As the weather cools, the clouds roll in and nights draw longer, the spook season descends once more upon us. All Hallows Eve has steadily grown in popularity over the past few years, with nearly 1 in 3 people in the UK celebrating the holiday – a 50% rise on 2018’s figure. But let’s say you aren’t up for the usual fare of trick-or-treating, gorging on chocolate and staying in to watch a slasher film. Say you wanted to head out, and experience something unique? Well, we’ve taken a look at everything spooky that’s going on in London around the 31st October, and picked the best ones for your consideration below…
Spook Season in London Town
London is the perfect destination for all things macabre, with a long and storied history of horror stories, ghostly sightings and haunted monuments. The nightlife is unparalleled, and the sheer volume of diverse events available boggles the mind. If you’re not native to London, and fancy a horror-filled holiday of your own, be sure to check the events mentioned against train times to London – and try not to be too afraid about hiring a bed for the night!
Best Halloween Attractions On and Around Halloween
No Halloween attraction list can be complete without mention of the London Dungeon – initially a wax attraction, opened in 1974 to showcase London’s gorier history, but morphed over time to become what it is today – an interactive theatre experience like no other, telling stories from the times of the Black Death, the Gunpowder Plot, Jack the Ripper and everything between. Expect dim lights, macabre storytelling, and a lot of fake blood…
For a slightly more child-friendly attraction, look no further than Warner Bros own The Making of Harry Potter Studio Tour, whose seasonal event “Dark Arts” delights with its floating pumpkins, ominous Death Eaters and wand combat.
Best Halloween Events On and Around Halloween
Leaving the attractions behind, the evening stretches out ahead of you. How about a night of phantasmagorical cinema at the Prince Charles Cinema, running its annual HorrOctober festivities with a full month of slasher flicks, sci fi nail-biters and psychological horrors. Or if not the Prince Charles, perhaps the pop-up cinema at the Rivoli Ballroom – one of London’s last remaining ballrooms – showing cult classics The Crow and The Rocky Horror Picture Show among others?
If cinema isn’t quite your thing, maybe you’d like to go for something a little more interactive. Escape room specialists No Escape have partnered with professional ‘scare actors’ to bring you the most visceral escape room you may ever be lucky enough to escape – try your hand at tricking your way out of an abbatoir, a haunted toy shop or even a prison cell in this immersive nightmare simulator.
