Ghost tours in London
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Ghost tours in London: haunted walks, bus shows and river nights
After dark, ghost tours in London turn familiar landmarks into backdrops for murders, mysteries and urban legends: you can follow a London ghost walking tour through alleys and churchyards, ride a theatrical ghost bus past the riverfront, add a haunted boat ride on the Thames or even extend the trip to York’s medieval streets, all within our catalog of activities so you can choose the pace, scare level and neighbourhood that fit your night.
📚 Choose your experience
Ghost walking tours in London
Alleys, graveyards and close-up storytelling.
Ghost bus and boat nights
Seated shows with skyline views.
How ghost tours work
Format, guides and scare factor.
York’s Haunted Heart
A ghost-filled escape beyond London.
Frequently asked questions
Times, fear level and practical tips.
Ghost walking tours in London: alleys, graveyards and stories
A classic London ghost walking tour threads you through lanes, graveyards and courtyards where the city suddenly feels candlelit again, with routes like the Ghastly Ghost Walking Tour in London or London’s Ghosts and Gruesome Past Nighttime Walking Tour keeping groups close enough to hear every whisper, joke and gasp.
On these walks, guides usually mix archival history with folklore: executions and plague pits sit next to legends of headless figures or footsteps that never quite match the number of people in the group, so you learn real context without losing the fun of the supernatural.
For many visitors, a first ghost walking tour London offers becomes the starting point for exploring the city by night, then they return in daylight with one of our London history walking tours to recognise the same corners without the shadows.
⚖️ Choosing your walking route
- Short central routes for a first ghost walk.
- Longer circuits combining famous sites and hidden yards.
- Greenwich-focused walks with river views and naval legends.
- More theatrical tours with louder scares and acting.
🧭 Practical tips for walking at night
- Wear comfortable shoes and darker, weather-ready layers.
- Check meeting point and nearest station in advance.
- Keep valuables secure; some alleys can be busy.
- Plan a safe route back after the tour.
Ghost bus and boat tours: London’s dark side from a seat
If you like your scares with a guaranteed seat, ghost tour London options include a full ghost bus show and a Ghost, Ghouls and Gallows experience that ends with a boat ride, turning the usual city tour into a mix of theatre, dark comedy and riverside storytelling.
On the ghost bus, actors play up the atmosphere with immersive sound, lighting and jumpy humour, using London’s government buildings, theatres and riverfront as a moving stage while you watch from the windows rather than walking between stops.
The Gallows tour with boat segment shifts gears mid-evening, swapping streets for the Thames so you can hear the last stories while the skyline slides past in near silence, a good choice if you want both haunted history and classic London night views in one go from our offer of experiences.
🚍 Bus or boat: which format suits you
- Bus tours suit visitors who prefer seated comfort.
- Boat segments add city views and open air.
- Mixed formats combine walking, bus and river time.
- Families often pick theatrical shows with humour.
🧭 Practical tips for bus and boat nights
- Arrive early so you can choose better seats.
- Carry a light layer; buses and decks can cool.
- Avoid strong flash photography during key scenes.
- If prone to motion sickness, face forward when moving.
How London ghost tours work: rhythm, guides and scare level
Whether you choose a London ghost tour on foot, a haunted tour London riverside route or a theatrical ghost bus show, the pattern is similar: clear meeting point, short safety briefing, a sequence of stops with stories that build on each other, and a closing moment where the guide pulls together the history and the haunting.
In our catalog of activities you will find different guiding styles, from deadpan storytellers who lean on documented cases to more theatrical hosts who use props, voices and movement; descriptions and reviews help you decide if you want something closer to a lecture, a performance or a blend of both.
Practicalities are straightforward: tours usually specify language, walking distance and recommended minimum age, phones are generally allowed but expected on silent, and many guests pair a spooky evening with one of our London night tours along the main landmarks to see the same streets again later with less tension and more open city lights.
🔍 What to expect on any ghost tour
- Meet your guide and group at a landmark.
