We might not even be into autumn yet, but already there's a chill in the air...
Perhaps it's just the British summer up to its usual tricks, or MAYBE it's because London Month of the Dead looms on the horizon.
The ghoulishly good festival of death and the arts creeps into town for the entirety of October (these days, it creeps into November too), putting a cerebral spin on things that go bump in the night. Expect fascinating talks on the macabre, candlelit cemetery concerts, and screenings of classic horror movies with live piano accompaniment... Yes, it's wonderful for goths, necromancers and the like — but Month of the Dead has wider appeal to anyone who's culturally curious, not to mention London lovers.
No longer a little-known festival, some events for Month of the Dead can sell out fast. Here's our selection from a casket-load of happenings:
- From Ship to Shore: Kenneth Greenway takes you into Tower Hamlets Cemetery, with a focus on the many sailors who are buried here, along with nine victims of the infamous Princess Alice pleasure steamer disaster of 1871. 5 October
- Death's-Head Hawkmoth: Stuff and mount your own Death's-Head Hawkmoth, at this workshop run by taxidermist Suzette Field. 5 October
- Hexit: When Henry VIII broke with Rome, he promised to free his subjects from the 'red tape' of ecclesiastical witch trials. But did it make life better for suspected witches? Naomi Ryan investigates — and sees whether you have the skills to become a Witchfinder... 6 October
- The Golden Age of Detection: In the early 20th century, when Agatha Christie and Dorothy L Sayers wowed the world with their detective fiction, many real-life crime investigations were even more enthralling. Angela Buckley shares some of the biggest, including the Brides in the Bath Murders and the Blazing Car Mystery. 8 October
- Rending the Veil: In this reconstruction of a Victorian séance, medium Christopher Howell will show you that there's a logical explanation for almost everything... while hoping to be proved wrong. It's at Kensal Green Cemetery's Dissenters' Chapel, for extra chills. 12 October
- Buried Alive: The ultimate nightmare for many, being buried alive was pretty common back in the days before doctors could tell the difference between death, comas, paralysis and catalepsy. Robert Stephenson discusses what it might be like to face this fate, and explores some of the people who experienced it, including Nikolai Gogol. 19 October
- The Phantom Carriage: A screening of the 1921 Swedish silent film, about a legend that the last person to die each year has to drive Death's carriage and collect the souls of those who die the following year... The screening is accompanied by pianist Stephen Horne. 27 October
- Feast of the Dead: The biggest blowout of the month is of course saved for Halloween itself. At this ghoulish feast, you'll gorge on Irish wake cakes and Mormon funeral potatoes, while neo-burlesque dancers, fire performers and a New Orleans jazz band lay on the entertainment. 31 October
That's just the tip of the tombstone — there's oodles more going on, but some events will vanish faster than a shy ghost. We've been to a number of these events before now, and they're seriously good fun, plus many come with a free gin punch. Just the thing to settle any nerves.
London Month of the Dead takes place across London 3 October-2 November 2024.
