The horror! The horror!: Bram Stoker Festival returns this month with a wicked spectacle

Dracula fans and thrill-seekers alike will descend on Dublin City for the October Bank Holiday weekend to celebrate the return of Bram Stoker Festival. From Friday 25th to Monday 28th October, the city will become a haven for the curious and the brave with four days and nights of chilling adventures.

A fiery spectacle awaits at Frank & McStein's Monster Laboratory, where the historic Dublin Castle becomes the setting for science gone mad. Across three unforgettable nights, families can take part in witnessing the experiments of Frank and McStein to bring one of the most harrowing creatures to life in their MONSTER Lab.

Following last year's sell-out success, the festival returns to the Abbey Theatre with Dracula: Lucy's Passion, directed by Joan Sheehy: a staged reading bringing the dark world of Bram Stoker's gothic masterpiece to the stage.

MORB in association with Axis Ballymun will present The Haunting of Gusty Nook, a thrilling new show for kids where the strange town of Gusty Nook becomes overtaken by strange monsters, leaving a young girl named Belinda to save the town from destruction. A relaxed performance will take place on Friday 25 October at 4pm and there will be an ISL interpreted performance at 6.30pm on Friday 25 October.

There will also be immersive art experiences, such as Eternal Night, which celebrates the work of Irish artist Maser.

For music fans, there's no shortage of options to choose from. An evening of ancient chant will take over the city with Voices of the Dead and a performance from the all-female vocal ensemble Schola Hyberniae.

Workman's Cellar will host SCANRA: Samhain at the Cellar with an immersive night of music, myth and storytelling, with a diverse line-up of female and non-binary artists including composer Éna Brennan and goth folk artist Aoife Wolf.

At Light House Cinema, the classic film Nosferatu will be accompanied by a live score by Rita Perry and Robbie Perry.

In collaboration with IFI Horrorthon, Slaughterhouse will invade the iconic cinema for one hight only with their Slaughterhouse of Horrors storytelling night. There will also be a 35th anniversary screening of Pet Sematary and a masterclass in Irish horror hosted by Billie Jean of Video Nasty Presents. Tickets for all three events include access to an afterparty in the foyer where the crew from HONEYPOT will wake the dead with a brand new soundtrack for the legendary 1922 film Häxan.

A discovery of major historical and literary significance about Bram Stoker has been made and those details will be revealed and discussed at a worldwide, exclusive public event at the Rotunda Hospital's Pillar Room with Miriam O’Callaghan interviewing the person who made this discovery, Brian Cleary as well as Paul Murray (Stoker’s pre-eminent biographer) and visual artist Paul McKinley.

At the Supreme Court at the Four Courts, there will be an exclusive recording of Newstalk's Talking History podcast called Petty Sessions: Weird and Wonderful Court Cases from Victorian Ireland, hosted by Dr. Patrick Geoghegan and a slew of special guest speakers.

Historian Donal Fallon will host The Women of Bram Stoker's Life for an extra-special live episode of his lauded podcast Three Castles Burning. Donal will be joined by author Marion McGarry to discuss Jane Wilde and Bram's mother Charlotte at the event, which will also have ISL interpretation.

Other events include a live recording of the Who Did What Now? Podcast: The Victorians Ruined Everything with Katie Charlwood, with ISL interpretation. Marsh's Library will return with their free Spooky Stories at Marsh's Library series where guests can explore books of witchcraft, heresy and all things horror.

Free tours will be offered at Collins Barracks for two unique events. A World Full of Miseries and Woes and Troubles will explore the hardships of a soldier in the Barracks, while Hands-on History: Malady Mourning and Mystery invites guests to interact with the museum artefacts and learn about how disease impacted the Victorian era.

St. Patrick's Park will once again transform into Stokerland, a pop-up Victorian fun park where everyone can enjoy a day out with spooky delights aplenty. The National Museum of Ireland - Decorative Arts and History will see visual artist Carrie Lynam host a mask making workshop.

And who could forget the free (ticketed) Dracula's Disco at the Round Room at The Mansion House where DJ Donal Dineen will be spinning the decks with spooky hits and Halloween classics.

"We’re thrilled to once again unleash a programme packed with free events in some unusual locations and hope Dubliners and visitors to the city will embrace the shadows and sink their fangs into the programme this October bank holiday weekend," festival co-directors Maria Schweppe and Tom Lawlor said about the return of the four-day Bram Stoker extravaganza.

For more information on the Dublin City Council Bram Stoker Festival, please see here.