You sit shivering in your four-poster bed. In the corner, a grandfather clock slowly tick-tocks its way towards midnight. Outside, you hear a chilling howl in the distance. At least, you hope it's in the distance! From the wall, an oil painting of some long-deceased former resident with a terrible beard stares down at you. Did his eyes just move? Then, as the clock finally chimes, the candle flickers and you're plunged into darkness.
Then the door creaks, and slowly begins to open...
If scenarios like this get your adrenaline pumping, who you gonna call? Visit London! With everything from haunted hotels to dreadful dungeons, twilight tours to ghostly gastropubs, we'll make sure that your trip to the capital is scarier than Ann Widdecombe in hotpants.
Hotels
Popular haunts
Some of London's hotels are reputed to be so haunted that things are almost guaranteed to go bump in the night!
Only the very bold would dare book the Langham Hotel. It's said a German prince who committed suicide by jumping off a balcony in the early 20th century continues to stalk the corridors. Others claim the ghost of Napoleon III haunts the hotel's basement. But the most haunted room of all is said to be No 333 - book it if you dare.
Expect blood-curdling screams for mercy at the Courthouse Hotel Kempinski – once a magistrates' court, book in the knowledge that your bedroom was probably once a holding cell. For those with a really strong stomach, the Georgian House Hotel is said to be inhabited by creepy, ethereal ghost children.
Friday Night
Enter the Twilight Zone…
For a truly chilling start to the weekend, venture into the eerie mist of London's darkest alleyways for a spooky walking tour.
You'll be taken on an atmospheric journey through old London town, while your guide weaves yarns of crimes, horrors, and strange goings on. From Jack the Ripper's gruesome hunting ground in the east end, to the sites of macabre mayhem in the west end.
Enjoy dinner at the seemingly innocent Sheraz on Brick Lane. Today, it's a fine Indian restaurant, but once it was the Frying Pan Pub where Mary Nichols, one of Jack the Ripper's first victims, drank her last ale. Or try Hennessys, built on the 18th century mass burial ground for those killed by the Black Death. Then head back to your crypt - but try not to have nightmares...
Saturday Morning
Tower of terror
The sooner you do it, the sooner it'll be over: your trip to the country's most haunted building, the Tower of London. Supernatural sightings of the many historic figures who came to their grisly ends in various cruel and callous ways here are by no means unusual.
Once free from the terrible Tower, head up the road to the graveyard at Bunhill Fields. Gardeners noted strange happenings here in June 2001, including steam rising from the graves and the appearance - and swift disappearance - of a mysterious cloaked woman.
Saturday Afternoon
Ghouls just wanna have fun!
Enjoy lunch at The Gun gastropub, said to be haunted by Admiral Horatio Nelson himself.
Then head to the Queen's House in Greenwich, believed to be terrorised by a mischievous child-ghost who pinches visitors' bums, and a lady in grey who watches proceedings from the balcony.
Saturday Night
Dutch Courage
You'll need it tonight. We suggest a quick jar at the allegedly haunted The Grenadier. Apparently, a young guards officer was killed here after being caught cheating at cards.
Then onto the chillingly scary The Woman In Black, a spooky Victorian ghost story at the Fortune Theatre. If all the ghosts and ghouls have given you an appetite, have a late dinner at Garlic & Shots; truly the tastiest way to protect yourself from the undead.
If you can, get the tube home from Covent Garden station. If you catch sight of a a tall man wearing a grey suit and a gangster-style Homberg hat, say hello - he's the resident phantom!
Sunday Morning
Dank dungeons
Spend the morning exploring the gruesome delights of the London Dungeon. In 1998, a psychic investigator claimed the dungeon was "teeming with ghosts".
If you're in need of a stiff drink following your escape from the dungeon, go to the Ten Bells on Commercial Street. The walls are plastered with Jack the Ripper newspaper clippings - it's believed another of his unfortunate victims enjoyed her last drink here.
For a little light relief, why not enjoy a picnic in St James's Park? The only ghoul we know of here is the headless monk who regularly frightens the life out of innocent visitors.
Sunday Afternoon
Bloomin' Henry!
Head west to Hampton Court Palace, haunted by the ghost of Catherine Howard, fifth wife of Henry VIII. She was executed here in 1542 and witnesses claim to have seen her ghostly apparition running through the Haunted Gallery, screaming in terror. It seems being married to the ruthless, cruel, old King who'd already beheaded one wife, was no picnic.
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