October’s nights grow deeper. Leaves rustle in the wind’s whisper. In those liminal hours, myth and memory converge. For the Celts, this turning of the year was Samhain — the moment when boundaries wavered, when spirits drew near, when fire and ritual spoke of things unseen.

This year, The Mandrake invites you to step ‘’Into the Woods’’ — an immersive Halloween event in London where Halloween is not just remembered, but reimagined. (Saturday 25th October, 8pm to 3am).

Come with us to trace the ancient roots of Samhain and explore how The Mandrake transforms them into a living, breathing experience — through fire, performance, prophecy, and myth.

The Ancient Origins of Samhain

At its core, Samhain was a festival of seasonal transitions: the close of harvest, the onset of winter, the year’s light giving way to darkness. Communities lit bonfires to purify and protect, gathered for feasting and storytelling, and offered tribute to ancestors. It was said that on this night, the boundary between the living and spirit realms became porous — allowing communication, visions, and rendezvous across veils.

The Samhain meaning thus encompasses endings, beginnings, and thresholds. It is both a harvest’s farewell and a beckoning to the unseen.

From Ritual to Reinterpretation

Many Celtic Halloween rituals persist today — though transformed:

• Lanterns and carved pumpkins: descents of the old turnip carvings meant to guard against spirits.
  
• Masks and disguise: once protective guises to move among spirit realms unnoticed.
  
• Feasting and offerings: the kernel of trick-or-treating and Halloween feasts.
  
• Divination: gazing into mirrors, reading embers, seeking signs of what may come.
  

Over time, these rituals shifted from communal rite into playful, symbolic forms — but their spirit remains. In London’s cultural scene, they become raw inspiration: storied atmosphere, symbolic props, immersive design.

Why This Matters

For culturally curious travellers, spiritually minded guests, and London locals, Into the Woods offers more than spectacle: it offers presence. It is a reawakening of ancient ritual — not in museum glass, but in darkened pathways, in whispered performances, in the crossing of thresholds.

It reminds us that myth is not dead. It persists in atmosphere, in symbol, in invitation.

Book your ticket.