Dublin City Council Bram Stoker Festival returns for four days and nights of deadly adventures from Friday 23 to Monday 26 October 2026, and TakeYourSeats.ie is once again where you book the festival’s own ticketed events: talks, walking tours, candlelit library visits, storytelling and after-dark Night Bites in libraries, courthouses, cemeteries and cafés across Dublin. This guide covers the whole 2026 programme — the twelve events on sale here, the free events you can simply turn up to, and the shows booked through partner venues such as Smock Alley Theatre, Project Arts Centre and Light House Cinema — with what’s already sold out clearly marked.
Now one of Dublin’s largest arts festivals, the festival draws on Stoker, his life, his work and the Dublin of his time, and celebrates the Gothic, the supernatural, the after-dark and the Victorian. It is produced by Schweppe Curtis Nunn for Dublin City Council. Fair warning: the intimate events go fast. At the time of writing, eight of the twelve events on sale at TakeYourSeats.ie were already sold out and a ninth was down to its last tickets, so if something below catches your eye, book it. Prices are per ticket; events booked on TakeYourSeats.ie carry a €1 booking fee.
On sale at TakeYourSeats.ie
Suitcase Stories – Nosferatu by Freda O’Byrne — SOLD OUT
Charleville Mall Library, North Strand Road, Dublin 1 · Friday 23 October · 3pm · 45min · Free, ticketed · Ages 8+
Dublin City Libraries present Freda O’Byrne’s tiny-world adventure: the classic tale of Nosferatu, inspired by F. W. Murnau’s 1922 silent film, told through puppetry, object theatre and storytelling — the whole story unfolding inside a single suitcase, with an original score by John Moore. An intimate introduction to puppetry and visual theatre for older children and adults; latecomers cannot be admitted. Free, but ticketed — and already sold out.
In Stoker’s Footsteps: A National Library Walking Tour — SOLD OUT
National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2 · Friday 23 October · 4pm (arrive 10 minutes early) · 1hr 15min · Free, ticketed · Ages 12+
Library staff lead a walk beyond the NLI’s Victorian walls to the streets and buildings connected to Stoker and the Dublin of his time, starting and finishing at the Main Building on Kildare Street and uncovering the city’s Gothic past along the way. It’s an outdoor event, so dress for the weather; in poor conditions the tour moves inside the library. Free, but ticketed — sold out.
Bram Stoker’s Influences: Jarlath Killeen in Conversation with Jason McElligott — SOLD OUT
Joly Lecture Theatre, National Library of Ireland, Dublin 2 · Friday 23 October · 6pm (doors 5:30pm) · 1hr · Free, ticketed · Ages 12+
From Egyptomania and medical theories to current affairs and the writings of other authors: Professor Jarlath Killeen of Trinity College Dublin and Dr Jason McElligott of Marsh’s Library join forces to delve into the ideas that shaped one of the world’s most famous Gothic authors, and the Victorian society, religion, personalities and literature behind them. Free, but ticketed — sold out.
Marsh’s by Candlelight — SOLD OUT
Marsh’s Library, St Patrick’s Close, Dublin 8 · Friday 23 & Saturday 24 October · 6:30pm & 7:30pm each evening (arrive 10 minutes early) · 45min · €20 + €1 booking fee · Ages 12+
An eerie after-hours tour of Ireland’s oldest public library, first opened in 1707 and remarkably unchanged since: darkened galleries, ancient books and the original oak bookcases. Hear the strange stories attached to Marsh’s over the centuries — including the ghost said to haunt the second gallery — and the library’s links to Bram Stoker and to some of Ireland’s best-known Gothic writers. Not suitable for wheelchair users (the library is reached by steps and has no lift). All four tours are sold out.
