What To Do In London For Hallowe'en

M@
By M@ Last edited 161 months ago
What To Do In London For Hallowe'en

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Trying to list *everything* going on in London for Hallowe'en would be like attempting to corral a city of zombies. Instead, here's a selection of the best events to catch our attention. There's plenty more going on, so feel free to add your own tips in the comments.

Perilous Parties

  • London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard are having a fundraiser on Friday. Eight acts (including the puntastic 'Scales of the Unexpected) put on a haunting show at the 2 Brewers in Clapham.
  • Boho Bar in Dulwich present their free-entry Boo! party on Saturday. Special Hallowe'en punch, costumes encouraged and projected horror movies should set the mood.
  • Scala in King’s Cross will be converted into The Haunted Ballroom on Saturday. Organisers White Mischief promise a night of ‘unique live music, curious vaudeville, vintage DJing, interactive theatre and eccentric dressed up characters’. Tickets, however, are harder to get hold of than a spectral snake covered in phantom custard.
  • All Star Lanes Brick Lane hosts the Bangers & Mash’s Halloween Party on Saturday. The usual melange of fancy dress and spooky fun will be complemented by free bowling for the first 50 entries.
  • The Voodoo Spell party takes place at 'celebrity haunt' Trader Vic’s at London Hilton, on Park Lane on Sunday. Costume appears to be mandatory, and you'll get a mix of DJs, tarot readers, performers and, intriguingly, 'hidden cemeteries'.
  • Drop East on Commercial Street hold their 8th annual fancy dress party on Saturday. Entry is free.
  • Spooky singing, fun and games courtesy of The Choir With No Name at 93 Feet East this Thursday. The £8 entrance fee goes towards homeless charities.
  • Award for most unexpected location must go to the Lost Souls party (Saturday) at the London Aquarium. DJs, costumes, pirate hosts and fish. Plenty of fish.
  • Damnable Dining

  • As previously mentioned, Shoreditch store Maiden will dispense unsavoury savouries and less-than-sweet sweets from its basement from Thursday till Sunday.
  • Sister venues The Betsy Smith (Kilburn), The Winchester (Islington) and The Lodge Tavern (Ealing) will stage a 'Fangtasia' evening on Saturday (and Sunday in the latter case). Expect silly cocktails and garish decor.
  • Bermondsey Square is putting on a Hallowe'en fair (Saturday), with apple bobbing, pumpkin carving and various creepy foodstuffs.
  • Fang-tastic Theatre

  • The Insti2ute at Pleasance Islington 'is a fully immersive, scary and funny experience for Halloween' involving a guided tour through a dark labyrinth. Runs Thur-Sun.
  • The Hallowe'en of Crossbones on Sunday is part theatre, part folklore and part procession. Lovably loopy John Constable leads a 'ritual drama' that culminates in a trip to Crossbones in Southwark.
  • Leicester Square Theatre presents Ross Lee's Scream House on Thursday, a mix of comedy and light entertainment.
  • The eminently scary Ghost Stories at the Duke of York's Theatre now has an extended run until February and will put on a special midnight show on Sat/Sun.
  • Screaming Screenings

  • Proto-Zom-Com Beetlejuice is showing at the Club de Fromage film club on Thursday, at the Bowery on New Oxford Street. Come in costume.
  • Those with the stamina might be tempted by Electric Cinema's all-night horror fest, featuring The Thing, Re-Animator, Evil Dead 2 and Poltergeist (Saturday).
  • The BFI IMAX has its own all-nighter on Saturday, and in 3-D. Their selection comprises The Hole 3D (2010), Piranha 3D (2010), Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D (2010), My Bloody Valentine 3D (2009) and The Final Destination 3D (2009).
  • Catch The Thing and The Shining at Jetlag bar on Cleveland Street on Sunday.
  • For our money, the best selection comes at Roxy Cinema on Sunday with The Exorcist, The Ring and Halloween.
  • Witchin' Walks

  • South-East London Folklore Society are organising several walks over spooky season. Take your pick of London Bridge, Westminster, Farringdon and Peckham. (Wed/Thur/Fri/Sun.)
  • A walk with a white witch around some of the West End's spookiest spots. Tue-Sat.
  • Creepy Kids

  • Gruesome all-year-round, the Old Operating Theatre in London Bridge are hosting a macabre medley of plays and demonstrations over the half-term period.
  • The Garden Museum deserves a special accolade for inventive programming, hosting a Hallowe'en talk on Saturday about the world's most deadly, poisonous plants.
  • The V&A Museum Of Childhood will put on an afternoon of Hallowe'en themed fun on Sunday.
  • Image courtesy of MikeKingPhoto.

    Last Updated 25 October 2010