Over 100,000 visitors are expected to visit the city for the annual celebrations
Europe’s largest Halloween carnival is underway in Derry with events throughout the week building towards the city’s biggest night of the year on Friday.
Since it began in the 1980s with a small group of friends showing off their costume creations, the festival has grown and grown from its grassroots origins and now attracts around 100,000 visitors to the historic walled city.
We have rounded up all the essential information you need to know ahead of Derry Halloween 2025:
READ MORE: Strabane Halloween highlights you won’t want to missREAD MORE: Derry Halloween road closures and parking details outlined
What’s on at Derry Halloween
From Tuesday October 28 – Friday October 31, the streets will be taken over by a cast of mythical and mysterious characters bringing the Celtic festival of Samhain to life for Europe’s biggest largest Halloween celebration.
Awakening the Walled City Trail
The Derry Walls are under siege again: from an army of spirits!
As Samhain approaches, and the veil separating living and dead grows ever thinner, get ready for an otherworldly takeover of EPIC proportions…
Brace yourself for three nights of enchantment, mischief and spine tingles as a multitude of immortal creatures invade our ancient walls, cobbled streets and darkened alleyways.
Find out more here
Little Horrors
Join us for Little Horrors at Derry Halloween, where family fun takes centre stage!
Unleash your creativity with arts and crafts, transform into your favourite Halloween character, be mesmerised by our spooky kids’ shows, and gather around for enchanting storytelling that sparks the imagination and tickles your funny bone.
You can find a full calender of child-friendly events here
Heart of Samhain
For four nights, Guildhall Square and Waterloo Place will come alive with musical performances, and delicious food stalls where revellers can refuel.
Senses are stirred and taste buds tantalised as melodies hang in the cold night air.
Live music offerings
As night falls, the Derry air is filled with the rhythms of the undead. So, let’s make a song and dance of it!
From haunting harmonies to out-of-this-world beats, you can enjoy a brilliant line-up of live performances in our music-loving city.
- Samhain Stage – Let local artists bewitch you with live music in the very heart of the city. Unwind, dance, and embrace the Halloween spirit
- Cathedral Quarter Stage – Haunting harvest harmonies echo through the beautiful Cathedral Quarter. With its old churches and historic buildings nestled along the Derry Walls, settings don’t get more atmospheric than this
Halloween Night Carnival Parade
To feel the true spirit of the city, and the warmth of our people, join us at the beating heart of the festival: the Carnival Parade. This event is all about community, inclusivity, and coming together to celebrate our proud and resilient city.While the parade is grassroots, it’s big, bold and very ambitious: imagine 40,000 people, all cheering along in fancy dress as a huge procession of innovative floats, talented performers and crazy costumes winds its way through our city. We’d love to see you there.
This year, North West Carnival presents ‘City of Bones’ which will feature a host of spirits and otherworldly creatures that draw from the deep well of myth and legend associated with Samhain.
The parade will showcase the creative talent of our diverse communities and include arts, community, sports, music and performance based organisations from across the city, district and beyond. Expect a Halloween spooktacular like no other.
The ‘City of Bones’ Carnival parade kicks off at 7pm on Friday October 31.
For more information on what events are happening see here
Derry Halloween fireworks information
See the River Foyle and the city’s landmarks lit up in technicolour at Derry Halloween’s epic fireworks finale. Feel the magic in the air as these beauties erupt – from sparkling showers to massive showstoppers! It is set to be a spectacular end to an unforgettable four days.
The fireworks finale will take place along the River Foyle, beginning at 8.15pm on Friday October 31.
Derry Halloween Walled City trail zones
Red Zone – Shipquay Shriek
Sliantha the Samhain Serpent will inhabit Derry’s Shipquay Street. Fire pits and eerie ambience bring this immersive trail to life – a spine tingling spectacle for the brave. In the Craft Village, visitors can enjoy an eclectic celebratory gathering of music and dance performances, with boo-tiful Halloween characters coming out to play in Ghouls Just Want To Have Fun
Purple Zone – Disco At The Diamond
Step into The Diamond, where light, colour and Halloween magic awaken the spirits of Samhain. From towering puppets to funky skeletons, get ready to dance, dazzle and join the spellbinding street party.
Fright Night Funk transforms the streets into an electrifying dance party with El Carromato’s spectacular 13-foot illuminated puppets. These towering luminous beings beckon spirits both living and dead to join their ritual – where mortals become one with the ancient dance of Samhain.
Day of the Dead skulls bursting with colour, character and a touch of spooky sweetness. Standing tall in the heart of our Disco at the Diamond, these larger-than-life skulls blend sugary celebration with spine tingling style. Snap a selfie, strike a pose and get ready to party with the spirits!
