Halloween is the time to embrace our fears. Be it missing out on a partner in time for cuffing season, or being cut-off from the family’s free Amazon Prime account, it’s a truly terrifying marker in the calendar.
Halloween can be bearable if you know how to approach it. It’s just about the only permissible time of year when adults can reasonably dress up without feeling hideously embarrassed, so it’s highly worth getting in on the action and as ever, London has a knack for putting on a host of wonderful happenings to keep things interesting.
For the hardcore revellers and ravers, we’ve already amassed a glut of the very best nightclub evenings, parties and events to keep you going till about 6am, but if you’re in the mood for disco instead of drum ‘n’ bass or prefer cabaret to m-cat, then this host of restaurants, bars, venues and niche little goings-on might be a little more up your street.
Here’s where to get your freak on with the best of London this scary season.
Dancing with the Devil
This year, a number of London’s newer venues are bringing the hoo haa’s with this scary season’s best parties. Hovarda’s latest spot (5 Water Street, E14, canarywharf.hovarda) has a distinct proximity to the frankly terrifying City boys, which is probably why it’s throwing an American Psycho themed bash dubbed Psycho in the City. Expect deep house from YUCUTAN Music Collective and Horvada’s Greek-leaning fare, with more than a smattering of terror.
Heading centrally and Stereo (The Piazza, WC2E, stereocoventgarden.com) will be hosting a Halloween bash for the ages: a two-night affair called Stereo Noir. Things kick off with a disco for the damned where the dress code is: black, before night two sees Klub Kids by RuPaul's Drag Race take the helm. Nearby there’s a cracking set of spooky events at Ibiza import Lío (3-4 Coventry Street, W1D, liogroup.com) with six nights of Halloween revelry, including the Standard’s own Fat Tony taking to the decks on October 26.
Hotels are getting in on the action too, with The Mandrake (20-21 Newman Street, W1T, themandrake-halloween.com) hosting its annual do. This year’s theme the Veil of Shadows, evoking the feeling of a secret society with a nocturnal masquerade party: haunting stuff. Around the corner in Soho, the newish hotel Chateau Denmark is hosting a bash at its Thirteen LDN bar (1-3 Denmark Street, WC2H, thirteenldn.com) with vintage cabaret courtesy artist Lolo Brow. This one looks a must-watch.
Potent potions
This Halloween everyone is getting in the Beetlejuice spirit with Soho spot Kapara (14 Greek St, W1D, kapara.co.uk) hosting a Beetlejuice brunch. Expect Halloween-inspired cocktails alongside a buzzy drag brunch with Envy the Queen and Madame.
Elsewhere the potables at Royal Cocktail Exchange (31 Windmill Street, W1T, royalcocktailexchange.com) are getting the spooky season treatment with a Monster Gibson made with Monster Munch vodka — yes, you read that right — Mc'Nean Botanical Spirit and Cocchi Americano, and a Newport sour with Kombu bourbon, raisin syrup, port and sherry blend and egg white. Garnished with a Welsh cake these might just be the creepiest drinks in town.
Across town, the Mr Fogg’s (across London, mr-foggs.com) bar group is laying on special Halloween menus said to take inspiration from literary figures with Frankenstein, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Dracula providing the launch point for these new cocktails. Over at Shoreditch Arts Club (6 Redchurch Street, E2, shoreditchartsclub.com) the burgeoning Close Ties rave returns with a Halloween special. Naz Hassan is on the hobs, showcasing his unique Bengali and Italian cooking style, but our interest piqued at the £5 early bird ticket price which includes a complimentary Champagne happy hour? Sign us up.
And at Hithe + Seek (60 Upper Thames Street EC4V 3AD, hitheandseek.com) at the Westin London City, two “devilish” cocktails are available. One, called the Black Widow, blends mezcal with Campari, lime juice, and simple syrup, while the second, called Beware of the Potion, combines gin, Midori, green apple, lemon juice, and simple syrup.
Ghoulish goings on
Night of the living dead? Not quite. Instead, these are the experiences set to be a little less terrifying, ideal for a ghastly group of you. Hallowed Peak at Phantom Peak (Surrey Quays Road, SE16, phantompeak.com) returns for its second year, with the highly theatrical experience promising even more actors, rooms, scenarios and (crucially) scares this time around. As ever, there are multiple ghostly storylines to follow across the map and the actors will be dishing out scares in this evening full of fright.
For anyone looking to take a seat this spooky season and let the action come to them, the Phoenix Arts Club (1 Phoenix Street, WC2H, feverup.com) could be a good bet. It’s hosting a Halloween cabaret in Soho, with stunts, drag artists and ghoulish cocktails, while nearby the Underbelly Boulevard Theatre (6 Walker's Court, W1F, underbellyboulevard.com) is hosting the Last Fright in Soho, promising “a fusion of fire, flesh, and fantasy”.
Elsewhere there’s a terrifying escape room experience curated by No Escape (across London, noescapelondon.co.uk) with live actors lending an eerie realism to these bespoke haunting sets while Halloween Hijingo (90 Worship Street, EC2A, hijingo.com) offers a bingo-led party with costumes, prizes and, naturally, a fair bit of drinking.
Less goth, more gothic
Some of the more relaxed Halloween events across town are no less goosebump-inducing and the Rivoli Ballroom (350 Brockley Road, SE4, rivoliballroom.com) is a great place to start. Each year, the Halloween screenings showcase a glut of classic horror flicks with staff and guests encouraged to dress up. The Shining is on, as is Carrie, across four dates at the end of the month, as well as a special midnight screening of the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
If late nights are your thing, then a brace of “night at the museum” style events might suit best. The Science Museum (South Kensington, SW7, sciencemuseum.org.uk) and the Natural History Museum (South Kensington, SW7, nhm.ac.uk) each open their doors for after-hours tours around Halloween, with the former promising spooky science and terrifying tech.
Meanwhile, the NHM lays on spooky tours and a very popular silent disco, dancing under the huge blue whale in the main hall. And for dancing the night away, few places will be a better fit than the Halloween Ceilidh (thenestcollective.co.uk) at St Mary Magdalene’s Church near Paddington. The dimly lit church will be the perfect haunting backdrop for live Celtic music and dance, creating one of London’s more unique and atmospheric evenings.
