Half term is near – and so is another amazing experiential partnership between the wildly popular and award-winning children’s history brand Horrible Histories and Leeds Castle in Kent.
Rocket Licensing, the licensing agent in the UK and Eire for Horrible Histories, which is published by Scholastic and written by Terry Deary and illustrated by Martin Brown, has announced that a new event – Silly Ghosts and Ghastly History – will be coming to the popular visitor attraction from 17 October – 1 November this year.
Following the enormous success of Easter Escapades and Measly Middle Ages in 2025 and Queen Eleanor’s How to Survive the Middle Ages earlier this year, this is the newest Horrible Histories-inspired event at Leeds Castle – and the first to take place during the half-term holiday.
Based on the hit Horrible Histories book Ghosts (“frightful stories behind iconic ghost tales and legends from around the world”), this Halloween experience leans into ghosts, legends and strange historical happenings, delivered with classic Horrible Histories humour.
Everything is designed to be playful, silly, and intriguing rather than frightening, making it suitable for families with children aged 7+, Horrible Histories fans, and history lovers of all ages.
Visitors will be invited to grab a map and follow a fun, fact-finding trail around the Castle grounds, where they will hear about medieval illnesses, potion-making, witchcraft, banishing spirits, regal ghosts like Catherine of Aragon, and deadly disease the Black Death. They can collect stamps on the way round, such as “I banished a spirit” and “I uncovered the forgotten Queen”, hear strange stories (and write a few of their own!), try on fancy dress and take part in a Ghostly Gala finale with music, dancing and games.
Visitors will also be able to buy Horrible Histories souvenirs, including – of course – books, at the visitor shop.
Over 900 years of history as a dwelling for medieval and Tudor queens, and the home of 1930s Anglo-American heiress Lady Baillie, who transformed Leeds Castle into one of the most desirable country houses of the 20th century, Leeds Castle was opened to the public in the 1970s. Today it is a popular visitor destination offering history and heritage, exhibitions, talks, wildlife, gardens, sculpture trails, games, adventures and more in 500 acres of stunning seasonal parkland.
This event builds on the success not only of three previous Leeds Castle events but also this year’s Vile Victorians event from May to September at Beaulieu in Hampshire, the 2025 Gorgeous Georgians event at West London’s Osterley Park and House, and the success of multiple museum shows, as well as Escape Live escape rooms in Liverpool and Coventry.
As well as being big successes for the Horrible Histories brand, these events drive a significant uplift in visitor numbers and website engagement for many of the hosting venues. Not surprisingly, even more experiential partnerships are already being lined up for 2027, with many visitor destinations keen to partner a brand uniquely appropriate for Britain’s many heritage attractions.
Horrible Histories is a phenomenon. Now in its fourth decade of success, the world’s bestselling children’s history-book series is celebrated for its ground-breaking, funny and factual approach to history with unique appeal to kids (and big kids) and unflinching eye for all things horrible.
Today, 33 years since the books first appeared, over 30 million copies are in print across 31 countries. Published by Scholastic, new books for 2026 include Terrible Traitors and Horrible Football, with Elizabeth I’s Secret Diary coming in spring 2027.
The massive success of the books has in turn inspired long-running stage shows, concerts and tours, BAFTA-award-winning hit TV series (series 12 is scheduled for spring 2027), a star-studded feature film, magazines and, of course, a licensing campaign including experiential partnerships, Tonies audio editions, board games and card games from University Games, Top Trumps and Monopoly from Winning Moves, and collectible coins from Group 288.
There have also been two hit spin-off book and TV brands, Horrible Science and Horrible Geography, with their own growing licensing programmes.
Mark Delin, Marketing & Events Director, Leeds Castle, says: "Horrible Histories is such a natural fit for Leeds Castle because it brings history to life in a way that is funny, accessible and genuinely engaging for families. Silly Ghosts and Ghastly History gives us another opportunity to use the Castle’s extraordinary history as the backdrop for storytelling, while giving visitors something completely different to discover this October half term.”
Elizabeth Scoggins, Nonfiction, Brands and Licensing Publisher, Scholastic UK, says: “The enormous success of Horrible Histories as a leading brand in experiential licensing is not just down to its publishing and TV success but to the hard work that we and our partners put into events like Silly Ghosts and Ghastly History. Our thanks once again to Leeds Castle for helping us to bring history to life and for providing such an amazing venue.”
Awareness of the very positive contribution of Horrible Histories to partnerships in the heritage sector is accelerating. As Melissa Satterly, Brand Manager, Rocket Licensing, says: “When we began to explore the potential of Horrible Histories as an experiential brand we knew it was a great fit for the UK’s heritage attractions, but the response so far has been beyond our wildest expectations. We’re delighted to be working once again with Leeds Castle and are already putting together a strong schedule for 2027!”