Shoreditch Is Screening Horror Classics for Halloween — And It’s Fancy
Skip haunted warehouses — watch The Exorcist, Halloween and The Shining at the Courthouse Hotel Shoreditch, with cocktails in a plush private cinema instead. And yes, you can stay the night if you’re too spooked to go home.
If your idea of Halloween leans less toward fake blood and sticky-floor club nights and more toward sinking into a plush cinema seat while Jack Nicholson slowly loses his marbles in Dolby surround sound, then the Courthouse Hotel Shoreditch has clocked you. And your wallet.
On 31 October, the former Old Street Magistrates’ Court — now a boutique hotel with mood lighting and a cocktail list that whispers “expense claim” — is hosting a classic horror movie marathon, screening The Exorcist, Halloween and The Shining. That’s right: three films guaranteed to make you jump, shiver and reconsider booking that “quirky old building with a history” Airbnb.
Instead of popcorn and flat Fanta, guests are plied with two cocktails and light bites, because nothing says demonic possession like a well-balanced margarita and a truffle-dusted something on slate. After the final axe-swing and priestly panic attack, those unwilling to face the cold, lonely journey home can upgrade to an overnight stay upstairs. Practical, really: if you’re going to be traumatised by a small child whispering “redrum”, you may as well do it wrapped in high-thread-count sheets.
The hotel has leaned into its past. The screening room sits within what once handled real-life crimes, and the bar still boasts original police-cell booths — perfect if you’ve always dreamt of sipping Negronis inside an old holding cell while thinking, “Ah yes, Shoreditch.”
Prices start at £50 for the films, cocktails and snacks, or £150 if you combine it with a sleepover — which, depending on your Halloween stamina, may feel like either a spooky bargain or a jump-scare of its own.
The marathon starts at 7pm, tickets are limited, and it’s all very atmospheric, very stylish, and, frankly, the safest way to consume horror in London without a stranger on the Overground wearing a Scream mask deciding to “do a bit”.
Elena Leo is the Culture & Lifestyle Editor of Ikon London Magazine.
