London Month of the Dead is creeping up on us.
The city’s most morbidly fascinating festival has been resurrected for the 10th year in a row by the folks at Antique Beat (who host regular salons on strange and eclectic topics), and A Curious Invitation (founded by ethical taxidermist Suzette Field), with a view to A) raising funds for the upkeep of the city’s ‘Magnificent Seven’ Victorian cemeteries, and B) freaking people out.
Returning on 3rd October, there’s a line-up of over sixty mysterious and macabre events to choose from. They include:
Feast of the Dead – a Halloween cabaret show with a three course dinner, involving neo-burlesque dancers, fire performers and a New Orleans jazz band.
Death & The Maiden – a torchlit walk through Brompton Cemetery followed by a candlelit concert in the chapel of Schubert’s string quartet No 14 in D minor (AKA ‘Death & The Maiden’)
The Golden Age Of Detection – a talk on the birth of modern forensics at the Century Club in Soho, held by crime historian & author Angela Buckley.
Phantasmagoria – a Day of the Dead magic later show in the ancient Guy’s Hospital chapel, accompanied by live music.
Death’s Head Hawkmoth – you remember those cool looking moths from Silence Of The Lambs, with the skulls on their thorax? Well, you’ll get to mount your own in a glass display case.
Hexit – a talk on the witch trials in England and Europe with barrister Naomi Ryan, held in the Dissenter’s chapel in Kensal Green Cemetery
Satan’s Rout – a big ol’ Halloween ball inspired by Mikhail Bulgakov’s seminal novel Master and Margarita (which apparently means there’ll be live music, immersive installations, DJs and cabaret).
Those are but a few of the many, many events taking place over the month. You’ll also find evenings of ghost stories, screenings of old school silent horror movies (with a live organist), guided tours of the cemeteries, full on theatrical productions, and an actual séance too. But aside from giving you a few spine-tingling thrills, the festival’s always been staged with the intention of allowing Londoners to discuss and interact with what is essentially a very scary thing, and find ways to approach the concept of death without fear…
…merely requiring you to walk through a cemetery in the pitch dark first.
NOTE: London Month of the Dead runs from 3rd October – 2nd November 2024. You can take a look at the full programme, and book tickets, HERE. Be warned, they go extremely quickly…
After something a little less spooky? See what’s on in London this month.