If you are visiting Dublin in the month of October or over Halloween, here are some Halloween inspired places you can visit. There is a Bram Stoker Festival that kicks off tomorrow and runs for 4 days and nights. Check out the website for a list of the activities that are on. In particular, I know we are keen to check out the Macnas Parade, happening on the 30th November from 6pm. It is free to watch the parade, it starts on Moore Street and weaves through Dublin shopping district.
[bctt tweet=”Did you know that Bram Stoker, an irish author who wrote the gothic novel Dracula, was born in Dublin! ” username=”thisisus_living”]
Then there are halloween inspired places in Dublin that are available to visit all year round,. I thought I would put together a list of the bizarre, haunted and spooky places that make for a perfect Halloween day or night out.
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- Glasnevin Cemetery & the body snatchers watch tower tour. Fun fact about Glasnevin Cemetery: there are over 1.5million are buried in the cemetery, which is a greater number than people alive living in Dublin! If you believe a zombie apocalypse is coming, perhaps avoid living in Dublin! The tour cost EUR13, and it is rated one of the best tourist attractions in Dublin (according to Trip Advisor). I strongly agree with this rating, next to Kilmainham Gaol, this was one of my favourite tours to go on. You are taken around the cemetery with a tour guide, who runs through interesting parts of Irish History, along with the very many interesting people who are buried on the grounds. You also get to visit Daniel O’Connell’s crypt, it is said to be lucky to knock on his coffin – hopefully he doesn’t know back!
- The National Museum of Archaeology (Bonus: it is free to visit; no entry admission fees!) Not only will you be able to see artifacts dating back to 7000BC, there is a current exhibition on showing the recent discovering of bog bodies found in 2003 in county Meath. A bog body is a human cadaver that has been naturally mummified in a peat bog.
- Fans of the TV series “Penny Dreadful” should visit the Natural History Museum in Dublin. This is the scene where Dr. Alexander Sweet (or Dracula as most of us know him to be) poses as a zoologist to seduce Vanessa Ives. This museum is also free to visit, no entry admission fees.
- Malahide Castle Tour. If you are looking for a tour of a haunted castle while visiting Dublin, then I suggest going to Malahide. Not only is this Castle haunted, but the tour is very interesting, so worth a visit. The gardens are well maintained and beautiful to wonder through too. You can pack a picnic or grab some lunch at the AVOCA that is on the grounds too. Entrance fee is EUR12.50 for adults, book a time slot online to avoid disappointment. Also, if you are keen on running, there is a parkrun on the grounds, every Saturday morning (which is free to run).
- Glasnevin Cemetery & the body snatchers watch tower tour. Fun fact about Glasnevin Cemetery: there are over 1.5million are buried in the cemetery, which is a greater number than people alive living in Dublin! If you believe a zombie apocalypse is coming, perhaps avoid living in Dublin! The tour cost EUR13, and it is rated one of the best tourist attractions in Dublin (according to Trip Advisor). I strongly agree with this rating, next to Kilmainham Gaol, this was one of my favourite tours to go on. You are taken around the cemetery with a tour guide, who runs through interesting parts of Irish History, along with the very many interesting people who are buried on the grounds. You also get to visit Daniel O’Connell’s crypt, it is said to be lucky to knock on his coffin – hopefully he doesn’t know back!
- St. Michan’s Church. This church was founded in 1095, and was the only church north of the river Liffey for over 450 years. You can go on a tour of the crypts below the church for EUR6 (tours are only available on a Saturday morning between 10am – 12:45pm; and may be cancelled at short notice as it is a working church). The mummies in the vaults of St. Michan’s Church are the remains of nuns, monks and rebels who have naturally been preserved in the crypts due to the dry atmosphere, and limestone in the building foundations. It is quite a macabre tour to go on, but I found it hugely interesting. It is illegal to open up coffins, however these coffins have naturally decayed or collapsed open, thus you are able to view some of the mummies that are inside.
- Visit Dracula Castle for the Bram Stoker Dracula experience. I am very excited to do this, we have tickets to go this Saturday, so I will update the post thereafter. Dracula’s castle is located a stone’s throw from Bram’s old house at 15 Marino Crescent in Clontarf, Dublin. Tickets are EUR25 for a show and a tour of the castle. I am told it is also a top rated Trip Advisor spot in Dublin. I just hope I don’t jump out of my skin screaming, as much as I love vampire movies – I hate been surprised!
- Gravediggers bus tour (plus free haunted history walking tour of Dublin). We have not done this, but have had friends who said it is well worth the EUR25. It is a tour done by a “plague infested” tour guide, although I am told it is not too spooky – but very funny, and a tad informative. The walking tour is included for free (usually EUR13 if you book it on its own) and I am told this has a lot more history and information.
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR HALLOWEEN THIS YEAR?
Unlock the simple life,
~Meg~
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