24 October to 1 November. Term dates are set council by council, so treat the edges as approximate. The October break is pumpkins, wellies and the first properly dark teatimes, and the North West does it well: farms run pumpkin patches and spooky trails, the museums stay free, and the Blackpool Illuminations are still running for the fireside drive home.
Collected from the councils, libraries, theatres and venues running them, and refreshed nightly. More arrive as organisations publish their programmes, so this list grows between now and the break.
A free wolf-spotting activity round the wonkiest Tudor house in England: the wolves have wandered off and the children have to find them. Cross the moat, count the wolves, and let the hall's crooked floors do the entertaining. Normal admission applies.
A free exhibition at Lowry built round picture books like Elmer and Dear Zoo, with play areas for under 7s. It closes on 1 November, so half term is the last chance. Free, but book a timed slot.
Six miles of lights along the prom from the big switch-on night to early January. Drive it, walk it, or catch a heritage tram through the middle of it, which is the version kids remember.
Halloween build challenges, glow in the dark brick workshops and the Great Monster Chase 4D film back in the cinema. The toilets there are shut for a refit until 22 October and the nearest ones are on floor 4 of the Trafford Palazzo, which is better known before than during.
The Clubhouse marks 25 years of Room on the Broom with a Halloween dance party and the chance to meet Witch. Costumes encouraged. It is included in normal admission, which is from £12 a child.
A trail round the tanks helping the Sea Witches and Warlocks protect the creatures, with characters, photo spots and a small pumpkin patch, all in a normal ticket. Under 2s free. The Cursed Depths nights on 30 and 31 October and 1 November are the after hours, scarier version and a separate thing.
Luke Jerram's seven-metre glowing moon hangs in the cathedral for the whole of October, with children's workshops and pyjama parties on the programme. Entry is by donation, suggested £5 an adult or £12 a family, and daytime visits need no booking. Sunday opening is only 12 to 2.
A Halloween trail through the Brockhole woods with six character stations to find. Collect a letter at each one, work out the secret word and claim a Halloween gift bag (colouring book, crayons, a snap band and a maze book) back at Minty Land. Built for 2 to 8 year olds at £3 a child.
A free, low-key Halloween-season job for 5 to 12s: pick up a sheet at the welcome desk and make a skeleton mask inspired by a mysterious painting in Gallery One. Runs through half term and all of November.
Halloween crafts at Clitheroe Castle Museum: a wool castle cat for £2 or a spooky tealight holder for £3, no museum ticket needed. Drop in between 11am and 4pm, all ages.
A Halloween storybook trail through the woods round the lakes at Culcheth, billed as spooky, not scary, and made for families and 'little adventurers': help Victor the Skeleton and Luna the Witch break the Skeleton King's curse. Pram and wheelchair friendly. Early bird tickets are £2 off, infants need a ticket too, parking is £5 booked ahead, and the cheaper early dusk slots from 5.20pm suit small children best.
The whole farm, indoors and out, plus a new Pumpkin Village this year: pumpkin mountains, archways and displays of gourds you did not know existed, and a Sorcery School twice a day. Pumpkins are not in the ticket, so agree a budget before the wheelbarrow comes out. Under 1s free.
The treehouses, zip wires and wobbly bridges as normal, plus Twig or Treating with the characters, a spooky disco, face stencils and a Glowing Light Trail as the sun goes down. Open until 6pm so the light trail is the finale. A limited number of tickets carry 25% off on every date, so the first to book pay least.
An evening walk through 15 acres of woodland lit with glowing pumpkins, with live characters along the way, now in its tenth year. Billed as gentle thrills rather than frights, with marshmallow toasting at fire pits and real owls to meet. Most families spend an hour and a half to two hours; you pick an entry time when you book.
Halloween at the theme park built for the under 12s: a fancy dress street parade, Gilly's Spooky Dance Party, the Monster Mansion Mine and character meet and greets on top of the usual rides. Costumes and colour rather than jump scares, which is the right way round at that age.
A Halloween trail round the aquarium with challenges, a pumpkin patch and a reward at the end, plus Serafina the Sea Witch at weekends and in half term. Included with admission. Separate, scarier After Dark evenings run on 24, 25, 30 and 31 October for older children.
Radcliffe Library's Monday rhyme time carries on at New Life Church, 10.30am in term time, while the library is closed for its move into the new Radcliffe Hub. Cost is not stated on the council page.
Free drop-in storytelling for 2 to 5s at Bolton libraries, running through school holidays. Bolton Central is Wednesdays and Fridays at 11am; Farnworth, Horwich, Westhoughton and others have their own weekly slot.
A weekly chess club for children aged 6 and up at Crosby Library, Mondays from 3.30pm to 4.45pm in the small lecture hall. No booking, just turn up. Drinks are provided.
