, Boils and Black Death tour runs at 6pm, 7pm and 8pm on Thursday, October 31.

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SEVENOAKS

A feast of half-term treats will be on offer for young visitors to Ightham Mote. A Gunpowder Plot mystery trail is taking place around the grounds every day. There will be storytelling by Robin Hood and his merry men at 11am and 2.30pm on Saturday, October 26 and Sunday, October 27, and a Halloween craft workshop at noon on Thursday, October 31.
Open: From 11am to 5pm, Saturday, October 26 to Thursday, October 31, excluding Tuesday.
Cost: £10.40 adults, £5.20 children, £26.30 family. An additional charge of £1 applies for the workshop.
Address: Mote Road, Sevenoaks, TN15 0NT
Contact: 01732 810378

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TONBRIDGE AND MALLING

Treat the kids to a spooky day out at the Hop Farm Family Park. In addition to usual attractions such as the 4D cinema, animal farm, 3D goblin hunt and magic castle, the Paddock Wood venue will offer indoor Halloween entertainment and ghoulish face painting.
Open: From 10am to 5pm, Saturday, October 26 to Friday, November 1
Cost: Admission is free, with additional charges for some of the attractions
Address: Paddock Wood, Tonbridge, TN12 6PY
Contact: 01622 872068

Go batty at Hever Castle this Halloween. Follow a pumpkin and bat trail through the grounds to discover information about the castle’s intriguing past, take part in a bat facts quiz and make a bat mask in a supervised drop-in Halloween workshop. There will also be ghostly goings on in the castle’s dining room, where a storyteller will keep visitors spellbound with a wealth of scary tales, and creative youngsters can decorate Halloween cupcakes.
Open: It runs daily from Monday, October 28 to Sunday, November 3. Gardens open at 10.30am and the castle opens at noon, with final exit at 6pm.
Cost: £15 adults, £8.50 children, family £38.50. An additional charge of £1.50 applies for the cupcake decorating workshop.
Address: Hever, Edenbridge, TN8 7NG
Contact: 01732 865224

Learn how to create realistic gory special effects in a special Halloween make-up workshop at Penshurst Place. Using everyday household materials, award-winning make-up artist Kate Griffiths will show how to create fake cuts, bruises and amputated fingers. It is aimed at children aged seven and over.
Open: 9.30am to 11.30am on Wednesday, October 30
Cost: £10
Address: Penshurst, Tonbridge, TN11 8DG
Contact: 01892 870307

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MAIDSTONE AND WEALD

Cost: General admission is £21 adults, £13.50 children aged four to 15, and free for under fours. The Blood, Boils and Black Death tour is priced £15.

Address: Maidstone, ME17 1PL

Contact: 01622 765400 Ever fancied spending a real-life night at the museum? This Halloween, Maidstone Museum will be offering just that, with an Egyptian-themed sleepover. Find out whether Ta-kesh the mummy comes to life when the lights go out, and if the dinosaurs roar at sunrise. There will also be lots of Egyptian-themed spooky fun including crafts, costumes and creepy stories. Evening snacks and breakfast included. Booking is essential and children must be accompanied by an adult.

Frighteningly good art workshops are on offer at This Art of Mine during half-term, including Frankenstein mug painting, making Halloween jewellery, spooky glass lanterns and creating gargoyles. A Halloween Party is also running from 4pm to 6pm on Thursday, October 31, where youngsters can pop in to enjoy some crafty fun.
Open: 10am to 5pm, Saturday, October 26 to Sunday, November 3
Cost: Workshops from £12. The Halloween party is priced £5.
Address: Little Budds Farm, Coldblow Lane, Thurnham, ME14 3LR
Contact: 01622 735312

Brave the snakes, spiders and scorpions in Creepy Cuddle Corner at Kent Life this week. Visitors can also take the Halloween plunge with slimy zorbing, test their nerves in the frightening farmhouses, take a terrifying tractor ride and follow the wooden ghost hunt. Or maybe take a break from the adrenaline-pumping fun by getting artistic with daily pumpkin carving sessions.
Open: 10am to 6pm, Saturday, October 26 to Sunday, November 3
Cost: £8.95 adults, £6.95 children aged three to 15, free for under threes. Additional charges apply on Saturday, November 2.
Address: Lock Lane, Sandling, Maidstone, ME14 3AU
Contact: 01622 763936

There’s been a murder at Scotney Castle, and detectives are needed to help find out ‘whodunnit’. Visitors can look out for clues and interview suspects as they explore the spooky estate, in an attempt to identify the killer. The Murder at the Mansion trail will run daily from Saturday, October 26 to Sunday, November 3. Other Halloween activities will include workshops to create a broomstick decoration or scary bat hat, and a pumpkin trail around the garden.
Open: 11am to 4pm, Saturday, October 26, Sunday, October 27 and Thursday, October 31
Cost: Admission is £13 adults, £6.50 children, £32.50 family. There is an additional charge of £1 per craft activity and for the murder trail.
Address: Lamberhurst, Tunbridge Wells, TN3 8JN
Contact: 01892 893868

Open: 7pm on Thursday, October 31 to 8.30am on Friday, November 1
Cost: £30 per person
Address: St Faith’s Street, Maidstone, ME14 1LH
Contact: 01622 602838 Older thrillseekers are invited to brave the Halloween Horrors at Fort Amherst in Chatham. The historic site will be running Terror Tours through its underground tunnel complex. As the brave souls venture deeper into the darkness, scene after scene of horror is revealed. Not for the faint-hearted, the Terror Tours are recommended for ages 16 and over. All under 18s must be accompanied by an adult.

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MEDWAY

Test your nerves with a Victorian-themed Scare Tour at Dickens World. All under 18s must be accompanied by an adult for the experience, which lasts 30 minutes. A special Fright Night event is taking place on Thursday, October 31, open to over 16s, with tours from 7pm to midnight. There will also be a Halloween disco from 8pm to 1am, open to over 18s.
Open: Scare tours take place every 30 minutes from 1.30pm to 5.30pm, Monday, October 28 to Sunday, November 3
Cost: £7.50 for the Scare Tour; £10 for the Fright Night tour and £10 for the Fright Night disco, or £18 for both
Address: Leviathan Way, Chatham Maritime, ME4 4LL
Contact: 0844 858 6656

Open: 7pm to midnight on Friday, October 25, Saturday, October, Wednesday, October 30 and Thursday, October 31Cost: Tickets from £10
Address: Fort Amherst, Dock Road, Chatham, ME4 4UB
Contact: 01634 847747

Do you believe in ghosts? In the maze of corridors at the Historic Dockyard, within the ancient buildings of the Masthouses and Mould Loft, there is a gallery known as Hearts of Oak. During the past few years, staff and visitors have reported sightings of a figure and heard strange tapping sounds. On Halloween night, members of the public are invited to take a guided ghost walk around the site, and explore the gallery, to uncover its hidden secrets. The walk is open to ages 16 and over.

Open: 8pm and 10pm on Thursday, October 31
Cost: Tickets from £13.50
Address: The Sail & Colour Loft, the Historic Dockyard, Church Lane, Chatham, ME4 4TY
Contact: 01634 823800

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THANET

Learn about the mysterious White Lady at Quex Park in Thanet. Known as the ‘Ghost of Quex’, she is believed to haunt the estate’s Round Tower. Young visitors are invited to hear the story during a guided tour to the tower, and also take part in a lantern craft activity.
Open: 3.30pm to 5pm, Monday, October 28 to Friday, November 1
Cost: £5 per child, free for an accompanying adult
Address: Quex Park, Park Lane, Birchington, CT7 0BH
Contact: 01843 842168