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Most Haunted Places in London

London - 23-Oct-2019

Dare you explore the most haunted places in London this Halloween? Do you feel a chill in the air? Or is that the fear running down your spine?

Are those footsteps following you as you creep down London's benighted streets? I'm sure it's just your... imagination.

When Halloween season hits London, the city takes on a darker, more sinister mantle. Watch your step if you find yourself on London's streets after dark. For the restless, dead are known to stir when the veil between the worlds is at its thinnest - on Halloween.

Perhaps you'll be safer in the comfort of your Grange Hotel suite. After all, what horrors could possibly lurk in our collection of hotels built in and upon some of London's oldest buildings and locations...?

London's Most Haunted Places

This Halloween, prepare to be scared by the City of London. Throughout the capital, you'll find more spooky sights than any other city on Earth. Here are some of the top scare sites, just a short walk from our hotels.

1. The Ten Bells Pub

Once known as the Jack the Ripper, this Spitalfields pub can't get away from its gory history. Some accounts of the Ripper story link two of his victims, Annie Chapman and Mary Jane Kelly, to the pub. Annie Chapman may have drunk at the pub shortly before she was murdered; and it has been suggested that the pavement outside of the pub was where Mary Kelly picked up clients as a prostitute.

It's no wonder, therefore, that The Ten Bells is haunted by the ghost of the mutilated Annie Chapman. If that's not spooky enough, the pub also has a long recorded history of poltergeist activity.

2. 50 Berkeley Square

This infamous address has been dubbed the most haunted house in London since the 1900s. They say that the attic is haunted by the tortured spirit of a young woman who committed suicide there. She threw herself from the top floor window after abuse from her evil uncle.

Stay overnight at your peril, for the ghost has a vengeful and murderous nature. In 1879, a maid went mad after spending the night in the house, dying in an insane asylum the very next day.

8 years later, a sailor tripped and fell to his death after fleeing in terror from an "unknown horror" residing in the house.

Now the headquarters of Maggs Bros. bookseller, the house was built in the early 1700s by the architect William Kent. It has had a curious mix of owners throughout the years, including the mysterious 'Mr. Myers'. After being jilted by his fiancé, Mr Myers became a bitter recluse, known to wander the corridors of the house at night.

3. Theatre Royal Drury Lane

The Theatre Royal Drury Lane is reportedly the most haunted theatre in the world. But the thespians that tread the boards at the Theatre Royal are always pleased to encounter an apparition. According to tradition, seeing one of the Theatre's many ghosts is a sign of good luck for an actor or production.

As the oldest theatre site in London still in use, the Theatre Royal is home to a whole cast of apparitions. The mortal remains of the notorious Man in Grey ghost were found within a bricked-up passage, deep in the bowels of the theatre in 1848. Little is known about the unhappy fate of this spirit who is now a frequent sight in the theatre. The Theatre Royal is also home to the ghost of notorious actor Charles Maklin, who once killed a man in an argument over a wig.

4. Sutton House

Have you heard the howling haunting of Hackney? The eerie baying of hounds at night comes from Sutton House, that belonged to wool merchant John Machell (resident 1550-1558). In addition to the spectral hounds, Sutton House is haunted by The White Lady, rumoured to be a woman named Frances who tragically died giving birth to twins in 1574.

Her apparition can be seen hovering around the old building. During renovations of the building in the 1990s, a student is said to have woke to see a lady in a blue dress hovering over him.

5. Hampton Court Palace

Some of the most haunted places in London are also popular landmarks. With over 500 years of history, Hampton Court has been the stage for the deaths of Henry VIII's wives. It's no surprise that visitors have experienced many hauntings throughout the years.

Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of King Henry VIII has given the Haunted Gallery its chilling name. She can be seen dressed in white and floating down the gallery towards the door of the Royal Pew. As she reaches it, she turns back and screams until passing through the door.

Henry VIII's third wife, Jane Seymour, also haunts Hampton Court Palace. She has been seen walking the cobbled grounds of Clock Court. On the anniversary of the birth of her son Edward, she is said to ascend the stairs leading to the Silver Stick Gallery, dressed in a white robe and carrying a candle.

When the church of Hampton Court Palace was pulled down, the remains of The Lady in Grey were disturbed. Roused from her eternal slumber, the spirit returned to her original rooms to attend her spinning wheel. Over the years, many people have heard the sound of that lonely spinning wheel, as The Lady in Grey, unable to rest, continues her work until the end of time.

It would be remiss of us to put together a list of the most haunted places in London and not include the infamous Bloody Tower. Look closely and you may see the White Lady looking back at you...

From 1100 to 1952, The Tower of London was a prison for people particularly disliked by the Royal Family. Prisoners here were usually beheaded in the most grisly and public fashion. But it seems that even this did not release the unfortunate souls from their imprisonment.

Perhaps most famous of all hauntings at The Tower of London is the ghost of Anne Boleyn, the beheaded wife of king and serial husband, Henry VIII. Many who claim to have seen Boleyn's spirit say she walks with her head tucked beneath her arm. Others have spotted her from the courtyard, staring out the window of the room in which she was held captive by her maniacal husband.

