With Halloween – formerly known by the slightly scarier “all hallows eve” – just around the corner, preparations in the nation’s capital are beginning. People are carving gruesome faces into pumpkins, crafting terrifying zombie costumes and putting on their fake fangs (and maybe their real ones too).
If you want to get in on all the action this Halloween season? what’s on offer? Let’s take a look.
1. The Twisted Circus
If you head on down to the O2 Arena in Greenwich this Halloween, you’ll be able to sample the delights and frights of the Twisted Circus. This bizarre festival features some of the freakiest entertainment you’ve likely seen in your entire life, all done to a spooky soundtrack that will make your bones tremble.
See ballerinas dancing through spider’s webs and have fun in a huge ball pit that descends to the bowels of Hades itself.
2. Wunderbar Halloween
For most of the year, Pergola Paddington’s Bavarian Beer Hall is a jolly place where the inebriated meet to smash their overflowing flagons together. However, this October, things are turning decidedly ghoulish. The owners are transforming the establishment into a Transylvanian horror-fest, complete with Frankenstein decor, unnerving soundtracks and dim lighting.
Tickets are on sale right now. Think Oktoberfest, but a hell of a lot spookier.
3. The Phoenix Arts Club
For those who love the secret bar experience, The Phoenix Arts Club is the place to be. This year, it is offering those with advanced bookings a creepy Halloween itinerary to enjoy.
What can you expect? According to the Soho establishment, all of the scariest stars and creepiest villains from across the capital for a horror-themed cabaret event. Haunts will run for several nights and will be slightly different every time.
4. London Dreamtime
London Dreamtime is celebrating Halloween in its own way. Visitors are permitted to partake in one of two events – if they dare.
The first will be on Saturday 30th October and is entitled “Scared to death in the woods.” Here, audiences will be entreated to ghastly stories told by Vanessa, a lonesome woman stranded, metaphorically, in the woods. The act goes on for three hours and is absolutely not recommended for children.
The other event is the infamous Wapping ghost exploration walk on Sunday 19th December. The tour takes guests through the underbelly of the capital, introducing them to its most cursed and haunted locales. Again, the content is disturbing, so over-18s only.
5. Halloqueen Spooktacular
Lastly, for those with an urge to combine drag with Halloween, the Halloqueen Spooktacular is the place to be. Here you’ll experience an entire evening of entertainment, featuring world-class fire acts and aerialists, all dressed to look extra feminine.
After the show, you’ll be treated to a two-course meal. Don’t expect the usual fare, though. Each course is allegedly more terrifying than the last.
You’ll also enjoy a meet and greet with all the actors. Ask them what got them into entertainment in the first place and why they love the Spooktacular. 10 percent of each ticket sale goes to Maya’s Hope Foundation.