Chaos in Dublin as thousands turn up for ‘hoax’ Halloween parade that didn’t exist

Thousands of people lined the streets of Dublin eagerly anticipating a Halloween Parade through the city centre – but it never arrived.

The decked-out Dubliners had been tricked by a listing on a AI-generated website based in Pakistan that announced the spooky festival before news of it quickly spread online.

The My Spirit Halloween website falsely advertised the Macnas Halloween Parade would take place from 7pm to 9pm, with interest in it seeing the news ranking on Google.

But when thousands appeared to turn up to line the route from Parnell Street to Christchurch Cathedral, it slowly became clear to those waiting that there was no event.

The situation forced The Gardaí to put out a message for those waiting on O’Connell Street to “disperse safely”.

A spokesperson said: “Please be advised that contrary to information being circulated online, no Halloween parade is scheduled to take place in Dublin city centre this evening or tonight.

“All those gathered on O’Connell Street in expectation of such a parade are asked to disperse safely.”

One attendee said on X: “People waiting for a Halloween parade. No Gardaí around, no official announcement, people waiting on the wrong side of the road…Someone did pull a big hoax.”

Another replied: “The real lesson to be learned here is that a lot of people would clearly attend a Halloween parade and Dublin City Council should organise one next year.”

Sinn Fein councillor Janice Boylan said described the situation as “really sad”.

She added: “Everyone is trying to have a fun and safe Halloween. Having a parade to go to sounded really good. I know an awful lot of people turned up. It’s a terrible pity.”

The My Spirit Halloween website, which appeared to have been taken down on Friday morning, reportedly curated Halloween events spanning the globe.