The ghosts of other historical figures include Guy Fawkes, Lady Jane Grey, and Henry VI have also been sighted. Less famous prisoners have also gained notoriety in the afterlife for their refusal to leave the scene of their suffering. If you stand on the threshold of St John's Chapel, you will smell the perfume of the White Tower's White Lady, who can be seen above you, through the windows of the tower.

6. The Tower Of London

It would be remiss of us to put together a list of the most haunted places in London and not include the infamous Bloody Tower, which can be seen from the windows of our very own hotel. Look closely and you may see the White Lady looking back at you...

7. Covent Garden

Covent Garden is home to St Paul's Church, also known as the Actor's Church. It's only fitting therefore, that it is also home to a few former actors. On 16th December 1897, a popular actor named William Terriss was murdered by a deranged fellow actor, Richard Archer Prince.

Prince stalked Terriss for some time before, even being forcibly ejected from the Vaudeville Theatre on one occasion. On the night of the murder, Terriss was due to perform in a play. But upon arriving at the stage door of the Adelphi Theatre, five brutal stab wounds to the back and chest brought a bloody end to the actor's career for good.

His last words were "I will come back", and today his spirit is said to lurk in his former favourite haunts around Covent Garden.

Have you had a spooky experience in London? Share your horror stories on our Facebook page!

8. Liverpool Street Station

In 2015, Crossrail began an excavation project in the City of London, at the 16^th and 17^th century burial ground at Bedlam. During this excavation, around 30 bodies were uncovered beneath what is now Liverpool Street Station. These 30 bodies are believed to have been victims of the Great Plague. If this wasn't enough to put you off stopping at this station, many visitors have also reported sightings of a male figure in white overalls standing on the platform. It's as though he waits for a train which is still yet to arrive.

9. The Clink prison

This ancient prison was first established in the 12^th century, making it one of the county's oldest. It was in operation until 1780, housing all kinds of criminals who underwent the most gruesome torture. There are a number of spirits who are believed to still haunt this forsaken building; from a plague-era physician to murderers and thieves. You can wander around the museum to learn about the fate of various inmates, or go along to one of their regular fright nights. Attendees of the fright nights will be introduced to the resident ghosts while they explore the spine-chilling grounds.

10. Queen's House Museum

This former royal residence in Greenwich was built in the first half of the 17^th century, and was used by the monarchy until 1805. In this year, King George III gifted the building to charity and it became the Royal Navy Asylum. It became a museum in 1934, housing an impressive art collection.

In 1966, two Canadian tourists visited the Queen's House, and took a photograph of the Tulip staircase. When they returned home and developed their photos, they spotted a ghostly figure ascending the stairs – apparently in pursuit of more figures.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dali Bear (@dalibear) on Oct 6, 2016 at 1:34pm PDT

Since then, no apparitions have been known to reveal themselves until 2002, when a museum Gallery Assistant reported a sighting. He said he was talking with colleagues when a figure caught his eye; the figure was wearing an old-style grey dress, gliding across a balcony and through a wall.

11. Pond Square, Highgate

In the early 17^th century, politician, philosopher, and scientist Sir Francis Bacon conducted an experiment to determine the safety of freezing and then consuming a chicken. He slaughtered, plucked and stuffed a chicken with snow, left it for a few days, and then found it was edible. Not long after carrying out this test, Bacon fell ill with flu and died. Since then, rather than sighting the spirit of the politician, locals and visitors have reported seeing visions of a ghostly chicken! The animal is said to be half-plucked and frantically circling or pacing the square.

12. Highgate Cemetery

Used as the movie set for a number of Gothic movies in the 1970s, Highgate Cemetery has proved a spooky and unnerving setting for many years. There are a number of stories associated with the burial ground, one of which is the Highgate Vampire. This spirit is supposedly that of a Romanian nobleman who practised black magic. After death, the nobleman's followers brought his corpse to England to a house in the West End, where he was then buried. This site is now Highgate Cemetery.

The story goes that the nobleman lay at rest for many years, until a group of Satanists performed a ritual at the cemetery. This woke him, and led to his wondering the cemetery until this day. As well as going along to find out for yourself, at Highgate Cemetery you can also see the graves of notable figures such as Karl Marx, George Eliot, and George Michael.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Highgate Cemetery (@highgate_cemetery) on Jun 23, 2012 at 5:35am PDT

13. Royal Arsenal, Woolwich

Woolwich has a history surrounding the artillery business stemming back to the late 16^th century, and in 1716, the Royal Arsenal was established. Today, people working at the Royal Arsenal claim they have encountered some sort of phantom, in a variety of forms – in fact there are rumoured to be about 50 ghosts there.

There have been tales of a ghost of a soldier who hung himself after failing his officer training and of a prostitute who roams the halls of the basement, having been abandoned there in years gone by when the Duke of Wellington came to visit. Among the spirits are ghosts of children, old army sergeants, and an old manager of the Royal Arsenal.