Halloween in London

How to celebrate in the city

As an American in London for Halloween I was a little underwhelmed at first, coming from a country where Halloween is a major holiday, but as the 31st approached I noticed that London does celebrate, it’s just not as easy to see. If you want to celebrate Halloween in the city the first step is going to be finding a fancy dress (or costume). While there may not be giant Halloween stores flooding the city, you can still find everything you need. Camden is the place to go for all of your fake blood, colored contacts, and fang needs. Near the market you will see that all of the tourist shops now offer a variety of fancy dress options for relatively cheap or if you don’t want to deal with bargaining on the crowded streets of Camden you can head a few blocks past the market to a store dedicated solely to Halloween, Escapade. There may be line outside of the store but don’t let that deter you, it moves fairly quickly. Inside you will find full fancy dress outfits along with an accessory you could imagine needing for a spooky night out. It is a bit more expensive than the stuff in the tourist shops but the selection is much wider. You can be anything from an angel to a skeleton, to popular political figure.
Once you’ve got your proper outfit for the night, it’s time to figure out where to celebrate. Several clubs in London have special Halloween events on, including the Piccadilly Circus. There they have several floors all playing different types of music, along with a contest on who had the best Halloween look of the night. They serve cheap drinks (a Gin and Tonic only costing 2 pound 50) in red plastic cups to give the whole night a bit of a house party feel. It is only 5 pounds to get in if you book in advance at the clubs website. What more could you ask for on Halloween night than dancing with your friends all dressed up in fancy dress?