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The best Halloween shows in London

Staged horror, ghost stories, murder mysteries and one-night events, sorted by how frightening they actually are, with the age limits each venue sets.

Actually frightening

Built to scare you, and they do. Age limits here are set by the venues, not by us.

Paranormal Activity

Full horror

Ambassadors Theatre · 2hr 20min (incl. 1 interval) · from £31 · Caution advised under 15

The found-footage franchise staged live, and the only West End show built from the ground up to frighten you. On Halloween itself, Saturday 31 October, it adds a late-night performance at 10.30pm after the 2.30pm and 7pm shows: and that one finishes well after midnight.

Worth knowing. Loud noises, sudden darkness, blood and gore, and references to mental health.

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Spooky, not terrifying

Ghosts, demons and the supernatural, played for spectacle or laughs rather than dread.

Stranger Things: The First Shadow

Creepy

Phoenix Theatre · 3hr (incl. 1 interval) · from £25 · Ages 12+

The Netflix prequel, and the best piece of stage illusion in London — the effects are the reason to go, and nobody quite works out how the big one is done. More suspense than horror, which makes it the safer choice for a nervous teenager.

Worth knowing. Gunfire audio, explosions, haze, strobe and strong language, and it depicts various mental health conditions. Three hours with an interval, and it closes on 23 December.

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Derren Brown: Only Human

Creepy

Apollo Theatre · from £25 · 12+

Not a horror show, but the most unsettling thing on this list: an evening of suggestion and misdirection from the performer who has spent twenty years making audiences doubt what they just watched. Opens 10 October, so it covers the whole season.

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Murder and the macabre

No jump scares — just bodies, candlelight and a long dark night of someone else’s soul.

Hamlet Hail to the Thief

Creepy

Barbican Theatre · 1hr 40min (no interval) · from £18 · 14+

Hamlet set to Radiohead, and a ghost story before it is anything else. It opens on 31 October at the Barbican, which is either a coincidence or the best-timed first night of the year.

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Dogstar

Creepy

Hampstead Theatre · from £10 · 14+

A whaling crew trapped in polar ice, dropping one by one, sharing visions that might be scurvy and might be something else. It opens on 30 October at Hampstead Downstairs, a small studio that suits the claustrophobia.

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