London Month of the Dead

London Month of the Dead has been… resurrected.

And as it slowly lumbers towards us, it may appear to be a long, safe distance away. But believe us, tickets are going extremely fast – Londoners are clearly a morbid bunch.

The annual series returns on October 1st with a line-up of nearly fifty mysterious and macabre events to choose from, many of which take place within the city’s ‘Magnificent Seven’ Victorian cemeteries themselves (and none of which involve knocking on strangers’ doors and demanding sweets). It’s all put together by Antique Beat, who host regular salons on strange and eclectic topics, and A Curious Invitation, founded by ethical taxidermist Suzette Field. There’s still a chance to book into:

FASCINATING TALKS on a range of mysterious and unusual topics, from a literary look at the ‘ABC of Murder’ in Brompton Cemetery Chapel, to an examination of the psychoanalysis of death through the eyes of Carl Jung, to a talk about the trade in human teeth stolen from battlefields & graveyards, and a look at some ‘X-Trials’ via a ‘forensic history of the supernatural’.

WORKSHOPS, in which you can be schooled in the delicate art of insect taxidermy, or have an introduction to the world of candle-related spells & rituals.

TWILIGHT STROLLS including a guided tour of the plague burial pits in Clerkenwell; a torchlit cemetery walk (with candlelit ghost stories) in Kensal Green; and a walking tour to uncover 2,000 years of death in Bankside & Southwark.

ETHEREAL PERFORMANCES, including a candlelit tape-loop show by spooky musician Robin the Fog (he calls is ‘Aural Ectoplasm’), and a screening of silent horror classic Der Golem, with a live piano accompaniment.

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…

…but if you’re too freaked out to go in person, there are a couple of online only events, too.

NOTE: London Month of the Dead runs throughout the month of October. You can take a look at the full programme HERE, then get the best overview of which events still have tickets, and book, HERE.

After something a little less spooky? See what’s on in London this month.