A new London exhibition is drawing crowds ahead of Halloween with a spine-chilling display of objects tied to witchcraft, dark rituals, and the paranormal.
“Dark Secrets: The Esoteric Exhibition,” which opened to the public on October 11, features more than 1,000 artefacts spread across 27 themed rooms. Among its most talked-about pieces are Europe’s largest collection of cursed dolls, a 19th-century vampire-hunting kit, and shrunken heads once used by the Shuar tribes of the Amazon as war trophies.
The exhibition also bridges history and pop culture with contemporary relics, including a jacket once worn by late American rock legend Jimi Hendrix—rumoured to be linked to his untimely death—and a ceremonial staff associated with infamous British occultist Aleister Crowley.
Beyond macabre curiosities, the event also seeks to uncover deception in the supernatural world. Fraudulent spirit devices such as Ouija boards, spirit slates, and so-called “ghost communication tools” are exhibited to show how self-proclaimed mediums manipulated their audiences.
“You see how mediums were using methods, if we won’t use the word tricks, to actually pretend that they were in contact with spirits,” forensic anthropologist and magician Matteo Borrini told Reuters. “You’ll see here some slates, for example, that have been used to make apparitions and to make proper apport in the sense that a spirit message.”
Other unusual items on display include a fake werewolf skull, fabricated fairy skeletons, and a two-headed fox created by Soviet surgeon Vladimir Demikhov—a taxidermy experiment he once claimed survived for several days.
Druidic monoliths and ritual artefacts also highlight the festival’s pagan roots, offering visitors historical context behind Halloween traditions. As Borrini noted, “Halloween started as a pagan religious festival and moved across the years. It became in some way demonised by the Christian Catholic Church but at the same time, it has been embedded with the Day of the Dead.”
“Dark Secrets: The Esoteric Exhibition” will run until May 2026.
