This year’s Shenfield Spooktacular Halloween event brought the whole of Shenfield High Street to life with a mix of spooky fun, live characters and hands-on activities. Working alongside Brentwood Connected, we created five themed activations that stretched from one end of the high street to the other.
Each had its own interactive setup, immersive props and performing characters. With free treats, engaging games and a digital codeword trail linking everything together, the event encouraged families to explore every part of the high street and enjoy an afternoon out at no cost.
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A Full High Street Experience
Our aim was to design something that drew people across the entire high street, giving them a reason to visit every section and discover what each zone had to offer. The activations were spaced along the full length of the high street, ensuring that the energy and activity were spread along the whole road.
Each activation had its own clear theme, characters and activities, offering visitors something different at every stop. Families might meet Wednesday Addams at the Nevermore Academy Popcorn Stand, try their hand at Ghostbusting by the iconic Ectomobile, then cross paths with eccentric inventors at the Villain-Con International exhibit. This variety kept people moving along the high street, giving them reasons to visit every zone and naturally spreading footfall throughout the event area.
1 Villain-Con International x BAD Labs
At a special Villain-Con pop-up, BAD Labs unveiled their latest invention: a custom-built villain vehicle fitted with flashing lights, a smog machine (LED bubble blaster) and plenty of tongue-in-cheek weaponry. Our “evil inventors” invited children to help name the machine and brave grabbing sweets from a tank of animated piranhas!
2 Ecto-2 Interactive Bike
Our second Ghostbusters activation featured the Ecto-2 interactive bike, with its own “Ecto Vault”. Children were sent to hunt for hidden Ecto Eggs along the street, bringing them back to the vault to trade for a prize. It got families exploring and gave young visitors a real sense of triumph in helping to save the town!
3 Ghostbusters Ectomobile Experience
Families met the Ghostbusters and got hands-on with their famous ghost-hunting equipment. The full-sized Ectomobile made a striking centrepiece, and everyone who stopped by could have a free printed photo taken as a souvenir; as well as test their spook-catching skills with the on-board Ghostbusters videogame.
4 Nevermore Academy Popcorn Stand
Guests were greeted by Wednesday and Enid, who were “investigating mysterious goings-on in Shenfield” while handing out free popcorn. Between the snacks, chat and photo moments, families were drawn into their quirky world by being recruited to take part in Wednesday’s ‘Secret Undertaking’ (a digital codeword trail).
5 Beetlejuice’s Candy Floss Cart
No Halloween celebration is complete without a bit of chaos. Beetlejuice drew a crowd at his candy floss cart, handing out the freshly spun treat for free, posing for photos and keeping spirits high throughout the afternoon.
Digital Codeword Trail
To connect everything, we created a custom digital codeword trail that ran through all five activations. Visitors began by scanning a QR code presented by Wednesday and Enid. This took them to the trail’s starting page, where they could enter the first secret codeword. Once entered correctly, a button appeared to lead them to the next stage, revealing where to find the next stand and the next codeword.
This continued across all five activations. When visitors had collected all five words, they could enter a prize draw to win a bundle of Halloween toys. The system worked seamlessly on any smartphone and required no app downloads.
The trail added a layer of discovery that tied the whole experience together. It encouraged families to keep moving, visiting every activation and exploring the entire high street from end to end.
Free and Accessible Fun
Everything we delivered at the Shenfield Spooktacular was completely free to enjoy. Visitors could take part in challenges, pose for photos, enjoy freshly popped popcorn or treat themselves to candy floss, all without spending a penny. This made the event accessible to everyone and created a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere that encouraged people to stay longer.
The free activities also had a positive impact on local businesses. With families spending more time on the high street, nearby cafés and shops saw increased footfall and energy throughout the day.
The Outcome
To measure the impact of the event, we introduced an online feedback form that visitors could complete while waiting in queues or between activities. The form provided quick insight into how people experienced the event, as well as its effect on the local high street.
The results were overwhelmingly positive. Every single respondent (100%) said they enjoyed the Shenfield Spooktacular event, with all describing it as “great”. Importantly, 86% of visitors reported visiting at least one local shop, café or business while they were there. When asked about spending, 34% said they spent over £26 in Shenfield that day, while another 31% spent between £11 and £25. Only a small proportion weren’t sure of their total spend.
These results highlight how creative, free-to-access public events can deliver measurable benefits for local businesses, alongside the clear community and wellbeing value they bring. The combination of entertainment, interactivity and local engagement ensured the Spooktacular was not just enjoyable, but also economically and socially rewarding for the town.
Visitor feedback included:
Absolutely brilliant! Getting people out and in the high street again! Lovely community feeling.
[I enjoyed] the range of free activities. I’ve never seen the high street so busy before. A lot of fun.
I loved everything! So much effort from everyone and such a wonderful community event. Thank you so much!
Friendly staff, very accommodating for children and they loved the event.
Fun! It was all such a wonderful afternoon. Please can we have more of these events.
Bring the Magic to Your Town
At Bowerbirdy, we specialise in creating imaginative public events that bring people together. From digital trails and themed activations to live characters and interactive storytelling, we design every element to make your high street or town centre an experience in itself.
Contact us today to find out how we can help bring your next event to life!
