London's festive calendar has a darker streak this year: a night-time light trail themed entirely on Disney Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas. The event turns Mile End Park in East London into a walkable, after-dark tribute to Halloween Town, with illuminated installations and sound designed around the 1993 stop-motion classic — think glowing pumpkins, Jack Skellington, Sally, Zero and Oogie Boogie rendered in light rather than clay.

It's a notable addition because most Christmas light trails in the UK lean on generic sparkle. This one has a full narrative arc, following the film's plot from Jack's discovery of Christmas Town through his well-meant attempt to put his own spin on the holidays. Visitors move scene by scene along the trail, so it plays more like an outdoor film retelling than a stroll past decorative lights.

The setting matters too. Mile End Park is a short hop from Stepney Green and Mile End tube stations, which puts the event within easy reach of central London without the crowds of Hyde Park's Winter Wonderland. East London also makes it an easy pairing with a meal or a drink in nearby Victoria Park, Bethnal Green or the canals around Hackney Wick — a very different pre- or post-trail vibe than the West End's festive offerings.

Practically, expect a timed-entry ticket, a route that takes the better part of an hour at a gentle pace, and full dark, since the whole point is the lighting design. Dress for standing around in a park in December or January; the trail runs through the coldest stretch of the London winter. It's family-friendly in the sense that the film is — spooky rather than scary, though very small children who find Oogie Boogie unsettling may disagree.

For travellers, the appeal is a festive night out that isn't the usual carols-and-mulled-wine formula. Fans of Tim Burton get a rare large-scale, official adaptation of the film; everyone else gets an atmospheric light walk in an underused park with quick transport links. Book ahead for weekend slots, which tend to fill first, and consider a weekday evening if you want the trail quieter.

Details on exact dates, prices and opening times are on the event's official listing — check before travelling, as light trails routinely adjust sessions around weather. Source: Secret London.