Where to trick or treat this Halloween in London?

With Halloween around the corner, follow our guide to ensure things go with a big bump on the night at some of London’s spookiest events.

Halloween, or All Hallows’ Eve to give it its formal moniker, is believed to be a feast influenced by Celtic harvest festivals with possible pagan roots. From the 16^th century, people dressed in costume and went from house to house reciting verses and songs in return for food, and over time creating mischief if they were not rewarded.

As Irish and Scottish immigrants settled in North America during the 19^th century, the tradition spread with children encouraged to dress in costume to ‘trick or treat’ for candy. Of course, like many things, the reciprocation of traditions has been returned and UK interest in Halloween has soared in recent years, with £300m now spent by consumers on this, the third largest commercial festivity after Christmas and Easter. London is aglow with pumpkin carving and ghoulish get-togethers this year, so here’s our guide to getting a good case of the shivers on 31 October.

New brooms

Hubble bubble, there’s plenty of fun to be had at the London Eye which has magically reinvented itself with a Halloween academy for witch and wizard wannabes. From Saturday 25 October – Saturday 1 November, it will be dishing up magic spells, tricks and stories for those willing to enter a green capsule and take a ride over an eerie London. From £24.24 for adults and £17.93 for children, this could be a half term winner. Once the little ones are sorted, pop into our Hyde Park office and we can find you a magical property nearby, too.

Pumpkin point: EDF Energy London Eye, Riverside Building, County Hall, SE1 7PB, tel: 0871 781 3000, www.londoneye.com

Halloween hounds

You don’t need little ones to enjoy Halloween – The Spaniards in North London is putting on a charity walk in aid of All Dogs Matter on Sunday 26 October, with prizes for the best canine Halloween costumes. Arrive by 10.30am, enter your pooch for £5 and trick or treat them into putting on their best bow wow performance. Be sure to visit us at our Hampstead branch so we can see their spectacular costumes too.

Pumpkin point: Spaniards Inn, Spaniards Road, NW3 7JJ, tel: 020 8731 8406, Crazy horses

A little off our beaten path, but we reckon it’s worth heading west for Richmond Park’s Halloween event which runs from Thursday 30 October – Saturday 1 November. Meet after dark at Sheen Gate for a horse-drawn, hour-long guided tour to discover the ghosts that haunt the grounds and a Victorian murder, as your carriage meanders through the grounds and you sip a glass of sloe gin along the way. Tickets priced £48.

Pumpkin point: Richmond Park, Kings Road, Surrey, TW10 5HS, tel: 020 8948 3209,

All aboard

No ghoul left behind on London’s brilliant Ghost Bus Tour which departs daily at 7.30pm and 9pm from Northumberland Avenue, off Trafalgar Square. See London from a darkly different perspective aboard this 1960s Routemaster bus which promises to show you the city’s sites of murder, torture and execution, plus all the best ghostly and grisly hangouts across the capital. Tickets are priced £21 for adults, £15 for children, with an arm-less (sorry, we couldn’t resist) £57 for a family (two adults, two children). Once you’re done, we’d love to give you a London property tour, so give us a call or stop by.

Pumpkin point: Call the box office on 0844 5678 666, www.theghostbustours.com/london.html

Haunted house

For some authentic Halloween fun, head to Highgate’s Lauderdale House which is inviting families to explore the historic building and garden, which have had a ghoulish makeover. Aimed at young children with trails starting at 5pm, 5.30pm and 6.30pm on Friday 31 October, tickets are £7 for some gentle spooky fun. For a proper Highgate property tour, be sure to call in to our office – we promise we have no horrors in store.

Pumpkin point: Lauderdale House, Highgate Hill, Waterlow Park, Highgate N6 5HG, tel: 020 8348 8716,

Ghost train

You might consider underground travel hellish at the best of times, but on Friday 31 October, the London Transport Museum is putting on a Halloween spectacular with its Subterranean Scream at 6.45pm – tickets are priced £10, but for that you can experience a scary storytelling from the museum’s resident ghost, adult face-painting and tarot readings, perfect for discovering if your destiny will involve meeting a stranger in a lovely London rental – actually, if it does have a look at our Hyde Park property listing and we’ll hook you up with one of our beautiful rentals so fate can play its hand.

Pumpkin point: London Transport Museum, Covent Garden Piazza, WC2E 7BB, tel: 020 7379 6344,

Get Hitched

The grand master of thrillers, Hitchcock’s celluloid masterpieces are more than due a revival, so we’re anticipating a night of wonderful suspense with the showing of Psycho at 6.30pm at Union Chapel on Friday 31 October. Tickets are priced £22.50 in aid of the building’s refurbishment and afterwards there’s the option to stay on for The Bates Motel Ball for just £5. If you like the crowd, head back to our City office on the weekend to make this your regular scene.

Pumpkin patch: Union Chapel, Compton Terrace, N1 2UN, tel: 020 7226 1686,

Waking the dead

If you really want to let it all hang out, head to Hackney Wick for the Mexican Death Disco at ICan Studios on Friday 31 October – Saturday 1 November, with tickets priced £15-£20. Expect giant piñatas and spectacular surprises, and dress to impress to compete for the best Day of the Dead outfit – prizes will be awarded. If East is exactly where you want to be, check out the coolest urban offerings at our City property listings page.

Pumpkin patch: ICan Studios, 35 Monier Road, London E3 2PR