Halloweߣen SPECIAL GET YOUR
Freak ON
Our A-Z of Hallowe’en covers everything from arachnids to zombies, with plenty of broomsticks, ectoplasm and fangs in between. Anna Docherty has some frightfully good ideas to make your Hallowe’en truly spooktacular
there’s the chance to explore the paranormal at Leith’s old seaman’s mission (now thankfully an upmarket Malmaison hotel) with the North West
Spirit Seekers on Fri 30 Oct. The experts will demonstrate their techniques of past life
regression and even show you around some of their ghost hunting equipment. Booking
required.
■ Dead Men Talking, Mon 2 Nov, 7.30pm. £12. Oran Mor, 731–735 Great Western Road, Glasgow, 357 6200; Ghost Hunt, Fri 30 Oct, 9pm.
£59. Malmaison Hotel, 1 Tower Place, Edinburgh, 468 5000.
www.hauntedghosttours.co.uk
shops from which to piece together the perfect Hallowe’en disguise. Your first port of call should probably be Tam Shepherd’s Trick Shop (see panel opposite) or Saratoga Trunk (61 Hydepark Street, 221 4433), which has such a wonderful collection that Hollywood has on occasion come a-calling to borrow clothing. Call in advance to make an appointment. Mr Ben (101 King Street, 553 1936. www.mrbenretroclothing.com) and the Glory Hole (41 Ruthven Lane, 357 5662) are good for vintage bargains. For fun novelty fabrics try Fabric Bazaar (171 London Road, 552 5085. www.fabric-bazaar.com), which also does a range of faux fur by the metre for shaggy werewolves or sleek black cats. Job done.
C IS FOR COSTUME Earn the respect of your fellow zombies,
D IS FOR DRIVE-IN M&Ds Theme Park in Strathclyde Country Park is hosting a special Hallowe’en drive-
in, where you can snuggle under the stars and watch something spooky on their 18-metre cinema screen. This year they’re showing all the Hallowe’en classics: Friday the 13th (pictured), the Addams Family and, er, Scooby Doo: Monsters Unleashed. ■ Hallowe’en drive-in, Fri 30 Oct–Sun 1 Nov. Times and prices vary. M&Ds Theme Park, Strathclyde Country Park, Motherwell, 01698 333 777.
A IS FOR ARACHNIDS The eight-legged beasties are making an appearance at the Glasgow Science
Centre (50 Pacific Quay, 0871 540 1005. www.glasgowsciencecentre.org) as part of their children’s Hallowe’en event on Fri 30 Oct. If your kids love creepy crawlies, as a special treat you could also take them to Butterfly and Insect World in Edinburgh (Dobbies Garden World, 663 4932. www.edinburgh-butterfly-world.co.uk) to say boo to the scorpions and tarantulas.
B IS FOR BEYOND THE GRAVE Crossing over this Hallowe’en is psychic Nikki McKay who’ll be hosting an evening of mediumship punningly titled Dead Men Talking at Glasgow’s Oran Mor on Mon 2 Nov. In Edinburgh,
20 THE LIST 22 Oct–5 Nov 2009
witches and devils with a killer costume. We recommend visiting a mix of fancy dress, craft, vintage and charity shops, plus haberdashery stores and joke shops to put together the perfect outfit.
In Edinburgh a good place to start is Costume Ha Ha (88 Grassmarket, 225 3388. www.novelty.org), where you can pick up themed clothing and accessories. Also try vintage stores like Armstrong’s (83 Grassmarket and 64 Clerk Street, 220 5557. www.armstrongsvintage.co.uk) for good, cheap items that you can then hocus pocus into Hallowe’en accoutrements. Lastly, for those little finishing touches, try craft shops that sell material by the metre and individual buttons, like Edinburgh Fabrics (12 St Patrick Square, 668 2790). Or seek out plastic bats, sequinned masks and gruesome fangs at the Finishing Touch (17 St Patrick Square, 667 0914. www.thefinishing touchedinburgh.co.uk). Voila, outfit complete.
Glasgow has a similarly good collection of