Spooky spirits at Winter fests
Hallowe’en events in city and Scone Palace
Last year’s Hallowe’en event in the centre of Perth The Fair City is set to become the Scare City this weekend as Perth celebrates Hallowe’en.
Perth’s Winter Festival kicks off with the annual parade and fun night will take place on Saturday, with a costumed procession through the city centre.
King Edward will be full of fun for all the family with storytelling, face painting, funfair rides, dooking for apples and food and drink.
There will also be a ‘Hallowe’en Howler’ race for six to 12 year-olds, a ‘Hallowe’en Screamer’ zip line and a ‘Castle Horror 666 Zombie Maze’. The parade kicks off at 5.30pm, before the Family Stage on King Edward Street opens with a performance from Perth Dance Academy.
At 6pm the Hallowe’en stage at the Horsecross Plaza will open with tribute acts Gary Mullen and The Works (Queen) and Oasish (Oasis).
The event finishes at 9pm and organisers have warned that some areas of the city centre will be zoned off as unsuitable for younger children.
The Black Watch Castle and Museum is hosting a ‘Night at the Museum’ event on Saturday night, where Balhousie Castle is toured by torchlight and tales from the trenches are told. There will also be a barbecue.
The event starts at 6pm. Tickets cost £5 and reservations, which are required, can be made by phoning A previous Hallowe’’en show at Scone Palace 01738 638152.
Outside the city centre, Scone Palace is celebrating some of Perthshire’s scariest folk tales with ‘Spirits of Scone’.
The event will offer an illuminated tour around the palace grounds, including the graveyard and the Ghoul’s Maze. Some gruesome characters from Scottish history will be brought back to life with spine-tingling stories inspired by local folklore.
Perth theatre group Ad-Lib Theatre Arts researched everything from witchcraft to cannibalism in order to help put together the show, which began yesterday and ends on October 31.
Characters who provided inspiration include Bessie Wright, a Scone healer who was investigated
Heather McArthur
for witchcraft in the early 17th Century, and Christie-Cleek – a 14th Century Perth butcher who turned to cannibalism, ambushing victims with a hook, or ‘cleke,’ as they passed on their horse.
The figures will appear around the Palace grounds along with some chilling special effects to form a Hallowe’en ‘horrorscape’, say organisers.
Heather McArthur, sales and events manager for Scone Palace, said: “Luckily for our producers and actors, we have the best setting possible for Hallowe’en frights. Scone Palace lends itself to being a real-life ‘horrorscape’, and we’ll have characters and stories to keep everyone on tenterhooks.”
There will also be a ghoulish selection of hot and cold food available. All children must be accompanied by an adult and, due to the nature of this event, it is not suitable for children under the age of eight. Tickets start at £5.
On Hallowe’en itself – Tuesday, October 31 – a ‘Spooks and Sacrifices’ Celtic Samhain Festival will be held at the Crannog Centre at Kenmore.
The night features storytelling around the fire in the Crannog, “sacrificial” wicker ram burning, apple-ducking and more. The event runs from 7pm-9pm.
Bookings is essential, and can be made at 01887 830583.