Whether you love it or loathe it, the spookiest evening of the year is fast approaching and there’s lots of twisted fun to be had in our neck of the woods.

From sinful supper clubs and Jack the Ripper walking tours to gothic cocktail parties and freaky evenings at the circus, Halloween in London never fails to deliver the goods. If your plans involve anything to do with a ‘low-key gathering’ or ‘just a quiet one, to be honest’ it’s time to re-evaluate, as we present five of our favourite Halloween parties across Islington and Hackney.

Dark Circus Party

If you’re heading to Bourne & Hollingsworth’s Dark Circus Party, I’m afraid I have to insist that you come dressed for the occasion. “Anyone wearing jeans, trainers or t-shirts will be refused entry and fed to the lions,” – don’t say I didn’t warn you. Once here you’ll find an abandoned circus alive with the eccentric and the obscure, we’re talking aerial artists spinning from the big top, caged curiosities breathing fire and heart-stopping feats performed by treacherous trapeze acts. It’s dark, thrilling and surrealist: everything a good Halloween party should be.

Dark Circus Party, October 27, 9pm to 3am, 13 Stoke Newington Road, N16 8BH; tickets £40

London Horror Festival

Why limit Halloween to one evening when you could devote the whole of October to it instead? Old Red Lion Theatre’s London Horror Festival has packed in a diverse roster of premieres, sold-out runs and acclaimed performers acrossthis month, and there are still plenty of terrifying shows left to get your teeth in to. Check out Leland Frankel’s Slaughterhouse from October 29; a horror/comedy hybrid that follows the story of Kurt, an average Joe who just so happens to live with three notorious serial killers.

Slaughterhouse at Old Red Lion Theatre, 418 St John Street, EC1V 4NJ, October 29-31 from 9.30pm; tickets £14 (£12 cons)

Jack the Ripper tours

Secret cocktail bar Discount Suit Company will have you chasing the shadows of Jack the Ripper for their Halloween special. Kicking off with a welcome drink at their basement den, you’ll trawl the backstreets of Whitechapel and Spitalfields across 90 hair-raising minutes, as the Ripper expert Simon Whitehouse runs you through the grisly details and the Met’s failed attempts to catch their man. The walking tour will loop back round to the bar where you’ll be able to reflect on a chilling evening with one of two themed cocktails; the Rum Ripper or Dark Moon.

Jack the Ripper Tours at Discount Suit Company, October 30-31 at 6.30pm and 8.15pm; tickets £20 including two drinks and the walking tour

Tea Break Theatre present: Frankenstein

An immersive production of Frankenstein sounds teeth chattering-ly terrifying, and that’s exactly what you can expect at Sutton House this Halloween. Tea Break Theatre present a feminine adaption of Mary Shelley’s 200-year-old tale, as Victor creates a female – his ideal female – before growing frustrated when she fails to meet his expectations. Using puppets, shadows and lots of scares, this creative take on Frankenstein is also a commentary on the patriarchy: how a female identity is first shaped by it and then criticised for failing to live up to it.

Frankenstein at Sutton House, until November 3, 2-4 Homerton High Street; tickets £19 (£15 cons)

La Maison Gothique

Fair play to Oriole, who are offering their patrons both a welcome drink and a farewell tipple as part of the ticket price at their La Maison Gothique bash. This prized cocktail bar is partnering with Grey Goose for a gothic soiree with a distinctly Parisian feel on October 31. Set in the underbelly of the French capital at the turn of the last century, there will be dazzling cabaret performers on stage while theatrical Grey Goose cocktails are whipped up at the bar.

La Maison Gothique at Oriole, October 31, East Poultry Avenue, EC1A 9LH; tickets £25 including two drinks and entertainment