A free weekly after-school Lego club at Boothstown Library, Tuesdays in term time from 3.30pm to 4.30pm, for primary school children. Under 8s need an adult with them. No booking needed.
Baby Bards is a 45-minute story and early phonics session for 18 months to 4 years at Shakespeare North Playhouse, every Tuesday until 15 December. £6 covers a child and one adult, with no booking fee.
Two free regulars at Bolton Central Library: Baby Time with songs every Tuesday from 10.30am to 11.30am, and Saturday Storytime at 2pm. No booking needed for either.
Stay and Discover at Keswick Museum, a story with Becky and Digby followed by a creative session for under 5s. Free, one booking per family, every term time Wednesday.
A free half hour of stories for under 5s at Stockroom, the new library in Merseyway. Every Wednesday at 11am. It is free but they ask you to book so they know numbers.
Little Explorers at Tullie in Carlisle, a gentle themed session for under 5s and their grown up in a different gallery each week. Children free with an adult ticket. Book ahead.
Little Wanderers at Wordsworth Grasmere, free songs, stories and play for under 5s inspired by Dove Cottage. Term time Thursday mornings, just turn up.
Free Rhyme and Chat Time at Bury Library on Thursdays in term time, 11.30am to 12.30pm, aimed at early speech and language. No booking. Use the ramp opposite the Job Centre and staff will let you in.
Tiny Tales is creative play, stories and songs for under 5s in the Everyman's Street Cafe, Thursdays at 11am until 17 December. £6 covers one adult and up to three children. Book through Teeny Tiny Theatre.
High Jinx, a magic and illusion show in the Blackpool Tower Circus ring, on a handful of dates only this autumn. All shows at 2.30pm, and it comes back for the Christmas holidays.
Bookstart Bear Club at Rochdale Central Library on Fridays in term time, 9.45am to 10.30am, for toddlers up to pre-school. Free, but book a ticket per child. Children collect stamps in a Bookstart passport.
An interactive outdoor art installation for half term: step through a series of mysterious doorways to find local folklore, old traditions and ghost stories. The listing gives no separate price, so assume normal Lyme admission until the National Trust says otherwise.
Spooky World's daytime version at Apple Jacks Farm, aimed at younger children with no scare attractions. Open 10am to 4pm on selected October dates and daily in half term. £15.50 over 90cm, with a free pumpkin each.
The Zoo vs You Top Trumps trail round the Islands zone, pumpkin sculptures, and an exclusive card to take home for finishing, all included in an ordinary zoo ticket. Nothing extra to book and nothing that will give anyone nightmares. Face painting is the one thing charged on top.
A folklore-flavoured Halloween adventure played on one phone through the free Stranger Folk app round the grounds of Wray Castle, with no plastic fangs in sight. Designed for ages 7 to 12, and playable in 20 minutes or spread over a day. Parking is £7 for two hours unless you are a National Trust member.
Quiet inclusive sessions at Dunes Splash World for neurodiverse and disabled visitors and their families, 6pm to 8pm on 19 October, 23 November and 21 December. £8.50 each, one carer free, just turn up and pay.
A movement class for 1 to 5s and their grown-ups at The Met in Bury, Wednesdays 1.30pm to 2.30pm until 16 December, with no session in half term. £4.50 a session. Good for burning off energy indoors.
The Garrick's production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat runs over half term in Altrincham. Matinees on the weekends. Recommended for 6 and over, and no under 4s at all.
Batilda the witch has dropped her potion ingredients all over the house, and children hunt them down room by room for a small prize. Recommended from age 3; adults pay normal house admission.
Jack Skellington, Sally and Zero in lights, projections and sculptures round Arley's gardens, set to the film's songs. It is the spookier end of Christmas and about 75 minutes of walking outdoors on a one-way route, with pushchairs recommended for children five and under. Arley only hosts it, so questions and bookings go to the organiser, and use postcode CW9 6NA then follow event signs, not the sat nav.
A clue trail round the village aimed at 3 to 10 year olds, five pounds a map with a spooky reward at the end. Entry and parking at Blakemere are free, so this is about as cheap as a Halloween outing in Cheshire gets, provided you can steer round the shops.
Liverpool's free light art trail along the waterfront, running right through October half term. Not fireworks, but a better fit for children who find bangs too much. Nightly times were not published when we checked, so look before you set off.
Scarecrows all round the gardens and woods, themed this year on pop stars and music legends. Included in admission, and closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Through October there is also Stranger Folk, an app-based folklore quest with goblins and other creatures lurking round the house and gardens.
Half term at the aquarium with spooky trails, activities and skeleton scuba shows in the tanks, plus the odd ghoul wandering about. Indoors and warm, which counts for a lot in the last week of October. The page prints no year, but those dates only fit this year's half term.
Half term crafts at Blackwell, the Arts and Crafts house above Windermere: tissue paper flowers every day and stamp making on 29 October. Included with house admission.
