With Halloween now fast approaching it was only a matter of time before Guild Wars 2's annual Shadow of the Mad King event made its 'terrifying' return. However, unlike the previous few years the Halloween event will not be launching on October 18th, but rather on October 17th. In other words, it will be coming later today!

In terms of content you can expect to see a repeat performance from the various Halloween themed zones and events: a festive version of Lion's Arch, the Mad King's Labyrinth and Clock Tower, the Ascent to Madness mini-dungeon, and the somewhat annoying Mad King Says mini-game. Naturally, there will also be a ton of new and returning cosmetics to collect, so make sure to grab the Bat Wing Glider while its still available.

While everything is currently shrouded in mystery, ArenaNet has also announced a special surprise for this year's Shadow of the Mad King. What exactly that surprise is going to be, I'm afraid nobody really know, but what I can tell you is that its not going to be content you've already seen. I would love to tell you more, but it seems we'll have to wait for the event to properly kick off before we get the answers we seek.

Until then, allow me to leave you with the original Halloween trailer. Its a bit outdated by now, but it still captures the spirit of the event quite nicely. Enjoy!