Zombies, ghosts and ghouls take over Newquay this Halloween

Something is stirring on the streets of Newquay ahead of half-term, and not everyone is saying what it is yet. Somewhere among the whispers of a returning giant robot and a promise of “mysterious surprises” is one simple fact. The zombies are coming back, and this time they are bringing an entire town with them.

Newquay BID has confirmed the return of Spooky Newquay and its centrepiece Zombie Crawl for 2026, with a full week of free family Halloween entertainment running from Saturday 24 October to Saturday 31 October. What began as a modest local event has grown year on year into one of the county’s biggest Halloween dates, with families said to be travelling from across Cornwall, and beyond, and timing entire half-term breaks around it.

📷Credit: Newquay BID

A free morning before the chaos begins

The day starts gently enough. Between 11am and 2pm on Saturday 24 October, free Halloween workshops and activities will run at locations across the town, giving families the chance to get creative and get properly prepared before the crawl sets off.

On offer across the morning are face painting, wound-making workshops for anyone wanting battle-ready makeup, pumpkin carving, Halloween banner making, spooky storytelling, general creative activities and street entertainment. Newquay BID says there will be “plenty of mysterious surprises” beyond that list too, for anyone who turns up expecting only the advertised programme.

📷Credit: Newquay BID

Titan the Robot returns to the Killacourt

At 2pm the scale of the afternoon steps up. Titan the Robot, the towering mechanical performer who has become a fixture of the event in recent years, is due to make another appearance at the Killacourt. Titan has proved a consistent crowd-puller at previous Spooky Newquay events, and organisers are expecting another big turnout for this year’s return.

Whatever Titan gets up to, it is unlikely to be the last surprise of the afternoon. Organisers have been dropping hints that the robot is far from the only thing worth keeping an eye out for in Newquay on the 24th.

📷Credit: Newquay BID

The Zombie Crawl takes over the streets

At 3pm, the main event begins. The Spooky Newquay Zombie Crawl sets off from Oakleigh Terrace, with hundreds of zombies, monsters, families, performers and assorted spooky characters making their way through the heart of the town before finishing at Sainsbury’s at approximately 4.30pm.

The crawl is built on more than just zombies. Local schools, dance groups, acting groups, voluntary organisations, street performers, lifeguards, Radio Newquay and other community groups are all expected to take part, alongside what organisers describe as “plenty of unexpected spooky characters”. Newquay Town Council is supporting the event again this year, working alongside WAX Events and a range of other local organisations to help stage the day.

📷Credit: Newquay BID

A map, a passport, and reasons to keep exploring

This year brings two new tools for anyone wanting to see more of the town than just the crawl route. A new interactive online Spooky Newquay map is being launched to help families find activities and see what’s happening at different locations, backed up by printed maps available around Newquay for those navigating on foot.

Families will also be able to pick up a Spooky Newquay Passport, designed to send them exploring different parts of the town in search of participating businesses. Each business taking part gets its own spooky stamp, and once a passport is filled it can be handed in during half-term week for the chance to win Spooky Newquay prizes.

📷Credit: Emma Mac

A scarefest that runs the whole week

The Zombie Crawl is only the opening move. From 24 to 31 October, Newquay BID will be supporting local businesses, attractions, hospitality venues and community organisations as the whole town joins in, with shops and venues encouraged to decorate their windows, dress up their teams, run Halloween-themed offers, host family activities, put on their own events, or sign up as a Spooky Newquay passport location.

A new Spooky Newquay website is launching ahead of the event to bring all of it together in one place, from Zombie Crawl details and workshop times to business offers, the interactive map and passport locations.

📷Credit: Emma Mac

Not just a summer town

The event is set deliberately at the start of half-term rather than on Halloween itself, so families can travel in for the crawl and then find reasons to stick around for the rest of the week, while local businesses get the chance to put on their own events to close things out on Saturday 31 October.

Mark Warren, Newquay BID Manager, said organisers were “really excited to be working with all of our partners to bring Spooky Newquay and the Zombie Crawl back for the 2026 Halloween season”, adding that last year’s feedback had been “incredible, with so many people telling us they had never seen Newquay so busy.”

“Halloween is a huge and rapidly growing opportunity, both here in the UK and internationally, and we need to take advantage of that to support our local businesses and encourage more visitors to come to Newquay, stay in our hotels, eat in our restaurants, shop in our businesses and get involved in everything the town has to offer,” Mark said. “I genuinely believe this is becoming one of the biggest Halloween events in the UK, and potentially has the opportunity to become something recognised much further afield.”

Newquay BID is also currently looking for an event sponsor to help the Zombie Crawl keep growing in future years, with further details on that expected to be announced shortly.

📷Credit: Emma Mac