Halloween might be big in America, but did you know it all began in Scotland? From the ancient Gaelic festival of Samhain in Scotland to eerie fire-lit nights and ghost-filled castles, Halloween in Scotland is the homeland of spooky season.
Here, traditions run deep: children still go guising in Scotland, turnips (not pumpkins!) grin from windowsills, and scones drip with treacle in hilarious party games.
Add in misty castles, ghost tours, and legendary tales of witches, demons, and restless spirits, and you’ll see why Scottish Halloween traditions make Scotland one of the best places in the world to spend spooky season.
So light a turnip lantern, mind the shadows, and read on for how to celebrate Halloween in true Scottish style.
Scotland’s Halloween traditions (and how to try them)
Ask a Scot what makes Halloween Scottish and you’ll hear a handful of classics. Many are delightfully low-tech and brilliant for parties.
Guising
Our version of trick-or-treating in Scotland has kids disguised as spirits (ghosts & ghouls) monsters, mummies, or more modern horror characters.
However, guising is all about earning your treat by performing – reciting a poem, doing a dance, singing a song, telling a joke. It is not just about sweets-on-demand or getting egged or gunked…
Neep lanterns (turnip jack-o’-lanterns)
Before pumpkins, Scots carved fierce faces into turnips (in Lowland Scots, tumshies) to ward off spirits.
Turnips are smaller, denser and infinitely more stubborn to carve than pumpkins, hence the famous grimace. You will see Scottish neep lanterns outside homes; purists swear the eerie glow and scorched-earth smell are unbeatable.
Apple dookin’ (bobbing)
One of the oldest Scottish Halloween games: apples float in a basin and players try to catch one using only their mouth – forks held between the teeth are an accepted hack.
Treacle scones on strings
Scones (or Scotch Pancakes) are slathered in treacle (molasses), tied to a string and dangled at face height. Hands behind backs. Chaos ensues. Simple, hilarious, and very photographable.
Nut Burning (Fortune-Telling)
A love-divination game: place two hazelnut side by side in a fire. If they burned quietly together, it meant harmony; if they popped or rolled apart, your match is doomed. Oops.
Kail Stalks (Fortune-Telling)
Did you know that in Scotland you can tell your fortune with a piece of Kale? Specifically for teenaged girls and single women, the, err, shape of the kale was used to reveal the nature of your future spouse. Snigger.
Samhain Bonfires
Rooted in the ancient Gaelic festival, fires were lit to ward off evil spirits and guide souls of the dead. Today, the Scottish Samhuinn Fire Festival in Edinburgh keeps this alive.
Halloween events in Scotland 2025
Scotland goes big on Halloween and there are lots of family friendly – and adult only – Halloween events in Scotland.
- Samhuinn Fire Festival (Edinburgh, 31 Oct 2025; annual on 31 Oct) – Beltane Fire Society’s autumn counterpart. Find out more about Samhuinn.
- Conifox Halloween Festival (1–31 Oct 2025) – at the Conifox Adventure Park just outside Edinburgh, pumpkin patch, shows, and fireworks nights on select dates. The Conifox Terror Scream Park events are adult only – dare you enter the horror maze? Find out more about Conifox Halloween Festival.
- Falkland Palace Halloween Trail (5–31 October 2025) – follow this spooky trail at the lovely Falkland Palace – tickets for Falkland Palace
- Blair Drummond Safari Park – HalloWILD (11–31 Oct 2025) – family Halloween days at Blair Drummond Safari Park, tickets for Blair Drummond.
- Kelburn Haunted Forest: NIGHTMARE (Largs, 5 Oct–2 Nov 2025) – an after-dark scare trail at Kelburn Castle. Tickets for Kelburn Haunted Forest.
- Galoshans Festival (Greenock, 15-17 October 2025) – rooted in local Hallowe’en “galoshans” traditions and street theatre, now a community festival with parades, giants and performances. Find out more about Galoshans.
- Craig-thriller Castle: Halloween Shenanigans (25–26 October 2025) – a halloween event with added owls at Craigmillar Castle. Find out more about Historic Scotland Halloween events.