The Museum of Curiosities presents: Senses — LAST TICKETS
Museum of Curiosities, 35 Pembroke Street Lower, Dublin 2 · Friday 23 – Sunday 25 October · 7pm, 8pm & 9:30pm nightly (doors 15 minutes before) · 45min · €20 + €1 booking fee · 18+
Dublin’s newest and strangest museum becomes an immersive journey through the five senses across its five rooms: projection-lit spaces and Victorian stereoscopes and mutoscopes for sight, live musical performances and interactive instruments (theremin included) for sound, a scent-led perfumery in the foyer, a Victorian room of mystery objects for touch, and more. The museum’s exhibits are macabre by nature and not for every audience; the building is not wheelchair accessible. Eight of the nine sessions are sold out — at the time of writing only the Sunday 25 October 9:30pm session had tickets left.
From The Sack ‘Em Ups to the Anatomy Act: Body Snatching in Dublin Graveyards — SOLD OUT
Green Street Courthouse, Green Street, Dublin 7 (enter via Halston Street) · Saturday 24 October · 12pm (doors 11:30am) · 1hr · Free, ticketed · Ages 15+
Donal Fallon of the Three Castles Burning podcast interviews historian Warren Farrell — author of Curious Ireland: Forgotten People and Overlooked Places and a long-time guide at Glasnevin Cemetery — on the strange history of body snatching in Irish cemeteries and how the law finally ended the morbid trade, in the fitting surroundings of Green Street Courthouse with the Courts Service of Ireland. Not wheelchair accessible; latecomers not admitted. Free, but ticketed — sold out.
Donal Fallon’s Tour of Mount Jerome Cemetery — SOLD OUT
Mount Jerome Cemetery, 158 Harold’s Cross Road, Dublin 6W · Sunday 25 October · 10am, 12pm & 2:15pm (arrive 10 minutes early) · 1hr 15min · €15 + €1 booking fee · Ages 12+
If Glasnevin tells the story of Irish independence, Mount Jerome is the cemetery that captures Dublin’s Victorian age. Historian, author and Three Castles Burning host Donal Fallon leads this specially commissioned walk through one of Ireland’s finest collections of Victorian memorials, tombs, vaults and crypts, meeting William Wilde, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu and other names in the Irish supernatural tradition and their connections to Stoker. Outdoors, and the route isn’t suitable for wheelchairs. All three tours are sold out.
Stoker on Stoker: Unearthing the Secrets of Dracula
Graduates Memorial Building, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2 · Sunday 25 October · 1:30pm · 1hr 30min · €13 + €1 booking fee · Ages 12+
Dacre Stoker — Bram’s great-grandnephew and the New York Times bestselling co-author of Dracul and The Lost Journal of Bram Stoker — presents his definitive multimedia account of how Dracula came to be: family history, rare photographs, manuscripts, maps and Stoker’s own research notes; the books Bram consulted, Whitby’s crucial role, his Scottish writing retreat, the search for Castle Dracula and how Vlad III became attached to the legend. Unreserved seating in a site-specific venue, so arrive early. ISL interpreted. Tickets €13 plus €1 booking fee — available now.
Stoker on the Runway: The Gothic in Contemporary Fashion
Graduates Memorial Building, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2 · Sunday 25 October · 4pm (doors 3:30pm) · 1hr · €13 + €1 booking fee · Ages 16+
What happens when Gothic literature meets the runway? Historian and historical consultant Laura Fitzachary (@seekthehistoric, co-founder of the Fashion History Society of Ireland) traces the line from Dracula, Gothic fiction and Victorian mourning dress to JW Anderson, Alexander McQueen, Dilara Findikoglu, Rick Owens and Simone Rocha — and Ireland’s overlooked place in that history. May contain some images not suitable for children. ISL interpreted. Tickets €13 plus €1 booking fee — available now.
