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5 Best Things to Do in London During Halloween
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This guide picks the 5 best Halloween events London has lined up for 2026, from a Victorian mummy curse on the South Bank to a pop party in Camden that runs until 3am. Halloween 2026 falls on Saturday 31 October, and most London schools break for October half-term from Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026, so the week leading up to the big night is when family programmes are at their fullest. Each entry below gives the exact address, the nearest Tube or rail station with walking time, the distance from Trafalgar Square and a Pro Tip with concrete times and prices.
The list mixes the city's main types of Halloween activities London offers: a scare attraction (The London Dungeon Halloween show), an after-dark garden trail (Halloween at Kew), a daytime option for Halloween in London for families (the Tower of London), a dark-history site (Highgate Cemetery) and a Halloween party London night owls will want to book early (Club de Fromage at Dingwalls). The official Visit London Halloween page lists dozens more London Halloween events if you want extra options.
For routing, group the picks by area. The Tower of London and The London Dungeon sit on the Thames about 4 km apart, so they pair into one central day. Highgate Cemetery and Camden are both on the Northern line, which makes a daytime cemetery tour followed by a Camden party a natural plan for 31 October itself. Save Kew Gardens, 13 km west, for a separate evening during half-term.
1The London Dungeon - Curse of the Mummy, the Classic London Dungeon Halloween Show
The London Dungeon calls itself the home of Halloween, and for 2026 its seasonal show is Curse of the Mummy, running from Saturday 17 October to Sunday 1 November 2026. The story is set in Victorian London and centres on a cursed mummy-board, following the people who paid a dark price for disturbing restless spirits. The show is built into the regular Dungeon route rather than sold as a separate event, so your normal admission covers it. That makes the London Dungeon Halloween season one of the easier Halloween events London visitors can slot into a sightseeing day by the Thames.
Standard adult tickets start from £27 (about €31) when booked online, against £35 (about €40) on the door, and flexible Anytime Entry tickets start from £35 online. The Dungeon warns that Halloween dates sell out, and half-term week (26 to 30 October 2026) plus the Halloween weekend itself are the busiest slots. Expect live actors, darkness, loud noises and jump scares throughout the route, which also includes the attraction's regular scenes drawn from the darker side of London's past.
The venue sits inside County Hall on the South Bank, right beside the London Eye, so you can easily pair it with a riverside walk or the Tower of London further east. Standard opening hours are shorter than many visitors expect (the attraction listed 11am to 4pm on some autumn days), so check the calendar for your chosen date before you travel.
Pro Tip: Book the first timed slot of the day online at the £27 rate rather than paying £35 at the door, and avoid Saturday 31 October afternoon, when queues along Westminster Bridge Road build fastest. A weekday morning in the week of 19 October gives you the Curse of the Mummy show before half-term crowds arrive.
2Halloween at Kew - After-Dark Halloween Activities in London for All Ages
Halloween at Kew returns to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew from Friday 16 October to Sunday 1 November 2026, with a 1.5 km illuminated trail that takes about 60 to 90 minutes to walk. From 16 to 24 October it runs from 6pm to 10pm, and from 25 October to 1 November (covering half-term and Halloween itself) it opens earlier, from 4pm to 10pm. Last entry is 8:30pm. Kew splits the evening into three session types that grow spookier as the light fades: Daylight (until 6pm), Twilight (6pm to 7:30pm) and Moonlight (after 7:30pm).
New scenes for 2026 include Dracula's Lair, the Cursed Tomb, a Medieval Dungeon and a Forest Ritual, with live actors and fire performers along the route and the Headless Horseman back for another year. The trail finishes at the Monster Disco, where visitors dance beneath giant skull-shaped mirror balls. Non-member adult tickets cost £19.50 (about €22) off-peak and £24 (about €28) peak, with child and family tickets also sold. Note that Daylight tickets do not include entry to the wider gardens.
Of all the half-term options, this is the pick that works best for mixed ages: younger children can take the Daylight or Twilight slots, while teenagers and adults get more atmosphere in the Moonlight sessions. It is one of the most popular Halloween events London has each autumn, and peak evenings around 31 October sell out well in advance.
Pro Tip: Families with under-10s should book a 4pm Daylight slot between 26 and 30 October 2026, when the trail opens early for half-term. Adults wanting the full effect should book a Moonlight slot after 7:30pm on an off-peak night in the week of 19 October to pay £19.50 rather than £24.
3Tower of London - Halloween in London for Families with Costumed Ghosts
Historic Royal Palaces runs Halloween at the Tower of London from Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November 2026, daily from 10:30am to 4pm, which covers the whole of the October half-term week and Halloween weekend. The fortress has close to 1,000 years of executions, imprisonments and legends behind it, but this programme is pitched as "designed to delight, rather than fright". Costumed ghosts of historical figures wander the grounds, and themed spots include the Haunted Forge and the Enchanted Wishing Well.
Scheduled ghost gatherings take place daily at 11:15am, 12:45pm and 2:45pm, and they are the moments when the most characters appear together. The Halloween programme is included in standard admission. From 1 October 2026 adult tickets cost £38 (about €44) and child tickets (ages 5 to 15) cost £19 (about €22), with under-5s free. A standard ticket also covers the Crown Jewels, the White Tower, the battlements, the Bloody Tower and a Yeoman Warder tour when available.
One rule catches many families out: visitors arriving in costume will be refused entry, so leave the witch hats and capes at home and save them for trick-or-treating. Young children must stay with an adult throughout. For a quieter and less spooky daytime take on Halloween in London, this is the strongest central pick, and it pairs well with The London Dungeon on the same day.
