While Ghost may lack a little integrity after noticeably lifting styles from other London hot spots, there’s courage in its makeup as a distressed dungeon of decadent Goth club chic.

The Venue
After a sad and sombre farewell to Turnmills, Farringdon has been crying out for somewhere of size to curate the future of the underground house scene. Onto the picture floats Ghost, a vast paper factory turned main room brawl to begin to regenerate what was lost.

Unlike Turnmills or Fabric, Ghost relies on the power of community within its one room layout. There are, of course, the usual loungey hangouts, the post apocalyptic bar area with distressed pool table, vandalised cash machines and pleasantly juxtaposed swinging chandeliers, but these are merely the trimmings around the main dish. They are pleasant enough although they do come branded with familiar logos – Bacardi Corner has a lush black carpet that will inspire sit down soirees and the Red Bull Caves (curtained off brick booths) provide a pampered view for people watching across the dance floor.

The main room’s buzz is enough to overlook the slightly haphazard stencil work on the walls that culminates in the gaudy looking GHOST piece that covers the whole wall. The graffiti is one of the low points, as the authenticity has to be questioned. Below the art though is a novel Pollack approach to decoration and the splattered drips of white on black paint and vice versa set the underworld spook fest feel and offer jeepers and creepers to the soundtrack.

The Atmosphere
Ghost has lost none of its early optimism and holds firmly onto a penchant for good manners. Supreme NYC this is not - you’ll see none of the drooped shoulders and sullen faces on the door or behind the bar as drinks are mixed with effort and an effusing willingness to talk about them, while the door staff are burly enough to handle their business while enhancing your welcome.

Although the dress code isn’t strict, you’d certainly feel odd turning up in a pair of tatty Vans and a T-shirt so it’s best to break open the dressing up box to at least keep up with the crowd. This prerequisite won’t be for everyone; the emphasis isn’t solely on the music here, which was the policy at the all-welcoming Turnmills, and what the club gains in good lookers within its walls, it loses in communal buzz. The crowd are bunched here from all over London and although effort has clearly been made it certainly isn’t exclusive to the upmarket Farringdon suburbanite. People are friendly on the whole and, as you’d expect, when the night wears on facades are dropped and rubbing shoulders with strangers isn’t the anti-hip faux pas that it was.

The Music
The sound system is a little muffled at times but should probably be put down to early teething problems, but still, that’s how it is. Apart from this there is nothing to complain about and if you’re a fan of electro, hard house and segments of minimal then you’ll be pleased at some time or other. The DJs mix it around, dropping in a few sub genres for fun, but on the whole it sticks to what they seem to excel at.

The Drink
You can look forward to waking up to that sick feeling in the pit of your stomach come the morning after, maybe because of the drinks, but definitely after remembering what they cost you. The cocktails are the best value for money, verging just under the £10 mark they are made with care, precision and a hand that pours generously. There is a fun selection beyond the classic hyperbole of mojitos. The Strawberry Mule is a particular treat for those partial to the ginger beer based beverage. The strawberry dilutes the tang of the ginger and creates a zingy, fizzing collaboration.

There is no draught beer as is the case with most clubs of this size in their cellar-less enclosures but there is a range of bottled beers to go along with the many spirits on the shelves.

The Last Word
Ghost is on the right track to taking back the aimlessly wandering clubbers who’ve been searching for it since Turnmill’s demise. Well worth a journey down Farringdon Road to make up your own mind.

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