Haunted York: Trick & Treat Strengthens York’s Position as the UK’s Leading Halloween Destination

This year’s Haunted York campaign delivered another powerful autumn showcase for the city, inspiring day-trippers, families and younger audiences to explore York’s atmospheric experiences through September, October and into early November. Running across Visit York’s digital, social, email and streaming channels, the campaign kept York’s Halloween season highly visible and continued to position the city as the UK’s most iconic haunted destination.

The campaign centred on the high-impact Haunted York trailer, which once again acted as a major driver of reach and engagement across platforms. Extensive posting across Visit York social channels, a refreshed Haunted York hub on visityork.org and targeted VOD placements on YouTube and ITVX ensured consistent visibility throughout the extended campaign window.

Key Partners received premium exposure across the activity, including:

• Inclusion in the Halloween campaign film
• Targeted social and digital advertising placements
• A feature ad and introduction on the Haunted York Hub
• A bespoke 30-second social reel and up to two giveaways
• Visibility on the Visit Information Centre digital screens
• Mentions within press briefings and influencer content
• A dedicated Halloween newsletter and weekly ads in the regional 7 Days eNews  

This year’s performance was exceptionally strong. Haunted York social media activity delivered over 2.4 million impressions, reaching 1.3 million people (+5.5% year-on-year). The Haunted York trailer remained the campaign’s standout asset, achieving 1.8 million impressions and reaching over 828,000 people on Facebook alone — the highest-performing post of the season. Bespoke Visit York reels featuring York Park & Ride generated 249,800 organic video views, a rise of 21%. 

Video content performed equally well across streaming platforms. The Haunted York trailer reached 1.01 million people on YouTube, with 310,000 full views — one-third more than last year — and a further 225,000 completed views on ITVX. The online Haunted York hub attracted 50,600 views (up 10%), with over half of viewers aged 18–34, aligning strongly with the campaign’s target demographics. 

Email activity remained an important channel for themed trip-planning, with nine Haunted York eNewsletters reaching 87,300 subscribers, supported by strong calls to action directing readers towards events, tours and partner offers. Meanwhile, an exclusive partnership with the Yorkshire Mumbler network generated 31,770 website views, 16,000 eNewsletter opens (50% open rate) and over 51,000 views across Instagram and Facebook stories and vlogs, giving the campaign additional family reach across the region. 

Together, this coordinated activity kept York front-of-mind throughout the autumn season, strengthened partner visibility across high-performing channels, and reinforced the city’s position as the UK’s leading Halloween destination. As interest in atmospheric and seasonal city breaks continues to grow, Visit York will build on these results to support Members and partners through future autumn campaigns.