A guide to global Halloween hotspots

It's Halloween this weekend and if you fancy a quick getaway, these destinations are offering a frightfully good time.

In New York City, Halloween is a big deal and even had its own website - Halloween NYC is packed with information on where to spend the weekend and has some great deals still available at many of the city's hotels.

If you need to get further afield to the multitude of celebrations held in other US cities (such as the West Hollywood Halloween Parade in LA ), both Southwest and Virgin America are also offering Halloween fare deals, with Southwest promising fares as low as $30 (€21.50) to some destinations and Virgin America from $34 (€24).

Canada hosts some impressive community Halloween celebrations, such as that in the village of Snug Cove on British Columbia's Bowen Island, where hundreds of islanders and tourists watch fireworks and see Morris Dancing performances.

In Ontario, Canada's Wonderland theme park has several attractions just for the festival, with the park open in the dark and hundreds of actors on hand to scare the living daylights out of guests.

Ireland boasts a packed program too, from the traditional torch-lit Celtic procession to Hill of Ward near Dublin to the huge Banks of the Foyle Halloween Carnival of Lights in Derry, which welcomes over 40,000 revelers.

Travel blog Ciao Bambino has highlighted some of its best things to do in London, including the Wicked Day at London's St Pancras Station (very Gothic) and ghost story readings at Harrod's, one of the city's most famous tourist attractions.

In Paris, Disneyland is promising that its Halloween Festival will be even more spooky and scary, with a Halloween Showtime featuring Disney villains and a special Halloween Party on October 31.

Halloween Australia has a list of events in Australia, where Halloween is becoming more commonplace - highlights include the Magique Halloween Circus in Sydney's Luna Park, a club night under a big top that includes magicians, hypnotists, sword swallowers, fire breathers and burlesque dancers.