Green Zone – Bones of Bishop Street
Enter the Green Zone, where the restless dead roam and eerie spirits awaken. Step into the shadows, where werewolves, banshees, wailing nuns and zombies lurk.
In the shadowed depths of Bishop Street, the haunting She-Wolf emerges from the darkness, her amber eyes fixed longingly on the glowing Samhain Moon. With each desperate attempt to reach the sacred light, she is pulled back by the restless spirits and ghostly bones that guard this cursed cobblestone path. Witness her eternal struggle as she prowls between worlds, forever trapped by the vengeful dead who refuse to let her pass.
The Courthouse cells confine not historic figures, but creatures of myth and legend. Bound by ancient magic, these imprisoned beings await the arrival of Samhain when the courthouse’s enchanted barriers weaken, allowing them to break free.
The Sisters of Mercy, our Wailing Nuns will roam this cobbled path. Brace yourself for their haunting cries and beware encountering one lest you leap out of your skin!
Orange Zone – Pump’kin Street
At Pump’kin Street, autumn magic fills every corner. From harvest markets and photo opportunities, to whimsical shows and puppets, there’s fun, colour, and festive Halloween charm for all ages!
At St. Columb’s Cathedral, as dusk falls and the night awakens, journey through an illuminated dreamscape designed to enchant and inspire. Explore a world bathed in gentle glows, soft shadows and shimmering tones. Thoughtfully crafted to evoke wonder, this immersive experience offers a moment of calm, reflection and awe beneath the autumn sky.
Stelzen’s majestic and serene Moon Lady Stilt Walkers move ethereal grace that captivates all who behold them. Towering above the crowd they bring celestial warmth and smiles wherever they roam. By their sides is the Moon Man. The elegant companion to the Moon Queens and sovereign master of shining nights and twinkling star lights.
Blue Zone – Echoes of The Walls
In the Blue Zone, the shadows of Derry’s past awaken. From towering skeletons to haunted streets, experience ghostly tales and spine-tingling encounters hidden within the city walls.
Since the 1600s, creatures have toiled in the shadows of the city walls, their wretched lives and deaths a whispered history etched into the stone. Now, their eternal resting place is within the walls themselves.
The city’s resident skeleton, Walter de Burgh, will emerge from the ethereal mist. His skeletal form towers against the night, eyes blazing as he calls forth his ghostly clan from the depths of history.
Pink Zone – Enchanted Embankment
‘FIREWALL !!’ by LUXE is a spectacular installation of fire and lantern, lighting up the historic City Walls that overlook the impressive night lights of Derry’s Bogside. As Ireland’s leading spectacle company LUXE present brilliant work nationally and internationally, North and South, throughout the year.
Yellow Zone – Spooky Square
This Halloween, magic stirs in the mute meadows below Ebrington Square. Join the Blue Guardian, a spirit from the old workhouse, on her enchanting return in search of the children she once cared for. As she arrives, ghostly children emerge from the shadows – lanterns glowing, voices singing, and feet dancing through the misty meadows in a magical, spooky procession.
Road and car park closures
From Tuesday October 28 – Thursday October 30, road closures will be operated from 2pm until 10pm in the following areas – Magazine Street Upper, Butcher Street, Ferryquay Street, Upper Strand Road, Bishop Street within, The Diamond, Fountain Street, Kennedy Street.
Shipquay Street, Bank Place, Union Hall Street, Magazine Street, will close from 12 noon. New Market Street will close from 5pm.
No City Centre on-Street parking from the 28 – 30 October and a full road closure will be in operation in Pump Street, London Street, Artillery Street, Upper Magazine Street during those dates.
28 – 31 October Upper Strand Road from junction of Sackville Street, Taxis and Goods Vehicles Loading only 12.00 – 24.00
Car Park Closures
Bishop Street (Motor Home Parking) Oct 28 – Nov 1 – Full closure
Society Street, Foyle Street Oct 28 – Oct 31 – Full closure
Victoria Market (Accessible Parking) 28 – 31 Oct – Partial closure
Queen’s Quay 31 Oct – Full closure
Strand Road (Accessible Parking Only) 31 Oct – Accessible Parking
Accessible drop-off points include Custom House Street, Bishop Street Without and Strand Road. The public are encouraged to use Foyleside and Quayside car parks.
Accessible carparking will be available at Victoria Market Carpark from 28 – 31 October and Strand Road Carpark on the 31 October. These will operate on a first come first served basis.
Translink will run additional services to the city centre throughout the event.
For more details of parking restrictions and car park availability for Derry Halloween, see here
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