Ghost Tour Near Me in London: The Ghost Bus Tours from Trafalgar Square

The Ghost Bus Tours leaves from the kerb outside the Grand Hotel at 8 Northumberland Avenue, London WC2N 5BY, a short walk from Trafalgar Square, with daily departures at 6pm, 7.30pm and 9pm. The bus is a 1960s Routemaster painted black, the show lasts about one hour and fifteen minutes, and live actors play the conductor and the passengers who are not quite alive. If you typed ghost tour near me somewhere in Westminster or Covent Garden, this is the one you can reach on foot from Charing Cross in under five minutes.

Northumberland Avenue runs from the south-west corner of Trafalgar Square down towards the Victoria Embankment. The stop is outside the Grand Hotel and directly opposite the Sherlock Holmes pub, so if you can see the pub sign you are standing in the right place. Charing Cross station is the nearest, on the Bakerloo and Northern lines and National Rail, and Embankment station, with the District and Circle lines, is a short walk down the hill. Aim to be there fifteen minutes before your departure time, because the bus leaves on schedule.

The operator calls itself the London Necrobus Company, and the bus plays along. It is a real Routemaster from the 1960s, the model that carried Londoners for decades, but its livery is midnight black rather than red, and the interior has been refitted with plush gothic seating, flickering lanterns and curtains at the windows. Seating inside is arranged railway style, with passengers facing one another, which means you will spend part of the tour watching other people jump.

The route takes you east from Northumberland Avenue through Theatreland and the City of London and across Tower Bridge, and it even dips south of the river. Along the way the actors point out the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey and its royal tombs, St Paul's Cathedral, London Bridge and the Tower of London, where so many prisoners met their end. The commentary leans on murder, execution and torture, and each stop on the script is tied to a place you can see from the window.

Visit London describes the format as live comedy-horror theatre on wheels, and that is the honest summary. There is a ghostly conductor, a mysterious passenger or two, sudden noises and lighting tricks, and plenty of jokes aimed at the audience. Most nights also include a short walk off the bus to a graveyard for more storytelling, although that segment depends on the weather and how the evening is running. Traffic in central London can stretch the timing, so allow a little extra after the advertised seventy-five minutes.

Where you sit changes the show. Seating is first come, first served, so the people who arrive early pick their spot. The lower deck puts you closer to the actors and the effects, which suits anyone who wants to be part of the action. The upper deck gives you the wider view of the floodlit landmarks, which is the better choice if the sightseeing matters more to you than the scares.

This is a family-friendly scare rather than a genuinely frightening night. Visit London rates it for ages five and up, and says children aged five and under may be allowed on at their parents' discretion. Children aged fifteen and under must travel with a paying adult. The crowd tends to be visiting families, groups of friends on a night out and tourists who want to see the illuminated city without walking miles. With more than two thousand Tripadvisor reviews, it is one of the most reviewed spooky experiences in the capital.

An honest judgement: skip the Ghost Bus if what you want is serious history or a quiet, candlelit atmosphere. The script plays the gruesome material for laughs, and you see most of the sites through a window. For a slower and darker evening on foot, London Walks runs Ghosts of the Old City every Saturday at 7.30pm from exit 2 of St Paul's Tube, with adult tickets at £20, students and seniors at £15 and children at £5. That walk gets you into the alleys the bus can only drive past.

The three daily departure times shape the rest of your evening. The 6pm bus finishes in time for a pre-theatre dinner or a show in the West End, while the 9pm bus suits people who want the darkest streets and the emptiest pavements in the City. In late October the clocks go back, so even the early departure runs in full darkness, which helps the lantern-lit interior do its work. The tour does not run on 31 December or 1 January, and Halloween week is the busiest stretch of the year.

If the bus you want is sold out, the Ghost Bus is not the only theatrical haunted outing near Trafalgar Square. The Barbican Centre has added its own Ghost Tours this autumn, which run from Wednesday to Sunday evenings until 13 December 2026 from outside the Barbican Shop on Level G, with standard tickets at £26.50. It is a walking tour through the Brutalist estate, the Pit theatre and the Library Stack Rooms, so it makes a good second spooky night once you have done the bus.

The Sherlock Holmes pub across the road is the obvious place to wait, and it is full of memorabilia about Arthur Conan Doyle's detective. Trafalgar Square is two minutes back up the avenue, with Nelson's Column, the fountains and the National Gallery facing the square. After a late departure, walk down to the Victoria Embankment, where the river and the lit-up London Eye give you a quieter view of the same city the actors have just filled with ghosts.

For a longer walk after the 6pm bus, head up through Charing Cross and into Covent Garden, about ten minutes away, where the Piazza stays busy well into the evening. Alternatively, cross Hungerford Bridge from Embankment to the South Bank and walk along the river towards the Royal Festival Hall. Both routes keep you on well-lit streets, which you may appreciate after an hour of stories about executions.

The Ghost Bus Tours, departure point 8 Northumberland Avenue, London WC2N 5BY, outside the Grand Hotel. Departures run daily at 6pm, 7.30pm and 9pm, and the ride lasts about seventy-five minutes depending on traffic. Tickets are e-tickets, sold online through the operator and booking partners such as Visit London and Golden Tours, so have yours ready on your phone before you queue. Food and drink are not included, and there are no toilets on board.

Because the buses are classic 1960s Routemasters, the entrance is not wheelchair accessible and there is not enough storage on board for a wheelchair. The tour includes a brief walk, so wear shoes that can handle a damp churchyard path. Dress for the weather, because you will stand at the stop and step off the bus at least once. Bring a sense of humour too, since the actors like to pull passengers into the plot.