Dublin’s Victorian Pubs – A Walking Tour with Donal Fallon — SOLD OUT
Meeting at The Palace Bar, 21 Fleet Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2 · Monday 26 October · 12pm (arrive 10 minutes early) · 2hr · €20 + €1 booking fee · 18+
Stoker’s Dublin was a city in transformation, and the humble public house was changing with it. Donal Fallon, author of The Dublin Pub, leads a specially commissioned walk through the Victorian city: the drinking habits and political connections of the age, the pubs frequented by Oscar Wilde, James Joyce and Charles Stewart Parnell, and the literary worlds of Sheridan Le Fanu and Máirtín Ó Cadhain. Outdoors and not wheelchair accessible. Sold out.
Blood, Guts & Black Pudding
Medley, Old Irish Times Building, Fleet Street, Dublin 2 · Monday 26 October · 2pm (doors 1:30pm) · 1hr 30min · €20 + €1 booking fee · 18+
The Irish have dined on blood for centuries — drawn from living animals and caught from dead ones, stuffed into guts and boiled, or stirred into bloody porridges over turf fires — and it’s a food in danger of disappearing. Author Kate Ryan chats with chef Andrew Rudd about the dying art of blood in Irish food, from ancient sustenance to the breakfast fry, presented with flavour.ie. Includes descriptions and images of animal blood collection. ISL interpreted. Tickets €20 plus €1 booking fee — available now.
Scanra: The Bonfire — SOLD OUT
Bewley’s, 78–79 Grafton Street, Dublin 2 · Monday 26 October · 7:30pm (doors 7pm) · 3hr 30min · €15 + €1 booking fee · 18+
Now in its fourth year and sold out at the festival three years running, SCANRA is a spellbinding night of music, myth and storytelling unearthing the ancient Irish origins of Samhain. This year’s most intimate edition gathers around ‘The Bonfire’ at historic Bewley’s Café with musician and performance artist Branwen Kavanagh, storyteller Sarah McKenna Dunne, performance artist Foxx and composer Alannah Thornburgh, with performance poet Róisín Nic Ghearailt at the helm. Part of Night Bites, the festival’s after-dark series presented with the Night-Time Economy Advisor. Strong language and adult themes. Sold out — for the fourth year.
Free events — turn up, or book when tickets are released
Four of the free events above (Suitcase Stories, In Stoker’s Footsteps, Bram Stoker’s Influences and Body Snatching in Dublin Graveyards) were ticketed through TakeYourSeats.ie and have gone. These five are open to everyone, either with no booking at all or with free tickets released closer to the date.
Stokerland
St. Patrick’s Park, Bull Alley Street, Dublin 8 · Saturday 24 – Monday 26 October · from 11am daily · Free, no booking required · Families and under-12s
Roll up, roll up: one of Dublin’s most-loved family events returns to the park beneath St Patrick’s Cathedral, dressed up for a gloriously Gothic weekend — a packed programme in the performance tent, devilishly fun street theatre, storytelling, games and creative play for children and the eternally young. A relaxed session open to all runs 11am–1pm on Monday 26 October, with a Social Story available to download from 7 October. Outdoors, so dress for the weather.
Details at bramstokerfestival.com
On the Hunt in the National Library
National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2 · Saturday 24 October · 11am (arrive 10–15 minutes early) · 2hr · Free, ticketed · Ages 16+
Part quiz, part guided research challenge: race against the clock through the NLI’s catalogue and surroundings to find the answers you need before time runs out. No research experience needed — bring curiosity, a keen eye and your own smartphone, tablet or laptop. Tickets are released on 14 October.
Details at bramstokerfestival.com
Making Faces! Family Mask-Making Workshop
Creativity Hub, National Museum of Ireland – Collins Barracks, Dublin 7 · Sunday 25 October · drop in 1:30–2:30pm · 25-minute craft · Free, no booking required · Ages 7–12
Inspired by objects in the Museum, explore colour, texture and technique while making a unique face or character to take home. Drop in any time between 1:30pm and 2:30pm; places are first come, first served, so there may be a short wait to get in.
