A city shopping centre is taking a spooky approach to attracting visitors, with a series of innovative events planned for Halloween this October.

Prospect Shopping Centre, which celebrates its 40th birthday this year, is drawing on its unique location – which is on the former site of Hull Royal Infirmary as well as the medieval gallows – by hosting a series of events called Nightmare on Prospect Street.

This year has already seen a dramatic increase in footfall figures at the centre, with some of the events held there in July seeing a 22 per cent increase in footfall. The centre is on track to exceed 8.5 million visitors this year, which is a 15.6% increase on last year.

Now, the Centre is hoping trick or treaters of all ages will descend on the venue on October 31 for a variety of events. Prospect’s Little Pumpkins, a free fancy dress party for children of all ages, will take place upstairs in the strEAT foodcourt from 2pm to 4pm and will feature everything from facepainting and a Halloween craft session through to a trick or treat route around the shops.

Meanwhile, shoppers are being advised to watch out for Zombies in the Mall throughout the day, as actors in full Halloween costume are set to be strategically placed around the centre to add to the spooky shopping experience.

Those looking for a seriously spooky experience this Halloween are being urged to snap up tickets for Locked In Prospect, which is taking place after hours at the centre from 7.30pm onwards and will feature a tour that tells the tales of sightings at various locations around the building.

People looking for a more frightening experience can then stay on afterwards for Prospect’s Paranormal Investigation from 8:00pm until 2am. Tickets for the evening event cost £25 each with the option of attending both and are available at: www.prospectshoppingcentre.co.uk

Centre manager Lee Appleton said: “Our themed events are proving very popular and we hope they will attract enough interest to become a regular fixture in Prospect Shopping Centre’s annual calendar.

“Following on from the huge success of our birthday celebrations in the summer, which saw five different events taking place, we have organised a series of events for Halloween. Every year, Halloween seems to get bigger and better so it seemed only right that we staged our own events to give people in the city plenty of opportunities to get involved.”

More information: http://www.prospectshoppingcentre.co.uk/

Pictured: Prospect Shopping Centre Manager Lee Appleton with HullBID City Centre Manager Kathryn Shillito