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Expect plenty of bumps in the night this weekend as London is filled with ghoulish goings-on in anticipation of Halloween. Go on a ghost walk through Farringdon after-dark, make a pumpkin platter or scare yourself silly at a horror film all-nighter. Try not to scream, we dare you.
SATURDAY
Free Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream. Ben & Jerry’s Piccadilly Circus. Sat. Free. Don your best spooky threads to bag a scoop of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. In anticipation of Halloween they’re giving away free gothic-style black waffle cones to anyone in Halloween fancy dress.
Mad Brunch. Madison Terrace Bar & Lounge. Sat. £25. The Madison’s menu has had a spooky spell cast over it for Halloween. This one-off brunch features pumpkin risotto served in a witch hat and mini werewolf burgers. Nibble on the spooky treats while watching stilt walkers, magicians and contortionists work their magic.
The Famous Ghosts and Infamous Murders Tour. Meet at Tottenham Court Rd, exit 1. Sat. £12, £10 concs. Stroll through the backstreets of the West End and discover the famous spirits haunting the capital. Stop at plague pits and haunted tunnels, then learn about the murder mystery that gripped London long before Jack the Ripper.
The Unbelievers Ghost Walk. Meet at Farringdon tube. Sat. £5. Get chills on this guided walk through Smithfield and Farringdon where The London Fortean society will share ghostly tales of screaming Anne, Bleeding Heart Yard, Scratching Fanny (on Cock Lane) and more spectres form the city’s past.
Quarter of Curiosity: Pumpkin Platers Workshop. Carnaby Street. Sat, 1pm. Free. Hollow out a mini-pumpkin and turn it into a squash for succulents at this workshop set in a spookily made-over Carnaby.
The Halloween Haunted Farmers Market. Pimlico Road. Sat. Free entry. Pimlico Road Farmers Market had gone all ghoulish on us, with a morning filled with fancy dress competitions, a prize for the spookiest stall and even a prize for the best dog dressed in disguise.
Silver Screen Science Fiction: 'Event Horizon'. Royal Observatory Greenwich. Sat. £10, £8.50 concs. Get spooked sci-fi style at this screening of ‘Event Horizon’. See the ghost-cum-horror yarn, set 56 days away from Earth, on the Planetarium’s epic screen. Follow all the space scares by listening to a talk from a Royal Observatory Greenwich astronomer, who'll be discussing the reality behind faster-than-light travel.
SATURDAY NIGHT
Horror All Nighter. Regent Street Cinema. Sat. £27. Get ready for a night of bum-clenching scares at this 35mm marathon from Cigarette Burns cinema where you can catch art house horror flicks including ‘Suspiria’ and ‘Re-Animator’. It’ll spook all your creative sensibilities.
Dead Poets Live: Hallowe’en. The Print Room. Sat. £29. A top team of actors, including Adrian Dunbar, Toby Jones, and Sophie Thompson, will be spooking you socks off by reading disturbing verse from Sylvia Plath, Edgar Allan Poe, E E Cummings, Browning, Keats and Auden. Expect chilling stories of murder, torture, witchcraft, possession, abductions, madness, despair, horror and blood. Lots of blood.
Halloween Cluedo. Library. Sat. £29. Join Colonel Mustard and Professor Plum, not in the library with the lead piping, but at Library private members club in a room booming with tunes. Dress as your fave board game character and join a night of immersive murder mystery games and Halloween-style partying.
Hocus Pocus Halloween. The Book Club. Sat. £6 OTD. This ‘90s themed party features life drawing with Art Macarbe, lashings of facepaint, cocktails and a screening of Bette Midler’s (arguably) finest film. Afterwards, work your witchy way on the dance floor to a sound track of ‘90s bangers.
Zombie’s Ate My Dance Floor. O2 Academy Islington. Sat. £12-£16. Bust a move to the Monster Mash as Club De Fromage teams up with Burn Down the Disco for a ghoulish Halloween special full of glittery, disco-ball loving zombies. Beyond the music there'll also be a screening of 'The Lost Boys', a meat pie raffle, apple bobbing and a prize for the best fancy dress.
U Suck: Halloween Special. Old Blue Last. Sat. Free. Just been ditched? Ghosted? Save those tears and head to this night of ‘break up bangers’ to dance away the rage. This time around there’s a spooky theme to the proceedings, so don your best fancy dress.
SUNDAY
All Dogs Matter Halloween Dog and Walk Show. The Spaniards Inn. Sun. £5 per dog. Trick and/or treat your dog into a Halloween costume and take the pup on a walk in aid of All Dogs Matter. Plus, there are prizes for the best-dressed dawgs and their owners.
The Horniman Halloween Fair. Horniman Museum. Sat-Sun. Free. Dress up and get down to this wonderful anthropological museum set in 16 acres of landscaped gardens for a day of frightening fun. Little ones can meet creepy crawlies, while grown-ups can browse the arts and crafts market.
Becoming Blood: Halloween Weekender. Copeland Gallery. Sat-Sun. Free. The Science Gallery’s show ‘Blood: Life Uncut’ - telling the story of the live-saving substance pulsing through our veins – is pulling out all the stops for Halloween with a weekender packed full of free events. Explore the world of blood forensics and find out about bloodletting as a medical practice.
Pumpkin Flower Arranging. Deliciously Ella, 21 Seymour Place. Sun. £25. If you don't fancy carving a pumpkin this year, why not give one a dried flower makeover at this flower arranging workshop led by Isabel Hudson from Flower & Press with squashes at its centre.
If all that's whetted your ghostly appetite, why not go on a haunted pub crawl to these ghoul-filled pubs? Or have a wander around these seriously spooky London locations.