[Seeing Claverton Manor under a different light! Spooky.]
You may have noticed that next month’s Halloween merchandise is already creeping onto retail shelves.
With that night of frights and delights in mind, something strange is stirring at the American Museum & Gardens, which will be launching a brand-new after-dark light experience created especially for its historic estate.
Running from Friday 16 October to Sunday 1 November, Halloween at the American Museum & Gardens invites visitors to step beyond the ordinary and into an enchanting night of lights and frights. As darkness falls, familiar paths will take an unexpected turn, shadows will shift among the trees, and playful surprises will appear across the gardens.
For the first time, selected areas of the Museum’s autumnal gardens will be transformed after dark, creating an atmospheric Halloween experience filled with glowing installations, eerie encounters and moments of seasonal spectacle. Set against the dramatic backdrop of Claverton Manor and the Museum’s hillside estate, the event offers a rare chance to see the gardens in a whole new light.
There will also be a chance to experience the Manor House after dark, with selected rooms seen by candlelight. For those able to step inside, the historic spaces and collections will take on a different mood, as familiar rooms feel just a little more mysterious.
Seasonal food and drink will add to the evening atmosphere, with American-inspired bites and Halloween treats including backyard dogs, dirty mac and cheese, toffee apples made with AM&G apples, themed cakes and brownies, blood slushies, mulled wine and hot chocolates.
Lucy Littlewood, Director, American Museum & Gardens, remarked:
“Halloween at the American Museum & Gardens is a chance to experience the Museum in a completely different light. We wanted to create something atmospheric and beautiful, but also fun and memorable, making the most of our extraordinary setting after dark while offering families and visitors a new seasonal experience for Bath. From the illuminated gardens to candlelit rooms in the Manor House, it promises to be a very special autumn evening.”
Here’s the details for your diary.
Event: Halloween at the American Museum & Gardens: Enchanted nights of lights and frights
Dates: Friday 16 October – Sunday 1 November 2026
Times: Evenings from 5.30 pm to 8.30 pm, with bookable entry slots every 15 minutes from 5.30 pm to 7.30 pm
Tickets: Adult £12 | Child £8.50 | Student £10 | 2 adult family £32.50 | 1 adult family £20.50
Booking: Tickets available from americanmuseum.org
Location: American Museum & Gardens, Claverton Manor, Bath BA2 7BD
www.americanmuseum.org/whats-on/halloween
- Halloween at the American Museum & Gardens is an evening experience focusing on atmosphere, transformation, visual spectacle and the Museum’s gardens and Manor House after dark. It is not an actor-led experience.
- Visitors are encouraged to book in advance. Entry is by timed slot; visitors are asked to arrive 10 minutes before their booked time and check in at the Ticket Office.
- Free parking is available on site. If the main car park is full, visitors should follow signs to the additional car park a short distance up Claverton Hill.
ABOUT THE AMERICAN MUSEUM & GARDENS
The American Museum & Gardens was created by an Anglo-American couple, Dallas Pratt and John Judkyn, and opened to the public in 1961 with the ambition to showcase American decorative arts and dispel stereotypes of American culture.
The Museum is situated within 125 acres of historic parkland, ancient woodland and formal gardens, with a gallery shop, deli and children’s play area. Located across from the Cotswold National Landscape and Area of Special Scientific Interest, the countryside views across the Limpley Stoke Valley from the gardens and deli terrace are unrivalled.
Throughout the year there is a programme of exhibitions, events, music, outdoor theatre, family activities, talks and well-being experiences. The American Museum & Gardens is a registered charity governed by a Board of Trustees.
The American Museum & Gardens, Claverton Manor, Bath BA2 7BD www.americanmuseum.org
