Oct 28 - Nov 1 2026
Halloween is coming to Derry.
Join us for the Derry Halloween 40th Anniversary in 2026
For four unforgettable nights in October, our ancient Walled City is transformed into Halloween HQ – and you’re on the guest list.
Join ghosts, banshees and mystical Celtic creatures as they come out to play on our 400-year-old walls. Marvel at stunning light shows, acrobats and circus performers. Feel the warmth of the Derry welcome and dance alongside thousands of costumed revellers, under a sky filled with fireworks.
Halloween is coming to Derry. Are you?
In Derry, we know how to throw a party! Come and experience our world-famous celebrations, where age-old Samhain spirits and present-day thrillseekers join forces for the largest Halloween festival in Europe.
Meet us after dark for three incredible nights of fun, fantasy and family-friendly frights as the veil between living and dead grows thinner.
Grab your costume and revel in the carnival craic as this massive, grassroots parade winds its way through the Home of Halloween.
Derry-Londonderry – the Home of Halloween
The spirits are summoning you and your family to the number one Halloween destination in the world.
Something old, something new – the perfect Halloween destination
Historic buildings sit alongside contemporary architecture. 400-year-old walls stand proud alongside fresh street art. And ancient Samhain rituals combine with modern Halloween customs to create a festival like no other.
Year after year, Derry Halloween just gets bigger as the living and the undead flock here to join in the fun.
For four decades, we’ve put our heart and soul into welcoming visitors and locals, young and old, to this bucket list festival.
No one does Halloween quite like Derry. But don’t just take our word for it! Treat your eyeballs to these sights, and frights, from Halloweens past.
Visitors to this year’s 40th anniversary Derry Halloween can look forward to an unforgettable journey
As Derry Halloween gets set to celebrate its landmark 40th anniversary this year, one local
Over 100 performers from Greater Shantallow Community arts group Studio 2 are preparing to bring
Are you ready for a ghost story?
Halloween has its roots here in Ireland more than two millennia ago, in the festival of Samhain, when ancient Celts marked the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter.
This was said to be the time of year when the veil separating the worlds of the living and the dead was at its thinnest. Bonfires were lit, disguises worn and faces carved into turnips to keep away evil spirits who crossed over to roam among us.
Derry Halloween’s origins are a wee bit more recent, but just as legendary. Our story began forty years ago, with a fancy dress event in a pub (did we mention we love a good party?).
Word soon spread that Derry was the place to be every October 31, and before we knew it, visitors were coming from all over the world to enjoy our epic fireworks, grassroots carnival and out-of-this world costumes.
Now a four-day extravaganza, Derry Halloween attracts over 100,000 people every year and has been named the number one Halloween destination in the world. Derry Girls even devoted a whole episode to us!
We’re a bucket list event now, but we’ve never lost sight of what makes this festival so special: the blend of ancient folklore and new traditions, the warmth of our people, and our pride in our city.
