Halloween in London 2022

Have you already started carving the scariest-ever orange pumpkin? Find out the origins and what to do on Halloween in London.

Get ready for the scariest night of the year!

Have you already started carving the scariest-ever orange pumpkin?

If not, it’s time to get ready … Halloween in London is almost upon us!

4 FREE THINGS TO DO ON HALLOWEEN IN LONDON

London is believed to be one of the most haunted cities in the world! Keep your eyes open and look over your shoulders!

1. To make this celebration even more special, join our Witches walking tour around London during Halloween week!

London’s history has been marked by several events and facts among which belongs the witches’ hunt. If you want to find out more about these cruelties but at the same time all their practices and occurrences, join us on this Free Witches Walking Tour to discover this fascinating and hardly-known side of London’s history!

We will do our best to make this Halloween unforgettable!

Witches Tour London & Witchcraft History

FREE

On this free walking tour we discover more about witches. Join this sightseeing tour and see London through different eyes...

2. Go Trick or Treat! It’s free, it’s fun and you will see so many wonderful houses and Halloween decorations! There are many good spots in London, but we recommend two. First one is in Kensington and Chelsea, mainly the north area of King’s Road, around St. Mary The Boltons (The Boltons, SW10 9TB) which is pretty spooky at night to be honest; second one is the north neighborhood of Holland Park, just behind Kensington High Street. Both locations are great!

Trick or Treat London — © Charles Parker

3. Head to central London to enjoy the most amazing Halloween decorations! Between shops, arcades and houses, you will find some pretty spooky stuff! The best areas will be Belgravia, Mayfair, Covent Garden.

4. Well, the fourth option is the lazy one… Just watch a horror movie! If you have Netflix, or Prime, you will have many good and spooky choices.

The Origin of Halloween. Where Does It Come From?

Probably not everybody knows the origins of this festival widely celebrated on the 31st October. Its origins go back 2000 years, during the Pre-Christian era in Britain, Ireland and France where the Celts lived.

According to their beliefs, on this night the ghosts of the dead would visit the World of the Living to destroy their crops. In each village, bonfires were lit up in order to protect the people from the evil spirits and keep them warm at the same time. Furthermore, they also used to dress up with scary costumes and carve turnips to ward them off. The turnip was replaced by the pumpkin when English people moved to America.
This festival was called Samhain.

Samhain Halloween London — © Robin Canfield

The Roman Copycat

When the Romans conquered Britain in 43 AD, a new festival was held on the 1st of November with the aim of remembering all the saints and it became known as “All Hallow’s Day”. Pope Gregory tried to introduce the Samhain festival in a variation approved by the Church.
At this point of the story you will probably be wondering: “Is this somehow related to the scariest night of the year? Well, yes. The night before the 1st of November became known first as All-Hallows-even, then as Hallow-Eve to finally be called as we are nowadays referring to it: Halloween.

Is this London’s spookiest house? Halloween fan gives his home a wonderful spooky makeover

Halloween lover Jeff Michalik is entertaining neighbours with a spooky display outside his home, complete with atmospheric lights, animated videos and skeletons.

The Skeleton House, as Jeff’s neighbours call it, is located on Sellincourt Rd in Tooting and on Halloween night there will be trick or treat.