- Hear ground rules on behaviour, photos and safety.
- Follow a planned route of carefully chosen stops.
- Finish with time for questions and final photos.
🧭 Who will enjoy a ghost tour most
- History fans who enjoy real cases and archives.
- Travellers who like storytelling more than jump scares.
- Groups of friends looking for a focused night plan.
- Families with teens who enjoy clever theatrical shocks.
York’s Haunted Heart: extending your ghost trip beyond London
If you have extra time in the UK, a York’s Haunted Heart: Ghost, Ghouls and Gallows experience adds narrow medieval lanes and city walls to the urban stories of London, giving you another layer of ghosts, from Roman soldiers to more recent apparitions around the Minster.
Compared with a central London ghost walking tour, York feels compact and older, so the guide can draw strong contrasts between capital-city darkness and provincial superstition, making the whole trip feel like one longer narrative spread across two very different skylines.
If you prefer to stay in the capital but focus on real crime history, our Jack the Ripper tours in London push deeper into Victorian fear and police work in the East End, while a traditional ghost tour keeps more space for folklore, humor and open questions.
🚆 Why combine London and York for ghost stories
- Two very different skylines under the same night sky.
- London shows empire, York highlights medieval power struggles.
- Stories range from monarchs and traitors to local legends.
- Great option for repeat visitors seeking fresh angles.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best ghost tour in London?
The “best” ghost tour in London depends on what you want: intimate walking routes suit people who enjoy details and atmosphere, while theatrical ghost bus or boat tours are ideal if you prefer a show with seats and skyline views, so it is worth scanning reviews in our catalog of activities to match pace, style and scare level to your taste.
How long is the Ghost Bus Tour in London?
Most ghost bus tours in London last roughly the length of a feature film, long enough to circle key sights and tell a full story arc without taking up your whole evening, and the exact schedule for each departure is always listed on the experience page so you can plan dinner or theatre plans around it.
How do ghost tours work?
A typical london ghost tour meets at a clear landmark, the guide sets expectations about walking distance, behaviour and photos, then leads you through a planned route of stops where each story builds on the last until a final scene or summary brings the history and hauntings together, after which there is usually time for questions and final pictures.
Are phones allowed at the ghost tour?
On almost every london ghost walking tour and bus show, phones are allowed but expected on silent, with guides usually asking guests to avoid bright screens and constant filming during key scenes so that everyone can hear and feel the tension, and any specific rules will always appear in the description of each activity.
Is the Ghost Bus Tour scary?
The ghost bus tour London offers is designed as comedy-horror rather than pure terror, mixing tense moments, jump scares and creepy details with jokes and improv so most adults and older teens enjoy it, and you can always check recent reviews in our offer of experiences to see how other travellers describe the fear factor.
Why do people like ghost tours?
Many travellers love haunted tour London experiences because they combine real history, storytelling and a slightly transgressive feeling of walking dark streets on purpose, giving you a concentrated dose of atmosphere in a couple of hours without needing special gear or prior knowledge, just curiosity and comfortable shoes.
Are ghost tours dark tourism?
Some London ghost tour routes touch on executions, plagues and crimes, which overlap with what is often called dark tourism, however good guides frame these stories with context and respect rather than gore for its own sake, and you can always choose experiences that lean more toward mystery and legend if that feels better.
What happens on a ghost tour?
On a ghost walking tour London or a ghost bus night you move between specific locations where deaths, trials, hauntings or strange coincidences were recorded, hear the historical facts, then the associated ghost story, often with sound or light used to heighten the mood, and you finish having seen parts of the city most visitors never notice in daytime.
Are ghost tours real?
The events and people in a London ghost walking tour are usually based on court records, parish books and newspapers, while the hauntings themselves come from witness reports and local folklore, so the tour is honest about what is documented and what is legend, leaving you free to decide what you believe while still enjoying the atmosphere.
About the author
Author: Belén Rivas, GuruWalk
Publication date: 2025-12-01
Data updated as of December 2025