- Edin-boo! Castle: Halloween Shenanigans (25–26 October 2025) – spooky events and talks at Edinburgh Castle, find out more.
- Edinburgh Horror Festival (23 – 26 Oct 2025) with horror themed events and perforances – tickets.
- Killieween (Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire) – In Kilmarnock, locals celebrate Halloween six days early on the last Friday of October—a tradition called Killieween. Homes and fire stations decorate, and children guising happens ahead of the schedule.
- Paisley Halloween Festival (Friday 24 and Saturday 25 October 2025) – celebrate Halloween with this parade through Paisley and other spooky events. Find out more: Paisley Halloween Festival
- Legends of the Castle – Halloween at Blair Castle (Thursday 30th October 2025) – costumed, spooky family evening in the castle. Book tickets.
- Urquhart Castle: Halloween Shenanigans (25–26 October 2025) – halloween themed displays (included with normal admission)
- Loch Lomond Scary Trail & Pumpkin Patch (3 October – 2 November 2025) – perfect for kids. Find out more.
Halloween in Scotland history: from Samhain to the World
Whilst halloween is uniquely Scottish, it is now celebrated world wide, but how did we get here?
Long before plastic pumpkins and dressing up as ghosts and ghouls, the Gaelic world in Scotland marked Samhain (pronounced “SAH-win”) on 31 October.
Celebrating the death of summer and the opening of winter, on Samhain it was considered that the line between worlds thins and the dead can walk.
In medieval Scotland, that same seasonal change was celebrated by the Christian Church on All Hallows Eve (also the 31 October) which saw the start of ‘Allhallowtide’ which is a time to remember the dead.
In Scots, even (or e’en) means evening and, All Hallows’ Even was compressed to Hallowe’en, and later Halloween.
Halloween in Scotland also can’t duck its witch-trial history. Between 1563 and 1736, Scotland ran one of Europe’s most intense witch persecutions, with thousands accused and more than 1,500 people likely executed.
Some of the most infamous trials began chillingly on Halloween night with one of the most famous taking place in 1590 at North Berwick.
It wasn’t until the 19th century that Halloween traditions went world wide, with immigrants to the USA and Canada taking Scottish Halloween traditions with them.
Famous Halloween poems, stories & myths for the long dark nights
Scotland’s story-hoard was born for autumn nights. Cue the dram, dim the lights. Scottish poetry isn’t just for Burn’s Night.
Halloween, Robert Burns – Burn’s didn’t just write a poem about New Year Eve, he also wrote about Halloween – telling the tale of all the silly games that were played in his home country of Ayrshire.
Tam o’ Shanter, Robert Burns – the Halloween ride-home-gone-wrong: farmer Tam, drunk and late, spies a coven carousing in Alloway Auld Kirk. Tam loses his head (and his mare loses her tail) in a mad dash for the Brig o’ Doon, saved only by the rule that witches can’t cross running water. It’s uproarious, scary and steeped in real Ayrshire places—perfect fireside fare.
The Baobhan Sith – a Highland “fairy witch,” often appearing as a beautiful woman in green to lure hunters into dance until she drinks their blood. Think banshee blended with vampire; in some tales, her feet are hooves hidden beneath the hem. The Boabhan Sith is superb cautionary tale dressed as seduction.
The Nuckelavee – an Orcadian nightmare: a skinless, horse-like demon with a man’s torso fused to its back, breath that blights crops, and an allergy to fresh water. In other words: do not be caught out after dark near the shore or you might get caught by the Nuckelavee.
Bean Nighe (the Washerwoman) -a harbinger of death seen washing bloodied clothes by Highland streams; if she names you, your fate is sealed. Her lore echoes the Irish banshee but is distinctly Scottish in setting and tone.
> Read more about Scottish myths and legends to inspire halloween stories.
So this year, skip the plastic pumpkins and supermarket costumes—come and feel Halloween where it was born.
It is time to carve the neep (or pumpkin, we won’t judge), hang the scones, take the kids out guising.
If you’re lucky enough to be here on the night, head to the Samhain Fire Festival on Calton Hill, flames against the autumn sky.
Happy haunting,
Kate – Love from Scotland x