6 great Halloween events taking place across Scotland
If you’re not donning a Scream mask or slipping into a scary clown outfit for a spot of fun-filled guisin’, here are a few other things (both chilling and not so much) to do and see on 31 October
Hen Night Horror
If you’ve been stuck on a long train journey beside a team of hennies filled to the eyeballs with cans of mid-price Prosecco, you’ll probably agree with that show title. The blurb for this musical comedy-horror says you’ll be ‘screaming with laughter’ so we’ll count this as an ideal Halloween outing.
Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow.
The Shining
There was a Guardian article recently about old films that might make you unintentionally laugh, and the ubiquity of Kubrick’s 1980 version of Stephen King’s chiller could well make it qualify. Let’s face it, some of Jack Nicholson’s antics in portraying troubled author Jack Torrrance were always a bit chortle-worthy. Those twins will never not be terrifying though.
Filmhouse, Edinburgh.
Possession
A year after The Shining came this disturbing doppelganger drama starring the late Sam Neill and the great Isabelle Adjani who was probably still in recovery from having worked beside Klaus Kinski in Nosferatu The Vampyre. Despite the rather salacious publicity campaign behind the film, this psychological horror is worth the risk and is unlikely to escape your head for some time after.
GFT, Glasgow.
Duck Pond
Created by Yaron Lifschitz, this is an exuberant take on Swan Lake by the scarily good circus troupe Circa. Expect amazing aerials, awe-inducing acrobatics, fluffy feathers and an army of sequinned flipper-wearing ducks.
Festival Theatre, Edinburgh.
Dundead Halloween
Getting fully into the spirit, Dundead lays on a 50th anniversary party for the first cinematic outing of the dastardly and demonic Damien Thorn. In director Richard Donner’s The Omen, starring Gregory Peck and Lee Remick, he’s a wee six-year-old lad up to all sorts of devilish doings, but was played later in the franchise by the aforementioned icon Sam Neill.
DCA, Dundee.
Galoshans Festival
Worth noting that this festival kicks off on 16 October and features the likes of a Haunted Home street party, a book event about the Paisley Witch Trials, a Monster Mash silent disco, a visit from a huge inflatable puppet called Arachnobot, and a performance of Groupwork’s EIF hit, When Prophecy Fails, while on that all-important final day of the month, the ante is upped with a musical entitled Witch Hunt.
Various venues, Inverclyde.
Main picture: Steven Van Elk.