London Boroughs Halloween at Strawberry Hill House 2026: Walpole's Gothic castle after dark
Strawberry Hill House, London · Organised by Strawberry Hill House & Garden
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- Dates
- 23 Oct 2026 – 1 Nov 2026
- Format
- In person
- Tickets
- £2 – £25
- Organiser
- Strawberry Hill House & Garden
If one is to spend Halloween in a London house at all, it may as well be the one where the Gothic novel began. Strawberry Hill House in Twickenham, Horace Walpole's little Gothic castle, keeps Halloween from 23 October to 1 November 2026, and on the night itself it opens after dark, by candlelight.
After Dark: the candlelit late
On Saturday 31 October the house opens for Strawberry Hill After Dark, with arrival slots from 6pm to 8pm. Tickets are £25, or £17.50 for students, and anyone who comes in costume is handed a glass of fizz on the house. The Tarot Booth Collective reads cards from 6pm to 9pm, for those who would rather know.
Death, Dreams and the Supernatural
Earlier the same day, the Halloween guided tour, Death, Dreams and the Supernatural, takes the house at a more sensible hour: 11am, 1pm, 2.30pm and 3pm, at £24, or £20 at the reduced rate.
Witches' marks and gloomth
The theme of the fortnight is the house's own folklore: the witches' marks and runes cut to keep evil out, and the stories of ghosts seen within its walls. Walpole had a word for the mood he built here, gloomth, and he wrote The Castle of Otranto, the first Gothic novel, in this house. Halloween is rather the point of the place.
For younger visitors: the garden trail
The Halloween Garden Trail runs from 24 October to 1 November, 10am to 4pm: a map is £2 and comes with a sweet treat, and there is no need to book. On Saturday 31 October the Teddington Tintype photobooth is in the house from 10am to 4pm, for a portrait in the Victorian manner.
The Magic Lantern Show
The Magic Lantern Show on Friday 30 October is sold out.
Elsewhere on the night
Hampton Court Palace, a few miles up the river in the same borough, runs its own Halloween until 1 November. Across London, the Herne Hill Velodrome has its bonfire and fireworks the same Saturday, and Eltham Palace its Great Pumpkin Party all half-term.
Choose by the hour. The guided tour at 11am or 1pm is the better way to understand the house, and the candlelit late is the better way to feel it; the late, frankly, is where Walpole's gloomth was always meant to be seen. Arrive early in one's slot, since the rooms are small and candlelight is unforgiving of crowds, and do come dressed: the fizz is free only to those who make the effort. Strawberry Hill station is a short walk away, which is a mercy on a Saturday night in half-term.
Strawberry Hill House on the map
Halloween at Strawberry Hill House 2026: Walpole's Gothic castle after dark: questions
When is the Strawberry Hill House Halloween candlelit late?
On Saturday 31 October 2026, with arrival slots from 6pm to 8pm, at Strawberry Hill House, 268 Waldegrave Road, Twickenham TW1 4ST.
How much are tickets for Strawberry Hill After Dark?
£25 standard and £17.50 for students. Guests in costume get a free glass of fizz.
Is there a Halloween tour in the daytime?
Yes. Death, Dreams and the Supernatural runs on Saturday 31 October at 11am, 1pm, 2.30pm and 3pm, at £24, or £20 at the reduced rate.
Is there anything for children?
The Halloween Garden Trail runs from 24 October to 1 November, 10am to 4pm. A map costs £2, includes a sweet treat and needs no booking.
Can I still book the Magic Lantern Show?
No, the Magic Lantern Show on Friday 30 October is sold out.
Source: Strawberry Hill House & Garden checked against the source
