London is getting a haunted art gallery for Halloween

Kraken Rum is launching a new experience for Halloween, a haunted art gallery containing some of the most cursed artworks and objects in the UK.

Screamfest: House of Curses is open from 31 October until 2 November at the Vinyl Factory in Soho, London.

Curated by art historian Ruth Millington, the House of Curses is home to six themed exhibits – ‘Cursed Creatures’, ‘Possessed Children’, ‘Internet Lore’, ‘Ghost’, ‘Skeleton’ and ‘Dolls’.

Highlights in these rooms include haunted projector slides from the Birmingham & Midlands Institute, and the ‘Grace Doll’, known as the UK’s Annabelle and donated by paranormal investigator Danny Moss.

Cursed paintings, slides and dolls

Also on show are an 18th century vampire slaying kit, and curious creatures like a mermaid and basilisk on loan from the Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities

Haunted works in the Possessed Children room include ‘The Crying Boy’, a mass-produced print of the painting by Giovanni Bragolin. These prints were said to have caused hundreds of house fires in the UK in the 1970s and ’80s.

The final work to view is ‘The Unknown Girl’, loaned by the London Bridge Experience. This painting went viral in 2023 after being returned to a UK charity shop multiple times. Guests must sign a waiver to see ‘The Unknown Girl’.

“House of Curses is the most intense exhibition I’ve ever curated. From the legend of the Kraken itself to real-life haunted pieces that have inflicted all manner of terror upon owners and artists, this is a gallery not to be missed – providing you’re brave enough,” said Millington.

“Hauntings, death and horror have been key themes in artwork and objects for millennia and now we’re bringing a variety of those pieces together in one high-risk exhibition this Halloween in Screamfest: House of Curses.”

Kraken Rum’s Halloween experience last year was a horror bar in London where the price of drinks was determined by visitors’ heart rates.

Images courtesy of Kraken Rum