Forget your cute pumpkin get-ups or sexy nurse costumes, Dublin’s Halloween is all about horror as the Bram Stoker Festival hits the capital this weekend.

Thousands of merrymakers, many dressed as vampires, zombies, Goths and the undead, will take to the streets this weekend to celebrate the Halloween season and “Dracula” author, Bram Stoker, a Dublin native, with the Bram Stoker Festival.

Running from Friday, October 26 until Monday, October 29,  the four days of festivities included a Macnas parade, a Stokerland Victorian pop-up fun park and an audio ghost tour around Dublin. 

Back in 2014, it even had a Goths versus zombies dance-off at the junction of Grafton Street and St Stephen’s Green!

Read more: Scary Irish Halloween spirits from Dracula to the Banshee

"Whether you’re a resident vampire or visiting from further afield, Bram Stoker Festival 2018 has something for everyone in its gothically inspired programme of events," the festival website states. 

"Get ready for four days of living stories and four nights of deadly adventures as Dublin gets gloriously gothic this October Bank Holiday Weekend.

Read more: Irish "Dracula" author Bram Stoker dies in 1912

"The Bram Stoker Festival playfully celebrates the gothic, the mysterious, the after-dark and the thrill of Halloween, and delves into the legacy of one of Ireland’s most treasured authors. The packed programme of events devilishly mixes family-friendly adventures with late-night antics for mates, dates and everything in between.

"From unforgettable, spectacular parades to pop-up Victorian fun parks, with intimate performances in unusual spaces, live music, workshops, theatre, podcasts, audio tours and a whole range of film, literary and once-off events, Bram Stoker Festival is full of surprises."

Have you visited the Bram Stoker Festival before? Let us know what you thought of it in the comments section, below. 

*Originally published October 2014.