Brand new data indicates that this year’s Halloween frenzy may be the most extreme yet! According to Statista, an online statistics hub, retail expenditure on Halloween-related products has grown exponentially over the last year, with £419 million going towards decorations, confectionary, and fancy dress costumes. That’s £189 million more than the total spent in 2013! 

With Halloween's popularity sky-rocketing this October, Richard Jones can be sure to receive a record number of bookings for his unique ghost walks.

Richard Jones, a Blue Badge Tourist Guide with a passion for all things spooky, is well-renowned for his walking tours of London, the first of which he carried out in the summer of 1982. He has devoted 33 years of his life to showing people the more sinister side of London, dwelling on aspects of the city which aren’t always acknowledged in history books. With 5,000 tours under his belt, it's fair to say Jones has both the experience and the knowledge needed to make these tours truly enriching.

He is also a best-selling author with 22 novels in his name. Like his tours, many of these take a closer look at some of the darker parts of the capital. Some shine a light on the tale of Jack the Ripper, a serial killer who committed a series of brutal murders in the 1800s and whose identity still, to this day, remains unknown. 

Richard Jones has even dedicated one of his haunted tours to this historic murderer, one which takes place seven days a week. Thrill-seekers congregate at 7 pm outside Aldgate East Underground Station and spend the next two hours venturing into the more ominous areas of Whitechapel where Jack the Ripper was believed to be active. Jones, himself, conducts these freelance tours, along with his team of expert guides, leading people down alleyways where murders allegedly took place and to the pubs where victims supposedly spent much of their time. Tourists are taken through the police investigations which took place following the murders and are even shown a potential suspect - all by the time the walk reaches its end in Mitre Square.

Although The Jack the Ripper Walk would be a suitably horrifying way to spend the evening of the 31st, Richard Jones has also mapped out a special Halloween London Ghost Walk, which adheres perfectly to the spirit of Halloween. This tour has occurred annually for 36 years and sees adrenaline junkies navigating their way through creepy alleyways and churchyards and ‘the city’s most paranormally active building’, accompanied by Jones and his wonderfully chilling commentary. Each location comes with its own ghost sightings and many who have participated in the walk in recent years claim to have witnessed something supernatural at some of these sites! The tour concludes on Gresham Street and participants are left with a whole new perspective of this iconic city and a few guaranteed sleepless nights.

So, if you’re looking for a scare this Halloween, join Richard at 7 pm for some frightful fun.