What are you doing on Halloween? This week, Croydon has a wealth of scary, spooky events and activities for all ages and tastes, ranging from the sharing of ghost stories to glass-eating dwarves.

Whether you’re five or fifty-five, a horror lightweight or boasting the strongest of stomachs, read on for some Halloween inspiration...

Friday 28th October

With a prize for the scariest costume, a whole host of party dances and games, and a pizza buffet, Halloween at Kidspace is taking place from 6:30pm until 8:30pm at Kidspace Croydon, and costs £10 per child in advance (£8 for members) Call 020 8686 0040 to book and enter the new ‘House of Scares’... if you dare!

Saturday 29th October

This one’s not really for the kids, but let’s face it – you’re never too old to indulge in a bit of horror! Halloween Night at St Mary’s Church Hall on Wellesley Road, Croydon, features a live band, ‘Off the Cuff’ and a licenced bar. Entrance is £7 on the door, with the night kicking off from 8pm.

Monday 31st October

Held at Thornton Heath Library, Horrible Halloween is ideal for all ages – all you have to do is choose the right time.

Starting at 2pm, adults can drop into the first session of Horrible Halloween to listen to a variety of ghost stories and poems, before being invited to share their own. So if you’re a budding Edgar Allen Poe or Stephen King, now’s your chance to wreak terror!

From 3:30pm, 5-10 year olds are invited to make scary masks and then act out a spooky story. Turn up in fancy dress and you’ll get a small prize! The event is free but places are limited so make sure you book in advance.

And last but certainly not least, fast forward to 4:30pm and the library turns into a nightmarish place for teens, with scary stories, poems and tales of horrifying, real life encounters with spectres from the underworld. Perfect for 10-19 year olds, again, if you wear a Halloween costume for the teen Horrible Halloween, you’ll receive a small prize.

Monday 31st October – Wednesday 2nd November

Taking place at the Scream Lounge, South End and with all profits being split between the Croydon Recovery Fund and helping The TV Shop, which was subjected to 5 hours of looting during the August riots, independent theatre group, Breakfast Cat Theatre Company is presenting a kooky, spooky, comedy double bill (which interesting enough, also involves sandwiches!) over three nights.

It’s a fantastic way to celebrate Halloween and support local people and business affected by the riots.

Tuesday 1st November

This one is certainly not for the squeamish! Launched in Glastonbury in 1995 and one of this year’s Britain’s Got Talent contenders, The Circus of Horrors comes to Croydon’s Fairfield Halls, with their new show, ‘The Ventriloquist’. Led by ringmaster Dr Haze and featuring sword swallowing using a power drill and a dwarf eating glass, it’s recommended that only over-16s attend.

Tickets to The Circus of Horrors cost £12.50 or £24 and can be purchased via the Fairfield Halls website.