Once upon a time: Halloween in Cascais

Quinta do Pisão allows itself be invaded by seemingly opposing feelings that coexist perfectly during the spooky season: terror and fun. In this rural setting, traditions take the reins of the festivities with a photo contest, painting the scariest pumpkins and a magical potions workshop. Completing the programme is a bone-chilling storytelling session seated around a crackling bonfire and a mystical tractor ride through the night. And it’s all wrapped up with the traditional pão por Deus bread on the morning of All Saints Day.

An old, disused fish auction... it seems like a Halloween cliché, but it's not. This is where chef Vítor Sobral's restaurant and bar Lota da Esquina now operates, and he has prepared an unforgettable party for the night of October 31st. The Bay of Cascais will give way to a "Haunted Bay", with four DJs providing the music and the promise of fun and drink. The terror may come the next morning!

The story continues in a hotel. No, not an abandoned hotel with warped doors and creaking floors: the Onyria Marinha Boutique Hotel. A “Halloween Mystery” and the suspense of the enigma of a missing cake in the Hotel’s Playground fill the afternoons from 2pm to 5pm from 28-31 October. On the 29th, families gather around the table and this time there’s no crime involved: just a themed lunch at the Onyria Club House. Afterward, the (brave) little ones can head off to the hotel’s Kids Club – the Dreamarine – from 2.30pm to 4.30pm for a fantastically “spooktacular” Halloween party with games, music and a mask contest with priiiiiiiiizes.

The spookiest night has come to Yellow Street. And if there's a clandestine tavern, that's where we want to celebrate Halloween. The "Mana Halloween Party", on October 31, starting at 7pm, promises trick-or-treating, but also music, drinks and entertainment. The dress code is, of course, the best and scariest costume. Buuuuhhh!

Another setting, another mystery. This time the action takes place at the Hotel InterContinental, which isn’t inhabited by ghosts, witches or werewolves, but rather by happy families that are ready for a Welcome Halloween Cocktail followed by a themed dinner. The menu features dishes with names that are worthy of a horror film and include “The Vampire’s Temptations”, “The Monsters of the Montado” and the “Spicy Pumpkin Candle”, which have spine-tingling flavours that promise to carry your taste buds to another dimension.

Children will get their hands dirty and learn how to cook super spooky themed recipes this Halloween - without the kitchen at home looking like a horror set. Between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. on October 31, the protagonists (apart from the kids) will be guacamole with nachos, mini monster burgers, bloody drink and, to finish, ghost cupcakes and sweet graves. The little witches - or rather, the children! - can taste their delicacies at the end and share smiles and scares.

The name of the place would fit right into any horror story, but the promise is of a fun and convivial evening. "La Noche de los Muertos" starts at 6 p.m. on October 31st at El Clandestino and offers dinner to the best and worst masks that show up at the restaurant - a dinner watered down, of course, with Bloody Margaritas, Mezcal de la Bruja and Dark & Spooky.

And because the tale of this Halloween has gone on long enough, the finale takes place at Cascais Town Market with a family-friendly party from 7.30pm to 12am on 31 October, and which will feature music to shake your skeleton, costumes, sweets and lots of fun. The little ghosts can count on special activities, such as face painting and inflatables from Xland Fun Park, which will echo with laughter all night long.

Next Halloween, when you're asked to tell the best horror story you know, you'll be able to tell the one about Halloween in Cascais. Spoiler alert: it has a happy ending!