From touring the Tower of London after dark, to sleeping over at Hampton Court, Halloween is on its way to Historic Royal Palaces’ sites, with plenty to keep history and horror fans alike entertained.
Hampton Court’s Halloween:
On 28th October, an exclusive one-night only sleepover will take place at Hampton Court Palace. ‘Dusk ‘til Dawn: Beware the Witching Hour’ will take visitors back to the 1600s to learn about witchcraft and sorcery from the century of the witch hunt, in what is being described as ‘an immersive experience’. They will then bed down for the night in the Cartoon Gallery, added to the palace during William and Mary’s reign.
Hampton Court will host a sleepover, where guests will learn about 17th century witchcraft before sleeping in Wren’s cartoon gallery (HRP)
The Cartoon Gallery is where guests will sleep at Halloween (HRP/James Brittain)
On Halloween itself (31st October), for those who dare to brave the palace after dark, there will be a Special Late Night Ghost Tour, recounting some some of the scariest tales the palace has to offer, including the Tudor royal nurse who is believed to haunt her former living quarters, the two bodies found underneath the cloisters, and THAT Skeletor video. Who opened those doors?!
Guests will wander the corridors of the centuries-old palace, including the chilly corridor that Catherine Howard is said to have attempted to run to her husband, Henry VIII, to plead for her life…
The ghost tours will continue from November to January 2018, with some family-friendly dates available, too.
An outdoor cinema will screen some Halloween specials on the East Front Gardens of Hampton Court Palace (Andy Butler/HRP)
Luna Cinema’s will also take over Hampton Court’s East Front Gardens from 30th October to 1st November, screening some theatrical films against the moonlit backdrop of the Tudor and Baroque pile: The Silence of the Lambs, Beetlejuice and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Sleepover tickets: £145, purchase them here. Halloween ghost tour: £35. Other dates: £27.50. Family tours: £14 adults, £7 children; tickets for all ghost tours here. Luna Cinema, go here.
Terror at The Tower of London:
Meanwhile, another of the buildings HRP looks after, The Tower of London, will give its own ‘Twilight Tours’.
Selected Sundays between November and April 2018 will see the iconic Yeoman Warders lead visitors around the palace and fortress after dark, including Traitor’s Gate – where many of those who were imprisoned at the Tower arrived – and the Bloody Tower, thought to be where the Princes in the Tower met their end at the hands of Richard III’s men.
From Tudor Queens, to torture and terrible tales of prisoners and past residents, the secrets of the palace will be revealed.
Yeomen Warders will take guests around the Tower of London after dark this Halloween (HRP)
For those with a less stout disposition, ‘Drawn at the Tower’ with Art Macabre will return on 30 October for a Halloween special, ‘Women and Witchcraft’. Exploring the stories from the Tower’s remarkable history through drawing – women, politics and religion – all abilities are welcome.
Twilight Tours: £27.50 or £25 for HRP members, tickets here. Drawn at the Tower: £25 or £22.50 HRP members, go here.
