Halloween at Hampton Court Palace 2026

Name: Halloween at Hampton Court Palace 2026
Start: 2026-10-24T10:00:00+01:00
End: 2026-11-01T16:00:00+01:00
Location: Hampton Court Palace

Historic Royal Palaces count Hampton Court among the most haunted palaces in the country, and for the nine days of October half term they stop being modest about it: projections, sound and costumed ghosts inside, pumpkins and scarecrows out in the Wilderness.

Halloween at Hampton Court 2026: dates and times

Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November 2026 at Hampton Court Palace, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. The palace opens at 10am. On the first Saturday it closes at 5.30pm, with last admission at 4.30pm; from Sunday 25 October, when the clocks go back, it closes at 4pm and the last visitors are let in at 3pm.

What a ticket costs

There is no separate Halloween ticket: it is included in palace admission. Until 27 November an adult pays £30 on a weekday and £33 at the weekend; children aged 5 to 15 pay £15 and £16.50, under-fives go free, and seniors and full-time students pay £24.30 and £26.30. Historic Royal Palaces members go free and do not need to book. Households receiving Universal Credit, Pension Credit and several other benefits can buy £1 tickets for up to four people, online and in advance.

Costumes are welcome — with rules

Hampton Court wants visitors in costume, which is the opposite of the Tower of London's rule for the same week. The conditions are short: family-friendly and inoffensive, no masks of any kind, no realistic weapons or sharp props, no fake blood or glitter, and nothing long enough to drag on the floor.

How frightening it is

The palace says the experience is designed to be family-friendly and not overly frightening. It also says plainly what is in it: ghosts in full make-up and costume, darkness, loud noises, flashing lights and the occasional jump scare. The trail in the Wilderness is the part pitched at younger children. For a half term with no jump scares at all, WWT London at Barnes runs a scare-free week of willow wands and fungi hunts on the same dates.

Getting to Hampton Court Palace

Trains leave London Waterloo every 30 minutes for Hampton Court, the end of the line; the station is a five-minute walk from the palace, across the bridge, in zone 6, and Oyster cards are accepted. Trains back to Waterloo leave at 23 and 53 minutes past the hour from Monday to Saturday, and at 05 and 35 past on Sundays. The entrance for walkers and cars is Trophy Gate, on the A308. The car park is small, cannot be booked and takes cards only, and dogs other than assistance dogs are not allowed in the palace or the gardens.

Programme

The haunted palace

Projections, sound effects and spells through the historic rooms, and ghostly figures from the palace's past wandering the corridors — the palace's own hint is that William Shakespeare is among them. A trail map for 2026 is published as a PDF on the palace's Halloween page.

Storytelling: The Return of Boo in Wren's Revenge!

Every day of half term in the King's Guard Chamber, in William III's apartments, at 11.30am, 12.15pm, 1pm, 1.45pm, 2.30pm and 3.15pm. Each session lasts about 15 minutes; the story is built around a mysterious happening at the palace.

The Wilderness trail

Outdoors, an autumn trail of pumpkins, scarecrows and seasonal surprises, aimed at younger visitors. The café sells Halloween-themed treats.

Halloween talks, 1 to 23 October

Before half term begins, the Palace Hosts give 15-minute talks on the origins of Halloween — witches, ghosts, supernatural creatures and the palace's own kings and queens — daily at 11.30am and 2.30pm, included in admission, with a different subject at each time. The palace is closed on 19 and 20 October.

One might suggest the morning this year rather than the afternoon. From the Sunday the palace closes at four and admits no one after three, so the late-light visit that flatters Hampton Court in other months is simply not on offer during half term. Arrive at ten, see the haunted rooms first, and keep the Wilderness for after lunch, when the smaller members of the party will want to be out of doors in any case; the storyteller sits every forty-five minutes, so nobody need be hurried towards it. The train from Waterloo remains the civilised arrangement — the car park is modest, cannot be booked, and accepts nothing but a card.

Halloween at Hampton Court Palace 2026: questions

When is Halloween at Hampton Court Palace in 2026?

Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November 2026. The palace opens at 10am; it closes at 5.30pm on the 24th and at 4pm, with last admission at 3pm, from the 25th onwards.

Does it cost extra?

No. It is included in palace admission: £30 for an adult on a weekday and £33 at the weekend, £15 and £16.50 for children aged 5 to 15, and free for under-fives and members, who do not need to book.

Can you wear a costume to Hampton Court at Halloween?

Yes, and the palace encourages it — but no masks of any kind, no realistic weapons or sharp props, no fake blood or glitter, and nothing that drags on the ground.

Is it too scary for young children?

The palace describes it as family-friendly and not overly frightening, while warning of ghosts in full make-up, darkness, loud noises, flashing lights and occasional jump scares. The Wilderness trail outdoors is the part aimed at younger children.

What time is the storytelling?

Daily during half term in the King's Guard Chamber at 11.30am, 12.15pm, 1pm, 1.45pm, 2.30pm and 3.15pm, about 15 minutes each.

Which borough is Hampton Court Palace in?

The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, on the north bank of the Thames. Its postal address says East Molesey, Surrey, which is the town across the bridge where the station is.