Signal-Man & Trial performed by James Swanton

James Swanton is reading two of Charles Dickens's ghost stories at the Charles Dickens Museum over three dates: Friday 30 October, Saturday 31 October and Sunday 1 November. The main draw is The Signal-Man, widely considered one of the most powerful ghost stories ever written and certainly the most frightening Dickens ever produced. It's paired here with The Trial for Murder, in which Dickens treats the supernatural with equal gravity. Horror novelist Ramsey Campbell called the double bill 'an unforgettable experience' and praised Swanton's 'prodigious and extraordinary talent'.

Swanton is well-versed in the darker side of things. He's played screen monsters in Apartment 7A, The First Omen and Tarot, and carried the title roles of two BBC chillers: 'The Curse of the Ninth' in Inside No. 9 and Mark Gatiss's Lot No. 249, which The Telegraph called 'the scariest man on TV'. His Dickens work also includes the one-man play Sikes & Nancy at Trafalgar Studios and sell-out seasons of The Christmas Books at the museum.

The venue itself is 48 Doughty Street, Dickens's London home and the house in which Oliver Twist was written, preserved as a Victorian middle-class home as though he had just left. It's a fitting place to hear these stories, especially The Signal-Man, which is as much about atmosphere and isolation as it is about the ghost itself.

Tickets are £25.75, and booking is required. The Friday performance is at 4:00pm, with the Saturday and Sunday dates following. It's recommended for ages 12 and up, so it's one to keep in mind for a Halloween weekend plan.