Liz Nicholls rounds up the best activities - many of them spooky - around the county as schools break up

Parents of a nervous disposition, look away now. There a are plenty of ghoulish goings-on all over Oxfordshire for Half Term as Halloween looms.

But, if you’re easily spooked, you might want to choose carefully. Over at Fairytale Farm in Chipping Norton, the Enchanted Walk has turned into Nightmare Farm with a trail based on the legend of Southcombe Abbey destroyed by fire centuries ago and haunted by lost souls. Make no bones about it, says owner Nick Laister, the aim is to terrify people. “Last year, there wasn’t one person – child or adult – who made it through to the other side of the Horror Maze without screaming,” says Nick.

“And this year, there are a few more surprises as the lights go down.

“We make it clear that nothing will touch the visitors, but they are likely to feel goosebumps! We have some great light and sound effects.”

The trail, suitable only for older children and adults, takes place from 6.30-10pm on Halloween (Friday) and next Saturday and Sunday (£5/£4.75). Among the helpers this year at Nightmare Farm is Nick’s son James, who turns 14 on Friday and has always enjoyed his Halloween-themed birthday.

Nick and wife Nicola – who runs the attraction – have three other children; Guy, 21, Olivia, 17 and Grace, nine. The family bought the site and opened Fairytale Farm last year, inspired by Olivia who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair after the family struggled to find attractions which catered to disabled children. It was opened by David Cameron and is unique locally. If the Horror Maze is too scary, the site hosts Fairytale Baddies and Spooks for ages five to ten as well as Illuminated Evenings daily through Half Term.

Fairytale Farm, Southcombe, Chipping Norton, OX7 5QH. fairytalefarm.co.uk/01608238014

Over at Oxford Castle Unlocked, Terror Tuesdays offer guided tours of the haunted former prison, including the crypt. This section of the site, which dates back nine centuries and was once a Norman church, has sent many a shiver down visitors’ spines.

“There is one very creepy corner,” explains tour guide Carla Buckingham. “We call it Brother Bernard’s corner, in the far right of the crypt and people have reported lots of weird experiences here. Once, a visitor said they saw a light floating above my head. I and my colleagues have often smelled alcohol – a hoppy aroma – wafting around in this spot and visitors have reported hair being pulled, clothes being ruffled... Then, there’s a recorded sighting by prison guard Michael Jenkins in the 1970s – he saw someone in a cloak climb down St George’s Tower – even though all the prisoners at the time were accounted for, so it seems to have been a ghostly apparition, maybe Matilda...”

Oxford Castle also hosts Trick Or Treating tomorrow, Friday and next Saturday as a safe alternative to door-knocking and Treasure Trails around D-Wing to take in tales of execution.

01865 260666 / oxfordcastleunlocked.co.uk

Oxford Mail:

You’ll find plenty of wholesome fun at Oxford Pumpkin Festival which kicks off at Leys Community Market in Nightingale Avenue with a free pumpkin carving and cooking event tomorrow, 11am - 1.30pm.

Supported by Oxford Community Food Bank, create a lantern and learn how to make tasty soup. Next Thursday (6-8pm) there’s a free round of inspiring short talks with food and drinks at Oxford Town Hall and at 8pm, a food and waste themed open-mic Catweazle Club with music and poetry at East Oxford Community Centre (£6/£5) and on Friday there’s a Scratch Feast performance about the food chain at Oxford’s OVADA Warehouse (free – book a place at tinyurl.com/nvadf9l)

Swing by the Halloween Howl at Millets Farm Centre near Abingdon from tomorrow until next Saturday (10.30am-4.30pm daily). Its maize maze will be covered in webs and witches, with family fun included in the ticket price (£4/£6.85). Test your detective skills in a CSI challenge, Do You Dare creepy-feely boxes, walk through a haunted house, hunt the Spook Squad, door-knock for ticks or treats, make a pumpkin picture, find monsters in the maze and pick and carve a pumpkin. Also at Millets is Dr Mike Leahy and his Zoo Bus where you can handle snakes, lizards and other slithery creatures.

Milletsfarmcentre.com

The Story Museum in Pembroke Street, Oxford, hosts fabulous Half Term fun, including an interactive cartoon workshop with David O’Connell on Tuesday (11.30am) for ages six years plus (£6) and Jampire Jamboree at 2pm to solve the great doughnut mystery. On Thursday, explore the beautiful 26 Characters exhibition with a Torchlit Tour at 5pm followed by thrills and ghost stories with David Shelton and his new tome of creepy tales for ages 11-plus (6pm, £5). On Friday create your own ghoulish comic creations with The Phoenix’s Adam Murphy (11.30am-1pm, ages 8-12, £6), or join Zombie Zumba and learn the monster mash steps from Thriller (all ages, 12.30pm and 3pm, £2) and join the Halloween Corpse Talk to dig up personalities from the past and produce your own undead-infested comic (2-3pm, ages 6-12, £5) followed by another Torchlit Tour.

Storymuseum.org.uk / 01865 790 050.

Blenheim Palace ghost train sets off tomorrow (until November 2), taking families from the palace through the spooky tunnel to the Pleasure Gardens to enjoy a whole host of haunts. Lurk in the labyrinth, take the Which Witch is Which? trail to win treats, get crafty in the Pottering About studio and carve a pumpkin. There is also classic spooky storytelling in the cinema of the Stables Courtyard, including The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and The Canterville Ghost. On Wednesday, visitors can learn about the five Victorian Dukes and their interesting wives. £13.50/£6.60 

blenheimpalace.com / 0800 849 6500 

Oxford Mail:

Science Oxford splashes out on some Half-Term Fun starting with a Scary Slime Workshop tomorrow at Oxford Castle and a The Magic Science Show at The Story Museum on Wednesday (11am & 2.30pm) with interactive ‘sorcery’ for seven-plus (£6). The Halloween Show at Didcot Civic Hall on Friday (11am & 1pm) invites you on a scary science journey with spooky surprises and eerie experiments (£5).

Scienceoxford.com/live / 01865 810 000.

Waterperry Gardens near Wheatley holds its Great Pumpkin Hunt from tomorrow until next Sunday. Gardens open 10am-5pm daily. £6.50. waterperrygardens.co.uk / 01844 339226 while Notcutts Garden Centre near Sutton Courtenay hosts a witch hunt, hat and mask making and a chance to scoop some sweets by guessing how many jelly snakes are in the jar (50p a pop) tomorrow until next Sunday, 10am–4pm. 01865 343454

A treat for classic cinema fans, Ultimate Picture Palace in Jeune Street, East Oxford screens the original Phantom of the Opera from 1925 – a silent film with a live music soundtrack.

Uppcinema.co.uk

The Theatre, Chipping Norton, holds a Spooky Steps Dance Workshop next Friday (10am-1pm) for ages six to nine. Children in fancy dress are invited to create their own performance for family and friends at the end of the morning. Tickets £22, 01608642350.

Cornerstone Didcot holds its Halloween Storytelling with Scary Little Girls next Friday at 8pm. Other fab Half Term activities include Pumpkin Heads clay sculpture on Thursday (1.30-3.30pm) and Halloween Horrors Animation Station 10.30am-4.30pm next Friday.

01235 515144/ cornerstone-arts.org

Oxford Mail:

Also make sure you go animal crackers at Cotswold Wildlife Park near Burford (OX18 4JP, 01993 823 006) which has lots of batty fun lined up and the wonderful Crocodiles of the World in Brize Norton (OX183NX) which hosts torchlit Fright Nights, 7pm-10pm next Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Plenty of bumps in the night to see you through to the end of term!

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