Dark Secrets is a bold and immersive new exhibition in London that delves deep into the hidden histories of the occult, spiritualism, and esoteric traditions, writes DAVID TURNBULL
Dark Secrets is a new exhibition in London that explores the occult and the esoteric.
It’s located at The Vaults in the Leake Street Arches, Waterloo — home to an ever-evolving canvas of graffiti art.
The Vaults occupies a labyrinth of dimly lit tunnels beneath the former platforms where coffins, corpses, and mourners were once loaded onto trains operated by the Necropolis Railway, bound for Brookwood Cemetery in Surrey.
Their previous exhibition in 2024 focused on serial killers — their lives, psychological motivations, and methods of operation.
Waterloo’s own notorious murderer, Dr Neill Cream, the Lambeth Poisoner, was one of those featured.
Like that exhibition, Dark Secrets takes an intelligent and factual approach to its subject matter rather than a sensationalised one.
You are welcomed into the exhibition by life-size effigies of the Golem from Hebrew mythology and the Baphomet, whose occult lineage harks back to the Knights Templar.
What follows is no fewer than 27 rooms, in which over 1,000 items are displayed across a wide range of occult and esoteric themes.
These include explorations of Druids, Voodoo, and Satanism, alongside examinations of tarot cards, runic symbols, and fetishes.
To coin a phrase, there is something for everyone here — assuming you’re generally interested in supernatural phenomena and the roots of superstitious belief.
If ghosts are your thing, there’s a section for you, as well as a complementary section on spiritualism and séances, with displays of the scientific paraphernalia used by paranormal investigators.
Witchcraft, symbolism, and exorcism all have dedicated displays.
Occultist Aleister Crowley has an entire room of his own, featuring him seated at his Satanic altar, hooded in his trademark cowl.
This section also includes a handwritten letter sent to Crowley by an Italian occultist.
The Room of the Cursed Doll features a solitary item — an allegedly cursed doll found in an abandoned Italian villa.
Visitors are encouraged to leave the room if the doll’s eerie presence induces discomfort.
They are also invited to write a note to the doll and pin it to the wall if they feel she has spoken to them.
You can end your visit with a virtual reality immersive tour of a Masonic temple and a mediaeval torture chamber from the Inquisition.
There’s a small café and a gift shop.
The exhibition’s souvenir brochure is quite pricey at £16, but it’s a hefty, glossy tome running to 150 pages, filled with background detail and colour images of the concepts explored in the 27 rooms.
I’d give Dark Secrets five stars.
It’s a thought-provoking and engrossing experience — perfect fare for an autumn or winter afternoon.
Find about more about the Dark Secrets exhibition.
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