A helluva big party

Halloween fright nights to give monsters of all ages thrills and chills..

- BY BARBARA MCCARTHY

HALLOWEEN is now one of the biggest festivals in the world, with events starting from mid-October.

And in Ireland it's arguably bigger than anywhere else. It's Irish originally - based on the ancient Celtic pagan festival Samhain, celebrated on October 31, to mark the last day of harvest and the beginning of winter.

This year, there are spooktacular events, festivals and parades all over the country.

To get set for the creepiest festival in the calendar, here's our list of the best of them.

The Nightmare Realm is Europe's most famous Halloween attraction and it's back this year for its most ambitious production yet: The Curse of Five.

It's already open- and fans of the terrifying theme park should know it has moved to an expanded home at Royal Liver Retail Park, Inchicore, Dublin.

Running for 21 nights until November 2, this year's Realm features five brand-new, cinematic haunted mazes, an expanded Halloween Town, and over 150 live performers in a fully immersive, festival-style setting.

The Nightmare Realm is an adrenaline-fuelled Irish production like no other - fusing Hollywood-style set design, cinematic production, live performance, and chilling storytelling into one unforgettable experience.

From the moment you step inside, you'll be stalked by demons, thrown into nightmares, and immersed in a world where fear becomes entertainment.

This year, visitors will descend into the chilling lore of The Curse of the Five - a haunting mystery that unites all five mazes into a single, lore-driven storyline: Gallows Hill Asylum, Trappers, Clowns in the Attic, SILO C, and A Haunting at Blackmore.

Each maze reveals another piece of the curse, pulling guests deeper into the Realm's twisted mythology.

MISCHIEF