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, events for Month of the Dead are already selling our FAST. Here's our selection of events that are still alive and kicking (Note - many of these also come with a free gin punch/ginger biccie. Just the thing to settle any nerves):
- The Promise of Death: Steve Tibble traces the history of the Assassins and the Templars, two violently opposed groups who nonetheless bore strikingly similar strategies, including "the promise of death". 7 October
- Death's Triumph: During the mid-17th century, a fashion for bone-encrusted monuments took hold, resulting in ostentatiously creepy charnel houses, influenced by metaphysical poets and early scientific discovery. In this talk, historian Roger Bowdler explores some of the most fascinating examples. 8 October
- Imortalitea: Exquisite Corpse host a 'surrealist death tea party' in Stoke Newington, including a three-course finger buffet with recipes from The Surrealist Cookbook, and an appearance from Mycelium Gallagher, whose song Champignon Supernova explores how you can live forever by being buried in a mushroom suit. Surreal indeed! 10 October
- Death in the Kitchen: Before custom-built mortuary spaces were a thing, post-mortems often took place in pubs, shed and domestic kitchens. Dr Jennifer Wallis reveals how some doctors improvised with dining tables, bowls, towels and buckets — and what effect this had on the families of the deceased. 11 October
- The Mourning Trade: Ever tasted a funeral biscuit or questioned the etiquette of funeral attire? Funeral historian Emma Sparre-Newman demonstrates how the modern funeral industry was born out of 19th century values, anxieties and aesthetics. 18 October
- The Red Barn: Marcella Puppini (of the wonderful Puppini Sisters) and Katharine Blake (from Miranda Sex Garden) team up to become a spectral supergroup, performing haunting songs that take inspiration from real-life crimes. 19 October
- From Sherlock to Silent Witness: Forensic science plays a key role in many of our favourite fictional detective books and shows; past president of the Coroners' Society, Peter Dean, explains how this relationship has evolved over time. 21 October
- Has Elvis Really Left the Building: Oscar Wilde, Elvis and Princess Di are among the celebrities who've attracted the phenomenon of celebrity séances — and obsession with the idea that they somehow live on. This talk by Dr Kate Cherrell suggests such obsessions tell us far more about ourselves than the deceased celebs. 26 October
That's just the tip of the tombstone — but as we say, some events are vanishing faster than a shy ghost, so get booking!
London Month of the Dead takes place across London 1 October-2 November 2025.
