11 spooky tours and macabre events to experience in Dublin

Is Dublin spooky? This is not a question to ask your taxi driver en route to your hotel (trust me, he'll exaggerate), but Ireland is the birthplace of Halloween, and spooky season is embraced enthusiastically across the capital in October. It's a city that has seen Viking violence, the plague, revolutions and wars. The streets were once home to Gothic novelist Bram Stoker, and many tour guides will delight in telling you about our famous supernatural characters, macabre events and haunted sites where they swear on their mother's dog's cousin's life that ghosts have been spotted. No, seriously!

If you like Gothic tales, medieval churches and castles, pubs with paranormal activities, ghostbus tours and spooky parades, these are the best places to visit in Dublin this Halloween.

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1. Visit the crypts at St Michan’s Church

The 11th-century St Michan’s Church is wonderful year-round, but especially atmospheric on a rainy autumn or winter afternoon. Inside are cold, dark burial vaults containing mummified remains, including those of a 400-year-old nun and an 800-year-old Norse crusader (who may actually be only 650 years young, so, therefore not a crusader at all). The cold, dry atmosphere preserves the remains remarkably well, even after a senseless arson attack in 2024.

Look out for the death mask of revolutionary hero Wolfe Tone and the church's ornate organ, dating from 1725. The organ is at the center of local lore that claims Handel played it while preparing for the 1742 premiere of his Messiah in Dublin. Though no proof exists anywhere that he was ever in St Michan's during his time in Dublin. It's likely that he practiced in the nearby St Mary's Church. But then again, who knows for sure? None of us were there.

Detour: St Michan's Church is just a three-minute walk from the Jameson Distillery, which is open daily for tours and tastings.

2. Join the Macnas Halloween Parade

Macnas, a legendary and unique Irish interactive performing arts group, is named after the Irish word meaning joyful abandonment. As masters of storytelling and intrigue, they’ve toured with U2 and are renowned for their large-scale theatrical shows and parades. Based in Galway in the west of Ireland, the group brings its annual family-oriented Halloween Street Parade to Ireland’s capital city. This year's parade takes place on Sunday, November 2. The theme is An Treun: The Summoning of the Lost, which "explores how our culture, memory and climate intertwine." It will take a new route through the Gothic core of Dublin's north inner city. 

3. Celebrate the Gothic at Bram Stoker Festival

Born in Dublin in 1847, this Trinity College graduate gifted the world perhaps the most famous literary horror of all time – Dracula. Bram Stoker Festival takes place near Halloween each year in venues around Dublin and offers a playful yet Gothic glimpse into the Dublin of Stoker’s time, explores his influences and sinks its fangs into the supernatural.

4. Feel chills down your spine at Malahide Castle

This stunning medieval castle in the seaside suburb of Malahide has an 800-year history steeped in battles and bloodshed. Its beautiful preservation belies its reputation as one of Ireland's most haunted castles and a turbulent history that includes the bloody Battle of the Boyne. Keep an eye out for ghostly residents like Lady Maud Plunkett, who roams the halls in her wedding dress, and Puck, the court jester. You might also encounter the "Lady in White," who occasionally steps out of her portrait, or Miles Corbet, bestowed the property by Oliver Cromwell (the most hated man in Ireland) following the 17th-century conquest. After being hanged for his crimes, Corbett apparently took up eternal residence. 

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Planning tip: Malahide Castle and Gardens are open to the public seven days a week. Pre-book a guided tour before your visit to learn more about the castle's history. Malahide is easily reached from Dublin city center by DART train or the 142 bus. Daruma is a lovely neighborhood spot for dinner.

5. Take a hellish ride on the Ghostbus

For a fun, theatrical take on Dublin's darker side, the Ghostbus Tour is highly entertaining. With professional actors leading the way, you'll hear tales of bodysnatchers and hauntings, visiting locations like the hidden cemetery at St. Kevin's and the medieval vaults of Dublin Castle. A family-friendly version is available for younger audiences.

Planning tip: Tours depart at 7pm and 9.30pm and last two hours. Book in advance.

6. Drink a paranormal pint at The Brazen Head

As Dublin's oldest pub, The Brazen Head with its low ceilings and dark corners is worth a visit for its atmosphere alone. But its ghostly patrons, Robert Emmet and his executioner, add another reason to visit. Emmet was a nationalist leader who planned his failed 1803 rebellion here. Locals will tell you the pair sometimes appear after last orders - though that apparition is likely only witnessed after one too many pints. Either way, it's the perfect place to strike up a conversation with a regular who will eagerly recount tales of Emmet and other revolutionary figures.

And there is some truth in the tall tale somewhere: The Brazen Head was indeed a genuine meeting place for rebels, and Emmet did frequent Dublin pubs when he was planning his uprising. His famous speech from the execution dock has made him a lasting figure in Irish history.

7. Brave the Haunted History Walking Tour of Dublin

This unique 90-minute walking tour features tales of Darkey Kelly, an alleged 18th-century madam and witch, including her connections to the Hellfire Club in the Dublin Mountains and her gruesome death at the stake. It also visits the cobbled streets where the mythical Demon Dolocher – with the appearance of a pig-like wild beast – roamed the streets. This tour finishes in Dublin’s "Hell," an area near Christchurch with an unsavory history.

8. Wander the ruins of the infamous Hellfire Club

Perched on Montpelier Hill, the 18th-century Hellfire Club was built for wealthy young gentlemen as a hunting club, using stones from a plundered graveyard. Nearly everyone in Dublin has heard of it and it's now synonymous with the occult. Legends claim members played cards with the devil, burned a servant alive and were visited by a priest who exorcised a demon from a black cat. In reality, the members were freethinking provocateurs, influenced by Enlightenment philosophy, who adopted their "outrageous moniker" to scandalize the rigid social and religious norms of Georgian Dublin.

Planning tip: The ruins on Montpelier Hill are well preserved and accessible by car, and the site additionally affords some of the best views of Dublin city and bay. 

9. Experience the horrors of the Black Death on the Gravedigger Ghost Tour

The Gravedigger Ghost Tour goes back 600 years to use the plague outbreak as its backdrop. This bus tour, complete with actors, starts at Trinity College and visits the the location of a former "plague house" and sites like the much-loved by locals Gravedigger's Pub (a great spot for a pint afterwards) and Kilmainham Gaol, focusing on the city's grimmer chapters of disease and death.

Planning tip: It's a two-hour tour that departs at 7.45pm. Book your ticket in advance.

10. Tour the unsettling Kilmainham Gaol

For 130 years, Kilmainham Gaol was a site of immense suffering. It was here that the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising were executed by firing squad. These executions, carried out over several days, are significant because they turned public opinion against British rule and galvanized the centuries-long movement for a free state. Walking through the Stonebreakers' Yard where they were shot by a British army firing squad is a deeply moving experience.

The ghost here is really the overwhelming weight of history, but some spooky tales do exist. During the site's restoration in the 1950s, workers reported numerous paranormal encounters. To this day, visitors and staff tell of being pushed by unseen hands and lights flickering on and off. 

Planning tip: Book your tour weeks in advance as it is one of Dublin's most essential and popular historical attractions.

11. Plunge yourself into The Nightmare Realm

Positioned as a horror film that you walk through, this immersive Halloween event takes you through a maze of rooms that are designed to provoke some spine tingles and possibly screams. Step into hell with terrifying zones such as The Gallows Hill Asylum and Clowns in the Attic.