Pro Tip: Arrive at 10:30am, head straight for the Crown Jewels in the Jewel House before the queues form, then be on Tower Green for the 11:15am ghost gathering. Book online ahead, as on-the-day prices are higher, and remember the no-costume rule for visitors.
4Highgate Cemetery - Victorian Gothic Graves and Dark History in North London
For a Halloween outing with real history rather than actors, Highgate Cemetery is London's most atmospheric Victorian burial ground. The West Cemetery opened in 1839 as one of the city's "Magnificent Seven" garden cemeteries, and the East Cemetery followed in 1860. After decades of neglect, including the 1970s tabloid craze over the so-called Highgate Vampire, the Friends of Highgate Cemetery Trust has cared for the site since 1975. Its ivy-covered tombs, the Egyptian Avenue and the gold-leaf ceiling of the Julius Beer mausoleum give it a gothic feel that suits late October.
Famous graves include Karl Marx (with his large 1956 monument), George Eliot, Christina Rossetti, Douglas Adams and Malcolm McLaren. In 2026 a single admission ticket gives entry to both the East and West sides for the whole day. Visitor reports put a day ticket at about £10 (about €12) per adult, rising to about £18 (about €21) with a guided tour, though check the official booking site for current prices. Guided tours last around 75 minutes and are recommended for first-time visitors, especially on the West side, where paths are steep and gravelled.
Opening hours through October 2026 are 10am to 5pm (last entry 4:30pm), shortening to 10am to 4pm from 1 November. There is no visitor parking and no café on site, so plan food in Highgate Village. Tour dates are released four weeks ahead.
Pro Tip: Book a morning guided tour for Saturday 31 October as soon as dates open four weeks ahead, then walk down Swain's Lane and take the Northern line from Archway to Camden Town for the evening. Wear sturdy shoes, as the West Cemetery paths get muddy in autumn rain.
5Club de Fromage at Dingwalls - The Biggest Halloween Party in London on 31 October
Club de Fromage has run pop club nights in London for over two decades, and its Halloween Party at Dingwalls in Camden Lock is one of the best-known London Halloween events for anyone who wants costumes and sing-alongs rather than scares. The 2026 party takes place on Saturday 31 October 2026 from 11pm to 3am, is strictly 18+, and asks guests to come in their most horrid costumes. Expect massive pop anthems, the Fromage stage show and characters, scary dance-offs and a stage packed with Halloween props and visuals. Tickets are sold in advance through the promoter's official channels and are non-refundable.
Dingwalls sits beside the canal at Camden Lock, and Camden Market and the pubs along Chalk Farm Road make the area one of the city's liveliest on Halloween night, so it is easy to start with dinner or a drink nearby before doors open. This is the Halloween party London regulars tend to book first, because the Saturday date means the night sells out.
If pop is not your style, other big Halloween party options in 2026 include elrow's Horroween at Drumsheds in Enfield on 31 October, which expects over 14,000 people across three stages, and the daytime Garage Nation Halloween Indoor Festival at Ministry of Sound in Elephant and Castle from 2pm to 10pm on the same day. Drum and bass fans can head to Jungle Cakes Halloween 360 at Brixton Jamm on Friday 30 October, running from 10pm to 5am.
Pro Tip: Arrive at Camden Lock Place by 10:45pm, as the costume queue for the 11pm doors builds quickly on 31 October. The Northern line runs a Night Tube service on Saturdays, so you can get back from Camden Town station after the 3am finish without a taxi.
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CEO and co-founder
Tomas is the co-founder and director of trip1, an European company specializing in reservation services. He launched the company in 2025 with a focus on building scalable, efficient operations.
5 Best Things to Do in London During Halloween - FAQ
Saturday 31 October in 2026. Most London schools are on half-term from Monday 26 to Friday 30 October, so the week before is the busiest for family events, and the clocks go back an hour on Sunday 25 October. London Halloween programmes run from 16 October, when Halloween at Kew opens, to 1 November.
Yes, and it lasts for weeks rather than one night. Kew Gardens runs an after-dark trail from 16 October, the London Dungeon has a Halloween show from 17 October, and the Tower of London has costumed ghosts from 24 October. On 31 October itself, Camden and the big club nights are the busiest places in town.
Halloween at Kew for an illuminated trail with fire performers (16 October to 1 November), the London Dungeon's Curse of the Mummy show for scares, and the Tower of London for family-friendly ghosts. Highgate Cemetery gives real Victorian gothic history, and on 31 October Camden has the Club de Fromage party at Dingwalls.
Halloween at the Tower of London (24 October to 1 November, 10:30am to 4pm) is pitched to delight rather than fright, with ghost gatherings at 11:15am, 12:45pm and 2:45pm, and it is included in admission. Note that visitors in costume are refused entry. At Kew, under-10s suit the 4pm Daylight slots during half-term.
Club de Fromage's Halloween Party at Dingwalls in Camden Lock, from 11pm to 3am on Saturday 31 October 2026, strictly 18+ and in costume. Elrow's Horroween at Drumsheds in Enfield expects over 14,000 people the same night, and Garage Nation runs a daytime party at Ministry of Sound. The Northern line's Night Tube gets you home from Camden.
Curse of the Mummy, from 17 October to 1 November 2026, a Victorian tale of a cursed mummy-board built into the normal route, so standard admission covers it. Adult tickets start at £27 (about 31 euros) online against £35 on the door. Expect actors, darkness and jump scares, and book ahead for half-term and Halloween weekend.
