Halloween at the Westgate Museum
There are events aimed at young people and families at the Westgate Museum in Winchester during Halloween weekend.On Saturday 30th October young people are invited to a “Fright Night” of ghostly tales and spine-chilling stories aimed at those aged sixteen and over.
There will be two sessions at 6.30pm and 7.30pm and admission is free, although booking is required as places are limited. In the atmospheric upper chamber of the Westgate, young visitors can expect to hear of rotting flesh and maggots, killer rats, and spectres that will drive you insane, all guaranteed to get you suitably spooked in time for Halloween!
On Halloween itself - Sunday 31st October - the Westgate, decorated for the occasion, will be open all afternoon for families to enjoy “Halloween Horrors” - Halloween themed activities. Children and their parents can drop in and have a go at making scary flapping vampire bats to take away with them and hunt for scuttling rats hidden around the ancient chamber.
Robin Iles, Winchester City Council’s Museums Education Officer said: “The Westgate Museum is an ideal setting for Halloween events. From the sounds of footsteps on the stone staircases to the creaking of the old wooden doors, it is full of shadows and gruesome artefacts such as gibbeting irons and prisoners’ leg-irons.”
Cllr Dominic Hiscock, Portfolio Holder for Economic Prosperity at Winchester City Council, said: “The spooky atmosphere of the Westgate is a great place to hold Halloween events. The Fright Night for young people is aimed at an audience not normally well catered for in Halloween events. The Halloween Horrors activities should appeal to local families looking for something free and fun to do together on Halloween afternoon, and perhaps bring people into the old gateway for the first time.”
Fright Night is on Saturday 30 October, 6.30pm and 7.30pm, and Halloween Horrors Family Activities will be running on Sun 31 October, 12 noon to 5pm. Admission is FREE.