Experience Europe’s Spookiest Halloween Events In 2024
Samhain (Halloween) in Ireland [Image Púca Festival on Facebook]The spookiest time of year is coming soon, but if you are tired of your normal decorations and trick-or-treating, why not experience Halloween in one of Europe’s immersive storytelling traditions? Experience the culture of your destination, while the goosebumps rise.
Spookiest Halloween experiences in Europe
The following destinations allow visitors to explore the legends, myths and local traditions that make for the best Halloween celebrations.
Traditional Samhain celebrations in Ireland
Samhain (Halloween) in Ireland [Image Púca Festival on Facebook]More than 2,000 years ago, the ancient Celts in what is now known as Ireland donned masks and lit bonfires to ward off evil spirits and demons. This happened during Samhain, the harvest festival that marked the beginning of winter. Meanwhile, Celtic folklore says that on Púca, the boundaries between our world and the next become blurred, and spirits and fairies walk the earth.
Heading to County Meath’s Púca Festival, visitors can enjoy tales of shape-shifting creatures from Irish storytellers. Moreover, they can experience the heady ritual of the lighting of the Samhain fire, while learning the traditions of the Celtic New Year, with some contemporary hints. Tickets are available on the festival’s website.
Experience the Ritual of the Killing of the Living Dead in Romania
Ritual of the Killing of the Living Dead in Romania [Image Halloween in Transylvania on Facebook]Just saying the name Transylvania brings a sense of horror and the vampire Dracula. However, long before Bran Stoker made the movie, the Romanians living in Sighișoara had been easing their departed loved ones’ journeys into the afterlife. To do so, they run the Ritual of the Killing of the Living Dead. Meanwhile, don’t try to compare this tradition to the AMC show, The Walking Dead!
Hertha Todea, who runs Halloween tours in Sighișoara, explains that Romanians are a superstitious people, adding:
The undead (or strigoi in Romanian) are spirits of the dead, who do not reach the world ‘beyond’ after the funeral, or refuse to return ‘there’ after visiting their relatives. They are very dangerous for the living: they take the lives of close relatives, bring diseases and other suffering.
The Ritual of the Killing of the Living Dead is performed exactly as traditional old burial rites were to ensure the passing of strigoi. We want to introduce visitors to traditional Romanian folklore from before the legends of Dracula, and show them that many of the elements used in the ritual – candles, incense, garlic, holy water and basil – are things we still use today.
Visit the Devil’s Bridge in Borgo a Mozzano, Tuscany, Italy
Bridge in Borgo a Mozzano, Tuscany, Italy [Image by M.Chelmowski/Chelman on Wikimedia Commons]Heading to Italy, one of the best places to celebrate Halloween is Borgo a Mozzano in Tuscany. According to legend, Saint Julian was having problems completing the construction of the 11th-century Ponte della Maddalena. He decided to enter into a pact with Satan to finish the construction, in return for the soul of the first person to cross it.
[Image Halloween Borgo a Mozzano on Facebook]Meanwhile, Borgo a Mozzano’s Halloween Festa is held on October 31 each year. The highlight of the celebration is a procession through the town, evoking the spirit of Lucida Mansi, the beautiful 17th-century Italian noblewoman who, according to legend killed her lovers by throwing them into a pit full of spikes when she was done with them. Visit the website for a full list of activities on Halloween.
Anne Sewell: Anne is a freelance writer and travel writer who has spent much of her life in southern Africa (Malawi, Zimbabwe and South Africa, and is now living on the Costa del Sol in southern Spain.