Whether you're a firm believer in otherworldly spirits, or simply enjoy a chilling yarn, these walks will keep you spooked out over the Halloween season, and beyond. You might also want to go in search of London's spookiest street names.
1. London Walks: Ghosts of the Old City on Halloween
London Walks host regular spooky/gruesome tours (including the weekly Disastrous London), and this Halloween they're also running special Ghosts of the Old City walks, in which you're dared to venture into shadowy backstreets and dimly lit alleys, to encounter chain-rattling figures of Newgate, and a Black Nun who keeps a lonely vigil. These walks are on the light-hearted side — with dressing up encouraged — but the guides know their onions, and you'll come away having learned lots about the City's dark secrets.
26 and 31 October.
2. Magnificent Seven Cemetery walks and tours
Resting place of the great and the good, London's 'Magnificent Seven' cemeteries (Highgate, Nunhead, Tower Hamlets, Abney Park, Kensal Green, West Norwood, Brompton) are a fitting setting for a Halloween-season stroll — what with their ornate Victorian tombs and monuments, enshrouded in ivy and gnarly trees. Most of the cemeteries are open to wander around for free during daylight hours (note: these are all still functioning cemeteries, so always show respect).
Here are some special cemetery tours happening in October 2025; they're mostly not 'ghost' walks per se, but what better time to visit:
🪦 Nunhead Cemetery: Cemetery Symbols tour (12 Oct); Black History Month tour (19 October)
🪦 Abney Park: Various talks, walks (including an after-dark bat walk) and film screenings (throughout October)
🪦 Highgate Cemetery: This is the only cemetery where you must pay to enter. Choose from the Highlights tour, East Side tour and day admission (throughout October)
🪦 West Norwood Cemetery: Various walks (throughout October)
3. Ghost Bus Tours
Not so much a walk, as a ride on a sightseeing bus/theatrical hearse. Ghost Bus Tours is angled at the tourist market, but is good-spirited fun for anyone who wants to see the city's flagship landmarks (Houses of Parliament, London Bridge, Westminster Abbey, Tower Bridge, St. Paul's) in a darker, er, light. A peppy 'Necrobus' guide tells stories of beheaded traitors, executed monarchs, dismembered members of the public — and enough ghouls to send your EMF meter beserk.
Tours throughout October.
4. Lauderdale House: Halloween Spooky Walks
Neighbouring Highgate Cemetery (see no.2) is Lauderdale House, and this Halloween it's hosting the child-friendly Halloween Spooky Walks, an immersive theatrical experience in which you and the kids are led around the house, then the surrounding Waterlow Park, pausing along the way to watch performances by 20+ professional actors, all dressed the part. Then it's back to the house for songs and Halloween goodies.
31 October.
5. Ghost Signs Tours
Not all ghosts float through walls; some are painted onto them. Though he's not currently leading any in-person tours, ghost sign expert Sam Roberts has compiled a trio of downloadable tours, which lead you to advertisements of yore slathered onto the sides of buildings — often well over a hundred years ago. See beer and coffee ghost signs in Bankside; an ad for fountain pen repair in Stoke Newington; and vintage marketing for Gillette shaving in Clapham. This one's less terrifying, more terrifically interesting.
The Clapham ghost signs walk is free to download, while Stoke Newington and Bankside are paid-for. We also highly recommend getting the Ghost Signs book (affiliate link, from which Londonist might earn a small commission).
