London is crawling with ghost stories and gruesome fables, but I wanted to share some genuinely creepy and truly historic places you can explore to get in the Halloween spirit.

Photo from Dennis Severs Museum. Credit: Roelof Bakker

1. Dennis Severs House, Spitalfields

Maybe it’s the enforced eerie silence, but stepping behind 18 Folgate Street and into the constructed world of Dennis Severs sent a shiver down my spine.

Photo from Dennis Severs Museum. Credit: Roelof Bakker

Half museum and half art installation, the house is arranged as though its 17th and 18th century occupants have just left the room and on quiet, dark evenings you truly feel like you’ve gone back in time. Don’t stare into the damp-spotted mirrors for too long, you never know what will look back at you!

Dennis Severs house is open every Sunday 12-4pm and every Monday lunchtime 12-2pm (tickets £10 for adults) they also have some special late openings, find out more here. Explore more of Dennis Severs House in my full post here.

2. Greenwich Foot Tunnel

A master of engineering that opened in 1902, you can’t deny there’s something inherently creepy about walking under the River Thames. The route is 0.2 miles and was built as an alternative to the unreliable ferry system above water. It’s also open 24 hrs a day so if you really fancied a midnight wander you’re welcome to it. Personally, I’m far too much of a wimp!

3. The Order of St John Crypt

Beneath the restored Priory Church off Clerkenwell Road sits a Norman crypt, one of the few authentic ones in London.

Kept in low light and delightfully atmospheric, make sure you seek out the frankly terrifying effigy round one of the dark corners!

The museum is free to visit and open all year, for guided tours they suggest a donation of £4, find out more here. They also have a delightful (and not at all creepy) garden, read more here.

4. UCL Campus, Gower Street

What’s so scary about a university campus I hear you ask… Well It’s actually what they have on display at the moment.

UCL Traditional dictates that Jeremy Bentham, 19th century social reformer and eccentric, was preserved after his death in 1832 to be wheeled out at college council meetings and declared ‘present, but not voting’ (according to legend).

The ‘auto-icon’ is on permanent display in the South Cloister of UCL’s main building, but until February 2018 you can see something even more gruesome;

The actual mummified head of Bentham, on display for free in the Octagonal Gallery. Plan your visit here.

5. All Hallows at the Tower

Sitting next to busy traffic opposite the Tower of London, All Hallows By the Tower actually predates the Norman castle by 400 years. The gorgeous interiors isn’t creepy in the slightest, so you have to descend into the crypt for that…

As well as soaking up the ancient atmosphere there’s historical gems to find too; look out for Saxon stone work, Roman pavements and a secret chapel! It’s free and open daily but double check the times for your visit here.

City churches have a fabulous collection or creepy, historic and downright odd things in their care. Here’s my post featuring the 15 most unusual things you can find inside them!

6. Old Operating Theatre Museum

One of London’s fantastic quirky museums you should visit, the Old Operating Theatre in London Bridge is full or stomach turning 19th century medical equipment and gory information.

But the real showstopper is the restored theatre itself, there’s nothing like it to make you more thankful for modern medicine!

Open daily (tickets £6.50). Read more about my visit and the fascinating history of the museum in my post here.

Any other creepy London venues you’d recommend? Let me know in the comments!

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