Hylands Fear Fest runs 16 to 31 October, Extreme trail from £19.50, family Spooky Trail from £12.50 a child. Pumpkin picking and Marsh Farm too.

Halloween 2026 is a Saturday, and the biggest thing on in Chelmsford that night is Hylands Fear Fest, two outdoor trails in the grounds of Hylands Estate that run nightly from Friday 16 to Saturday 31 October. The family Spooky Trail starts at 4.30pm; the Extreme trail, for ages 15 and over, runs from early evening to 9.30pm.

The quick answer

  • Hylands Fear Fest, 16 to 31 October: Spooky Trail (ages 5+) from £20 an adult and £12.50 a child on quieter nights, £25 and £15 at weekends and in half term. Extreme (15+) from £19.50 to £27.
  • Halloween night itself is a peak night everywhere: the last Spooky Trail slot on 31 October had already sold out on 30 September.
  • Pumpkin picking: Pumpkin Village beside Marsh Farm (from £4.95, open every day 16 to 31 October) or Hurley’s Pumpkin Forest at Battlesbridge (daily 21 to 31 October).
  • Half term is 26 to 30 October; our half term page has the daytime family programme.

Hylands Fear Fest, 16 to 31 October

Fear Fest is run by Fear Fest Events, not by Hylands Estate, and is booked only through its own ticket site. Tickets are pre-booked timed slots, and they are non-refundable and non-transferable. There is a £2.50 booking fee per booking.

There are two trails, and the organiser is clear they are very different nights out (Hylands Fear Fest):

  • Spooky Trail, rated PG and “recommended for brave young explorers aged five and over”: playful characters, gentle scares, and a fairground at the end with food and drink to buy.
  • Fear Fest Extreme, “recommended for ages 15 and over”, with professional live scare actors who stay in character throughout. The organiser calls it “not for the faint-hearted”.

Prices and times, read from the organiser’s booking system on 30 September:

Hylands Fear Fest 2026 ticket prices, per person
Trail and nightsEntry slotsPrice
Spooky Trail, Fri 16, Sun 18 and Mon 19 to Fri 23 OctEvery 15 minutes, 4.30pm to 6pmAdult £20, child £12.50
Spooky Trail, Sat 17 and Sat 24 Oct4.30pm to 6pmAdult £25, child £15
Spooky Trail, Sun 25 to Sat 31 Oct4.30pm to 5.15pm onlyAdult £25, child £15
Extreme, Mon 19 to Thu 22 Oct6.30pm or 6.45pm to 9pm£19.50
Extreme, Fri 16, Sun 18, Fri 23 and Sun 25 to Thu 29 Oct6.30pm or 6.45pm to 9pm; from 5.45pm in half term£23.50
Extreme, Sat 17, Sat 24, Fri 30 and Sat 31 OctUp to 9.30pm£27

Infants and carers are listed at £0 on the Spooky Trail, but still need a ticket.

Two things the prices table does not tell you:

  • The half term week has fewer Spooky Trail slots. From 25 October there are four entry times a night, 4.30pm to 5.15pm, against seven the week before.
  • Halloween week is already selling out. On 30 September the booking system showed the 5.15pm Spooky slots on Friday 30 and Saturday 31 October, and the 4.30pm slot on Thursday 29 October, as out of stock.

The organiser’s home page gives the dates as 16 October to 1 November, but its booking system has no slots for 1 November on either trail. Treat Saturday 31 October as the last night unless more are added.

Marsh Farm Halloween Festival

Marsh Farm at South Woodham Ferrers runs its Halloween Festival on October weekends and every day of half term, to Sunday 1 November. It is a daytime event for families: Halloween meet and greets, a spooky silent disco, the upside down house, mini golf, the animals and the adventure play, with entry to the Pumpkin Village included. Children’s rides are extra, and so are the pumpkins.

Tickets are £15.50 booked ahead, £16.50 within 48 hours and £18.50 on the door; toddlers from six months to under two are £4 in advance. The farm is card only. Its booking platform was down for maintenance when we checked on 30 September, so if you cannot get through, try again later.

Pumpkin picking

Pumpkin Village, next to Marsh Farm at CM3 5WP, says it is “twice the size for 2026”. Daytime opening is Friday to Sunday on 2 to 4 and 9 to 11 October, every day from 16 to 31 October, and Sunday 1 November. Entry starts at £4.95 online, varying by date; under twos are free, parking is free and pumpkins are extra, priced on the day. It is a separate ticket from Marsh Farm itself.

Its Pumpkin Village Nights add twilight picking and fire artist shows. On Halloween week the prices listed are £9.95 a head for the Pumpkin Village Nights on 28, 29 and 30 October, and Saturday 31 October is a Dog Night, also £9.95.

Hurley’s Pumpkin Forest is at Hurley’s Farm on Woodham Road, Battlesbridge, SS11 7QL, just off the Rettendon Turnpike. It opens on the weekends of 3 and 4, 10 and 11, and 17 and 18 October, then daily from 21 to 31 October, 9am to 6pm, and visits must be pre-booked. The farm says you “only pay for the pumpkins that you want to buy” plus any extra activities. One note: its separate Pumpkin Forest site says both “23rd to 31st” and “21st to 31st” for the daily run. Hurley’s Farm’s own site says 21 October.

Both are inside Chelmsford district despite the addresses: postcodes.io puts SS11 7QL in Rettendon parish and CM3 5WP in South Woodham Ferrers.

Something grown-up

  • The Haunted Bride, Wednesday 28 October, 7.30pm, Chelmsford Theatre Studio. A ghost story in which a honeymooning bride is haunted by a face she has dreamt three times before her wedding. The theatre showed tickets available on 30 September (Chelmsford Theatre).
  • Fear Fest Extreme is the obvious one, and the Friday and Saturday £27 nights are the ones that will go first.

Getting there

Hylands is off the A414 on the western edge of the city. Pumpkin Village, Marsh Farm and Hurley’s are all reached by the A130 and A132; check our roadworks and travel page first, because the A130 between Gingerbreadhall Bridge and the Rettendon Turnpike is under an order that allows it to be resurfaced this autumn. For anything in the city centre, our parking in Chelmsford page has the evening tariffs.

What we will update, and when

  • Sold-out nights at Fear Fest, checked through October.
  • Whether Fear Fest adds 1 November, which its home page still promises.
  • The full list of what else is on around Halloween is on our What’s On in Chelmsford page.

Sources