Supernatural encounters for your summer evenings 👻

 

Whispers from the other side

supernatural summer specials The Enfield Poltergeist Furniture moved on its own. Objects flew through the air. And from the mouth of a 12-year-old girl came the voice of a man long dead. The alleged haunting of a north London home became one of Britain's most infamous paranormal cases, dividing opinion for nearly 50 years. Was it a genuine encounter with the supernatural, or an astonishing hoax that fooled everyone? Recorded live at the Crossed Wires Festival in Sheffield, Danny Robins and the team revisit the mystery with photographer Graham Morris, whose iconic images captured the events as they unfolded. Listen now   More episodes

Midnight tales  with david tennant Terror in Edinburgh Dr Jekyll concocts a chemical potion - but who is urging him on? Listen now   strange goings-on A chilling tale A paranormal activity at the most haunted site in the picturesque South Downs. Listen now

Haunting realities    chilling intimate plays What's beyond reality? From nightmares that won't stay buried and sisters haunted by their childhood past, to a phone call from the dead and a house that appears to be trying to communicate... Listen now

More eerie encounters...

nerve-tingling scenes Malcolm moves to a lonely place. However, he's unaware that in this rat-infested house of horror, a spirit awaits a lonely mother and an unsettled baby They are on their own in a new home. But is there a reason for the disquiet she feels... somewhere? the lovecraft investigations Three years after Heawood vanished, the mystery is all but dead. Until a message arrives on Kennedy's answerphone a spine-chilling story The stones are calling. In the village of Milbury, an ancient circle radiates a strange and unsettling power the dream home that became a nightmare A mother and her three children are left terrified by a dark figure in their rooms

Fancy seeing Ari Lennox at her only UK date this summer?

 

Grab your ticket to Jazz Cafe Festival – before they sell out! What are you doing on Sunday, August 2? If the answer is a resounding ‘nothing’, then we’ve got the perfect plan to fill your diary with. Jazz Cafe Festival is back for 2026, arriving in style to South London’s Burgess Park with a red hot line-up of rising stars and musical legends. On the main stage, we’re talking major headliners like Ari Lennox – her only UK date for this year, in fact – as well as Greentea Peng and Jaz Karis. Then over on the Plant Room stage – which will be home to a mix of hip-hop and underground beats – you’ll be treated to performances from the likes of SMINO, Boldly James and Kofi Stone. Of course, we can’t forget the Four Corners stage, where you’ll find wall-to-wall electronic musicians like Nightmares on Wax, Dan Shake and Anish Kumar, and the Arthi Hard stage, where a line-up of experimental sounds is curated by multigenre DJ Arthi. Tickets are almost sold out – but there’s still a few up for grabs. If smooth, soulful tunes in the sunshine are your thing (and quite frankly, who could blame you?), this promises to be the ultimate Sunday Funday.

BOOK YOUR TICKET NOW

Spring Equinox Fri, 20 Mar 2026, 2:46 pm

 The vernal equinox arrives on Friday, marking the start of the spring season for the Northern Hemisphere and the fall in the Southern Hemisphere. On the equator, the sun will be directly overhead at noon. Equinoxes are the only times when both the North and South poles are lit by sunshine at the same time.

British Museum Friends - Young Friends | Meet the animals hiding in our collection 🐾

 

Exhibitions Events Collection Shop

Start your animal adventure at the Museum  Dear Dominic, This week in Young Friends, we’re going to meet some of the wild and wonderful animals hiding in our collection! Read on to discover how your favourite animals have helped shape history. This week you can… Make your own Gayer-Anderson cat Go on an animal trail across the Museum Create your own origami animals Learn about the history of bees in the collection For older Young Friends, learn more on the influence of tigers in traditional Chinese culture and uncover hidden animal images in the Iron Age Witham shield with curator Julia Farley. Discover even more at the Museum with our Museum explorer trail and enjoy seeing the amazing creations from other Young Friends. We would love to see what you make too, please share your creations with us! Read on to get involved!  The Young Friends and Schools and Family Programmes Teams

Activities to try at home

Gayer-Anderson cat The Gayer-Anderson cat is a bronze sculpture that depicts the ancient Egyptian goddess Bastet. Have a go at making your own. Get crafting Arty animals trail  Go on a safari around the world and discover the wild and wonderful arty animals found in the Museum. Get exploring

Origami animals Origami is the ancient art of Japanese paper folding. Try creating your own origami inspired by Japanese prints in the collection. Make now The bee's knees People have been keeping bees across the world throughout history. Explore the fascinating objects in the Museum related to beekeeping and bees. Learn more

Some of these are articles are taken from Remus magazine. Visit our digital archive to dive into new and past issues of Remus.

Older Young Friends Ages 14+

China's talismanic tigers Learn more about how, in traditional Chinese culture, the image of a tiger was used as a symbol of bravery, and how its depiction also acted as a defensive talisman. Learn more Hidden animals in Celtic art Join curator Julia Farley as she shares the hidden images of animals found on the Witham shield, a British Iron Age shield found in the River Witham in 1826. Watch now

Find the connection in the collection What is the connection between these three objects? Hint: think carefully about how accurately each object represents its animal.  Read on below to find out.

Visiting the Museum soon?

Museum explorer trail Fantastic creatures Voyage around the world to discover how people have painted, carved, hunted and farmed animals throughout history. Download now

Connection in the collection answers  All three objects were created by artists who never actually saw the real animals! The elephant sculptures were likely based on drawings and sketches from Buddhist sources that depicted Asian elephants.   Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528) based his rhinoceros woodcut on an anonymous written description and a quick sketch of an Indian rhinoceros brought to Lisbon in 1515. Maruyama Okyo (1733–95) faced the challenge that there weren’t any live tigers in Japan at the time. So, he used pictures from China, studied cats and imagined how a tiger might move and behave based off this. One theory even suggests he studied tiger skins, which might explain the flattened tiger faces in his work! You can watch the video below to find out more.  Watch now

Crafts corner  Take a look at the Nemes headdresses Young Friends Thomas and Isabel (aged 6) have created! Share your Young Friends’ creations with us for a chance to be featured in an upcoming Young Friends email. Share now