Spooktacular family fun at Kenilworth Castle

Sat 20 Oct - Sun 4 Nov 2012

The day when the veil between our mortal world and the next is at its thinnest approaches, and Kenilworth Castle and Elizabethan Garden will be marking Halloween with a series of fun trails for all the family, running from Saturday 20 October to Sunday 4 November 2012.

For two weeks, Kenilworth Castle’s young visitors are invited to explore the castle ruins, trying to solve the two trails that will be set up around the grounds.

A trail for younger children will require them to decode a secret word, the letters of which are secreted on themed models around the site. Older children can take the Kenilworth Halloween Challenge, solving cryptic clues to find missing words in assorted poems hidden around the castle, including the pumpkin patch and a specially-created graveyard! For both trails, a small treat awaits those who have completed it successfully!

Although it is often thought that modern Halloween has been imported from the United States, in fact, Europeans have a far older claim to the festivities.

“The origins of Halloween celebrations can be found in pagan rituals, but as with Easter and Christmas, the pagan days of celebration often coincided with Christian celebrations – in this case, All Saints Day – or All Hallows Day - on 1 November and All Souls Day on 2 November. Church doctrine suggested that the souls of everyone who was departed had to wait in purgatory until 2 November, when their final destination – heaven or hell – would await,” explains property manager, Holly Woodward. “Halloween was the last chance for any wronged souls to seek their revenge – which is how many modern ghost stories relate to this time of year.”

The Halloween Family Fun Trails run daily from 10.00am to 5.00pm from Saturday 20 October to Sunday 4 November. Admission prices are £8.20 for adults, £7.40 for concessions, £4.90 for children and £21.30 for a family ticket (two adults and up to three children). English Heritage members get in free.

For further information, please call 01926 852078 or visit www.english-heritage.org.uk/kenilworth. The latest news from Kenilworth Castle is also available on Facebook.

ENDS

For further media information, please contact:

Jay Commins

PRO - English Heritage (West Midlands)

Tel:         0113 251 5698

Mob:     07810 546567

Email:    jay@fim.org.uk