Paisley’s Halloween Festival – one of the biggest and best of its kind in the UK – got underway on Thursday, with crowds of thousands gathering for the annual spooktacular.
The town centre was turned into a gothic playground with specially-created installations, sensational street performers and aerial acrobats, set against the stunning backdrop of Paisley’s 850-year-old Abbey.
Paisley has become Scotland’s home of Halloween in recent years and this was the first of three nights of the free-to-attend event.
The festival ran for three nights between 5pm and 9pm, with the same programme of performers including returning festival favourites such as Spark! LED Drummers and the flame-throwing PyroCeltica.
This year’s event saw a new and improved event layout – with a Halloween Trail Zone, including interactive fire show, a bat cave and a raven’s realm, as a walk-through one-way system around the outside of the Abbey.
Elsewhere, professional and community performers delighted the crowds in the Live Performance Zone around Paisley Cross, with other attractions including a haunted funfair, street food and a toast-your-own marshmallow pit.
The event was staged by Renfrewshire Council in partnership with internationally-renowned circus performance specialists Cirque Bijou, and supported by EventScotland as part of their national events programme.