Spooky drop in crafts every afternoon of half term at Tullie in Carlisle, a different make each day. Children go free with an adult day ticket or annual pass.
A circus-themed half-term panto, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, at St Helens Theatre Royal from 24 October to 1 November. Two shows on the first weekend, then a 1pm matinee daily. A family ticket for four is £103.
Pick up a trail sheet and hunt down the ten Grumpy Pumpkins round the museum grounds and woodland, each guarding an ingredient the Witch of the Wood needs for her spell. It is £1 a child on top of adult admission. The same week has spooky stories for little ones on Thursday 29 October and Jack-o'-lantern light walks in the woods on the evenings of the 26th and 27th (adults £10, children £7.50).
Crewe Heritage Centre has Halloween fun on its half-term open days, 24 October to 1 November, 10am to 4.30pm. Wednesday 28 October is a free admission day. The 31 October weekend closes the season.
Half term at the safari park done in Halloween dress, with the drive-through reserve and the shows running as usual underneath it. The car is the ride, which suits children who have had enough of queuing.
Muncaster's big Halloween week, themed Zombies and Boggles this year: a scary maze, pumpkin patch (free pumpkin for the first 2,500 child tickets), a Halloween trail in the gardens, parades, a haunted castle, bird of prey displays and a torchlight march. The indoor Castle Show is an upgrade at £17 adult and £13 child on top.
Half term opens with a Miniature Steam Weekend, then a week of children's activities with, the museum says, a few spooky Halloween happenings. Detail was thin when we checked, so treat it as a museum day with extras.
Stations and cafes get ghoulish decorations, the railway museum at Ravenglass puts on children's activities, and selected trains run as double-headers with two steam engines up the Eskdale valley. Full details were still to come when we checked, so budget for a normal train fare.
Not Halloween as such, but half term on the Wirral with a real-life dragon from Teach Rex, dragon breath with The Wonderweaver and a new show, Dragon Dynamics. Useful for the child who is sick of pumpkins by the Tuesday.
Quarry Bank's first Scarecrow Festival carries on into half term with a scarecrow trail, storytelling, crafts and games. The Apprentice House is running spooky tours this autumn too.
Nine skeleton scenes hidden across 50 acres of autumn gardens, more daft than frightening, and the whole thing is covered by ordinary garden and parkland entry. It runs the length of half term but shuts on the Monday, which catches people out every year.
An interactive spooky plants trail round the garden: scary-looking species, plants with legendary healing powers and poisonous ones with dark secrets, with rubbings to collect and your own spooky plant to design. It is included in garden admission, which is free for under 5s. Zoolab witch and wizard potion sessions with creepy crawlies on 27 and 28 October are bookable extras, and there are spooky grass heads to make on 25, 30 and 31 October.
A free Halloween trail round Chester city centre, 24 October to 1 November. Spot ten or more candy clues in local businesses, note their colour and design, and enter to win a £50 Chester Gift Card.
Halloween at Blackpool Zoo turns into a Wizarding Wildlife School, with classes and activities included in normal admission. An optional VIP experience for ages 5 and up costs £19.99 extra.
A book-themed Halloween trail round Ness Botanic Gardens, 24 October to 2 November, 10.30am to 3.30pm. It takes about 40 minutes and suits 5 to 12s. The sheet is free with admission; bring a pencil.
A book-themed trail round the gardens for 5 to 12s, about 40 minutes: spot favourites from children's books along the way and work out which one the witch has not read. The trail sheet is free with garden entry, but bring a pen or you will be buying one in the shop. Half term also has a Halloween family workshop, and an autumn colours workshop on Tuesday 27 October.
Everything on the what's on board27 more not shown here
October rain is a certainty, not a risk. These are the reliable indoor days, ranked by the venues families rate most.
Working steam engines, the story of Cottonopolis, and hands-on galleries in the world's oldest surviving passenger railway station. Free, and the live demonstrations are the bit kids actually remember.
Five floors, free, and it covers three things small children reliably love: giant dinosaurs, an aquarium and a space gallery. The best wet-weather day within half an hour.
The big pirate-themed arcade on the Central Promenade: free to walk in, with the Pirate Flyer ride, a ghost train, the Camel Derby and a prize shop. Kids eat free with a paying adult, all day, every day.
The city's story with an overhead railway carriage to climb aboard and Little Liverpool, a dedicated hands-on gallery for under-6s. Free, on the waterfront, and the window views are half the fun.
Free, right in the city centre, and properly set up for children: the Lion's Den family gallery has its own play space and the family activity programme costs nothing. Closed Mondays.
A T. rex skeleton cast, live frogs in the vivarium, Egyptian mummies and a genuinely good natural history floor. Free, university-run, and less overwhelming than the big London equivalents.
Planning further ahead? The rolling school holidays page always shows the current or next break, and the what's on board has everything dated across the region.