In some cultures spirits are given a great deal of recognition and, in some instances, even a special day to celebrate their existence for example El Dia de los Muertos (The Day of The Dead) in Mexico. In the UK however there is generally a less open minded view about the supernatural, which many refusing to believe in the existence of ghosts, let alone their importance in our everyday lives!
Luckily things began to change in 2008 as the London Ghost Festival was born. The festival gave Londoners, as well as people from the wider UK and tourists in the city, the opportunity to revel in the paranormal in the run up to the spookiest day of the year, Hallows Eve.
The London Ghost Festival ran from mid October to late early November, with ghostly events taking place across all areas of the city. Events included activities such as ghostly boat rides on the Thames, overnight ghost watching at a haunted house, assorted vigils, storytelling and candlelit walks etc.
Often the London Ghost Festival would kick off at the gruesome London Dungeons where festival participants were privy to supernatural experiments from trained mediums. Festivities also took place at the allegedly haunted Old Operating Theatre museum in Southwark, one of the oldest surviving operating theatres in the world. A ghostly Woman in White (not to be mistaken with the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical of the same name) is said to stalk the corridors of the former hospital. Also on the festive agenda were organised walks around old East London, which has the most ghost sightings and abnormal goings on than anywhere else in London. Festival goers were also dared to take a trip on board London’s Ghost Bus, invited to have a stiff drink at one of London’s many haunted pubs and also welcomed into discussions involving the legend of the Highgate Vampire! All in all the London Ghost Festival brought macabre merriment for all those involved!
Check back for further information about upcoming London Ghost Festivals