Making plans for midterm?

It’s a loooong week if you’re a parent. Now is the time to book a treat to keep your little monsters on their best behaviour.

Happily, the autumn weather is usually dry enough to get out of the house and have some Halloween-themed fun in the cool, crisp air.

Don’t forget to bring the camera too; the golden sunlight makes it the perfect time to snap some family photos (everyone looks amazing bathed in hazy sunshine).

Here are three fun Halloween events for kids of all ages (and the young at heart)…

1. HALLOWEEN AT CORK CITY GAOL

Tickets: Adults €8, Kids €5 here

It’s always a tad spooky in the dark corners of Cork City Gaol, but Halloween is when the halls and corridors really come alive.

Between Monday, October 29th and Friday, November 2nd, kids are invited to arrive in fancy dress and enjoy the Black Cat Treasure Hunt. There’ll be ghostly face painting, balloon making and storytelling – all in the historic surrounds of the city gaol, which first opened in 1824.

While the kids enjoy the fun, keep your eyes peeled for ghostly apparitions – phantom children have been known to tug on visitor’s coats and figures have been seen by day and by night.

2. BOO AT BALLYMALOE

Tickets: €15 here

Pitched as ‘an interactive Halloween experience for kids in search of a frighteningly-fun adventure’, Boo at Ballymaloe will take over the famous Ballymaloe Grainstore from October 26th to November 4th.

Designed to suit children from three to twelve years, it runs from 10am to 6pm, with little visitors encourages to embrace their creative side as they encounter slimy situations, solve a poetic mystery and enjoy oodles of Halloween howls.

Stop for pizza after the 90-minute tour at the Boo Café, which will be open every day of the mid-term break at the Ballymaloe Grainstore.

3. GHOULSLEY’S MANOR

Tickets: €15 here

Visible only to children, the curse of the Purple Pumpkin has hit Ghoulsley’s Manor in Cuskinny at Cobh and is expected to be at full tilt by October 20th when school midterm begins.

Over the last three years, Ghoulsley’s Manor has built up quite a reputation for it’s frightful Halloween festivities. Children from the ages of four to 14 years get to immerse themselves in a truly spellbinding theatrical performances by a creative acting crew and get lost amidst the candlelight and cobwebs.

MORE: Here are three FREE kid-friendly October events you should go to