Details at bramstokerfestival.com
Dracula’s Disco
The Round Room at The Mansion House, Dawson Street, Dublin 2 · Monday 26 October · 12pm & 2pm (doors 11:40am / 1:40pm) · 1hr · Free, ticketed · Ages 4+
The eternally popular afternoon of deadly dancing returns in partnership with The Ark: Count Dracula’s resident DJ spins much-loved hits and Hallowe’en classics for little monsters and grown-ups alike. Come in costume and do your own Dead Dance. Contains flashing lights and haze. Tickets are released on 20 October through The Ark.
Details at bramstokerfestival.com
Macnas Parade: Fiáin
Dublin’s North East Inner City · Monday 26 October · 7pm (gather from 6:45pm, not earlier) · Free, no booking required · All ages
Fiáin (fee-awn) is Macnas’s celebration of the wild — the wild West of Ireland, the wild inspirations behind 40 years of Macnas, and the wild energy of its giant spectacle, performance and music taking over the streets. For the second year the parade comes to the North East Inner City, close to where Stoker once lived: starting halfway up North Great George’s Street, then Great Denmark Street, Gardiner Place, Mountjoy Square, Gardiner Street and Seán McDermott Street. It takes about 20 minutes to pass any one spot; booking for the limited accessible viewing areas opens on 7 October at noon.
Details at bramstokerfestival.com
Also part of the festival — booked through partner venues
The rest of the programme is ticketed directly by the venues and partners presenting it. Prices and booking fees are as published by the festival; the sold-out ones are marked.
Night Bites – Gothic Tales
Art in Layers, 77 Camden Street Lower, Dublin 2 · Friday 23 – Monday 26 October · 6pm nightly (doors 5:45pm) · 2hr 30min · €20 · 18+
Moonlit castles, shadows in the windows, bats overhead: cut, layer and build your own Victorian-style paper theatre pop-up scene with Art in Layers. No experience needed, all materials provided, and you leave with a handmade artwork that tells a Gothic tale. Not wheelchair accessible. Booking through Art in Layers.
Details & booking at bramstokerfestival.com
Night Bites – DIY Bat Wings
Change Clothes, The Digital Depot, Roe Lane, The Liberties, Dublin 8 · Friday 23 October · 6pm (doors 5:45pm) · 2hr · €10 · Ages 16+
Turn old textiles into a dramatic pair of wearable bat wings at the Liberties’ community textile-reuse hub. No sewing experience needed and all materials provided — but bring an old black t-shirt or dress if you have one in need of a second life. Booking through Change Clothes.
Details & booking at bramstokerfestival.com
Night Bites – Make A Créatúr — SOLD OUT
Throwing Shapes, Unit 2A, Mill Street, Dublin 8 · Friday 23 October · 6pm (doors 5:45pm) · 2hr 30min · €15 · 18+
A playful, beginner-friendly ceramics workshop led by Tatiana Smith-St Kitts: hand-build your own creature inspired by Irish folklore and Samhain, with complimentary drinks from Something & Nothing while you work. Sold out.
Details & booking at bramstokerfestival.com
Stitch
The Boys’ School, Smock Alley Theatre, 6–7 Exchange Street Lower, Temple Bar, Dublin 8 · Friday 23 – Monday 26 October · 7pm nightly (doors 6:45pm) · 1hr · €20 · Strictly 18+
Sinister, unsettling and unrelentingly atmospheric, Irene Kelleher’s homage to Frankenstein — a critically acclaimed hit at Cork Midsummer Festival 2025, where it won Best Site Specific Experience, Best Company and Best Tech Team at The Arts Review awards — comes to Dublin for the first time, from the team behind Gone Full Havisham and presented by Mighty Oak Productions. Alice, forgotten in a basement for seven months, is reborn on Samhain night. The Saturday 24 October performance is ISL interpreted. Booking through Smock Alley Theatre.
