Heritage Guides is bringing back its Hampstead ghost walks for a third year, running on most weekdays from October 9 to 31. The 90-minute evening tours explore the area's supernatural history, from vampires and highwaymen to the Black Death, according to founder David Laird.
Tour Route and Highlights
The walk starts on Well Walk and includes stops at Mt Vernon, parts of Hampstead Heath, and the parish graveyard in Church Row. David Laird, who has a background in museum and heritage engagement and works at Tower Bridge museum, leads the tours, which he describes as covering "the spooky, the macabre, historical facts, a bit of crime and some myth and legend."
Laird, who previously lived in Highgate, draws on north London folklore, including tales of highwaymen attacking carriages along Hampstead Lane and the rumour that Dick Turpin was born in The Spaniard's pub, where his father was landlord. The tour also features lesser-known stories, such as a journalist from The Globe who reportedly saw a spirit at the disused North End Tube station, and a ghostly piper said to have played on Hampstead Heath after the Jacobite rebellion.
Literary Connections and Historical Depth
Laird highlights that key scenes from Bram Stoker's Dracula are set in Hampstead. After Lucy Westenra dies and rises as a vampire, she is spotted on Hampstead Heath luring children, and characters Dr John Seward and Professor Van Helsing dine at Jack Straw's Castle pub before opening her coffin in Hampstead Parish churchyard.
The tour also covers the arrival of the Black Death in the 1340s and the smallpox hospital that became the origins of the Royal Free. Laird notes that Hampstead's architecture and street lamps create an atmospheric setting, saying, "It's such a fantastic setting with the architecture and the street lamps - and there's a good bunch of gruesome and ghostly stories to do around Halloween."
Booking and Availability
Laird emphasises that the walks are delivered after dark in atmospheric locations, and while no actors jump out, "we have a bit of fun with the stories... so it can get a bit spooky - especially when there are people in Halloween costumes wandering around the village."
The Hampstead Ghost Walks run on most weekdays from October 9 to 31. For bookings, contact Heritage Guides at 07731674951 or visit heritageguides.rrezgo.com.
