GAZETTE & HERALD: Chippenham magic circle is holding a Halloween Festival at Chippenham Town Hall on Sunday to celebrate the Celtic New Year.

The festival is hosted by Charmed and will allow local witches to come together and also any member of the public who may want to meet them and ask questions and celebrate with food and drink.

Local witch and high priestess, Maxine Vine, said Halloween is a celebration where the spirit world is at its closest to our world and to forget all the negativity in your life.

She said: "It's a celebration. It's to celebrate the New Year and when the layers between the two worlds are closest and that is why we have the pumpkins.

"The pumpkins with lights create a pathway for the spirits.

"You take away the negative and focus on the positive things and moving on.

"After the celebration then we have the feast like when the vicar gives you wine and rice paper and it's the same with the food and drink, which we offer to a god and goddess."

Ms Vine said she hoped people could come along and see what happens to dispel their negative thoughts towards witchcraft.

"There are a lot of people who have negative thoughts and hopefully it will change the minds of people.

"I've only been practising magic for a year and this is our first festival.

"We wear normal clothes. We want to take away that gimmick of pointed hats. I will be wearing trousers and a top. That's why we invited the public to see it's not a scary event. There's nothing in that way."

The event is free but donations will go to Marie Curie Cancer Care.