Details & booking at bramstokerfestival.com
Night Bites – Prints After Dark: A Gothic Lino Printing Workshop — SOLD OUT
Create & Sip, 65 South William Street, Dublin 2 · Friday 23 October · 7pm (doors 6:50pm) · 1hr 45min · €20 · Ages 16+
Learn lino carving with artists Ciara Kavanagh and Billy Fagan, print your design onto paper and a canvas tote bag, and keep the block to print with long after the night is over. Sold out.
Details & booking at bramstokerfestival.com
Petrified Live
Project Arts Centre, 39 East Essex Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2 · Friday 23 October · 7:30pm (doors 6:45pm) · 1hr 30min · €22 / €20 concession · Ages 16+
‘Ireland’s scariest podcast’ comes to the stage. Celebrating five series of fright, the award-winning horror audio drama presents a brand-new story pulled from beyond the grave — ordinary people meeting the supernatural, and the terrifying fates that await them. Strong horror themes, frightening sound design and strong language. Booking through Project Arts Centre.
Details & booking at bramstokerfestival.com
Night Bites – DIY Animal Ears
Change Clothes, The Digital Depot, Roe Lane, The Liberties, Dublin 8 · Saturday 24 October · 5pm (doors 4:45pm) · 2hr · €10 · Ages 16+
Cat, fox, wolf or mysterious woodland creature? Raid the fabric scraps and make yourself a pair of wearable ears from reclaimed materials — the start of a low-cost costume without buying anything new. Booking through Change Clothes.
Details & booking at bramstokerfestival.com
Night Bites – Drink & Draw: Bram Stoker — SOLD OUT
This Must Be The Place, 42 Arran Quay, Dublin 7 · Saturday 24 October · 9pm (doors 8:45pm) · 2hr · €10 · Strictly 18+
Create your own Bram Stoker masterpiece in under two hours at the BYOB art studio in Smithfield, with an artist to guide you, prizes and music. Sold out.
Details & booking at bramstokerfestival.com
Dracula (1958) 4K Restoration
Light House Cinema, Market Street South, Smithfield, Dublin 7 · Sunday 25 October · 1:30pm (doors 1:15pm) · 97min · €13 / €10.50 concession · Cert 12A
A rare chance to see Hammer’s 1958 classic — Christopher Lee as the Count, Peter Cushing as Van Helsing — in a newly restored director’s cut, with long-lost footage originally cut by the censors as too gruesome, too sexual or simply too much for the era returned to the film for the first time in decades. Booking through Light House Cinema.
Details & booking at bramstokerfestival.com
Night Bites – DIY Animal Tail
Change Clothes, The Digital Depot, Roe Lane, The Liberties, Dublin 8 · Sunday 25 October · 5pm (doors 4:45pm) · 2hr · €10 · Ages 16+
Complete the transformation with a tail of your own — a classic cat, fox or wolf, or an entirely new creature of your own invention — made from fabric scraps and reclaimed materials. Booking through Change Clothes.
Details & booking at bramstokerfestival.com
Night Bites – The Gothic Muse: A Victorian Life Drawing Experience
Flux Studios, 4 Chatham Row, Dublin 2 · Sunday 25 October · 5:30pm (ages 12+) & 8pm (18+) · 1hr 30min per session · €15 + €1.25 booking fee
Draw live models in Victorian-inspired costume to a suitably spooky soundtrack, with classic horror projected around the studio. The early, family-friendly session includes complimentary snacks and drinks; the late session takes a more after-hours turn, with complimentary alcoholic drinks. Booking through Flux Studios.
Details & booking at bramstokerfestival.com
Night Bites – Sip & Sculpt: Hallowe’en Edition
This Must Be The Place, 42 Arran Quay, Dublin 7 · Monday 26 October · 6pm (doors 5:45pm) · 2hr · €10 + €1.70 booking fee · 18+
A creative night of pottery, drinks, music, games and prizes at the BYOB art studio in Smithfield, hosted by Alternative Dublin. No pottery experience needed, and you leave with something you made yourself. Booking through Alternative Dublin.
Details & booking at bramstokerfestival.com
Browse everything on this month and book at TakeYourSeats.ie
