Halloween Spooktacular
Back at Mallow Castle
WITH the ‘witching hour’ now close at hand, ghost, ghouls and things that go bump in the night are gearing up for their annual Halloween outing.
Mallow is also getting ready to host its own annual ‘frightfest’, with the free ‘Spooktacular’ in the grounds of Mallow Castle on Saturday the culmination of a packed programme of events planned for the town across the day.
From tales of ghostly white rats to unexplained lights in the windows of the old castle, to a coach being pulled through the grounds by headless horses, there is no shortage of intriguing mysteries surrounding Mallow Castle and its environs.
With its long and storied history stretching back hundreds of years and its eerily atmospheric surroundings, Mallow Castle is the perfect venue to spend the afternoon and welcome the Halloween season as dusk settles across Mallow.
The fun will commence at 12.30pm with live music at the town plaza in the company of local acts including Cork County and Munster champions and All-Ireland Scór runners-up Kilshannig GAA.
A Halloween treasure hunt will get underway outside St Mary’s Church from 2pm, with all roads leading to the Castle grounds for two hours of weird and wonderful activities from 3pm.
Attractions will include Halloween games in the specially erected marquee, a spooky photo booth and performances by the Centre Stage School. The Wobbly Circus street entertainers will also be on hand with their displays of gravity defying tightrope walking and spectacular fire juggling.
Mallow Chamber, which is organising the event in conjunction with Cork County Council’s Kanturk/Mallow district committee, has urged both children and adults to ‘get into the spirit’ by turning up in fancy dress.
Chamber president Pat Hayes said there will be prizes on offer for the best dressed scary spectres, wrathful witches and wizards and possessed phantoms.
“Since its inception the annual ‘Spooktacular’ has been a wonderful opportunity for the local community to come together and for people to come to Mallow to enjoy the occasion and to see all that the town has to offer to visitors,” said Mr Hayes.
“We are looking forward to once again welcoming people to Mallow for a great free day of Halloween fun and frolics”.