The 50 most haunted places to visit in Britain
Every town, village, and city across the UK, every street, every shop, every corner seems to have a ghost. Medieval monks, Viking warriors, Roman legions, Victorian paupers, and Jacobean dandies: name it, and you can almost guarantee someone has experienced it.
“Ghost stories come from our basic desires: excitement, scandal, and community,” explains Dr Kate Cherrell, a writer and paranormal historian. “Our wants and needs have never changed. Ghosts tap into our fear of death, then we extrapolate to what’s happening at the time; from financial issues, to political and religious unrest.”
Ghosts are a kind of cultural metaphor which we mould to fit our own ends, but they’re also a link to the past. “The ghosts that capture our imagination are in these places which offer a tangible link to history – castles, stately homes, churches and the like,” Dr Cherrell says. “They can teach us about history and they also link us to our ancestors and our collective story.”
Of course, there’s also fear. The desire to be spooked runs deep. As cavemen, we were primed to respond to fear, ready to fire adrenaline if we encountered predators. Modern life doesn’t often offer such thrills, so we seek frights elsewhere.
“It’s the same thing that draws people to true crime,” says Dr Cherrell. “You’re looking for fear without active danger. We’re seeking that rush of adrenaline, the endorphins, but in a controlled way.”
In short, we get a lot out of ghosts: spiked endorphins, the chance to learn some history, access to interesting locations, and perhaps a hand to hold when you get scared. Everything a person could need: excitement, scandal, and community.
With that in mind, we’ve rounded up 50 of the most haunted places in Britain for you to explore this spooky season.
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Midlands
High Peak Estate, Derbyshire
The most famous ghost story of High Peak is about a young couple, Clara and Alan, who in the mid-1700s got married at a chapel in the Peak Forest. Ambushed by highwaymen on their journey home, the couple were pushed off the cliffs at Winnats Pass. Locals report hearing their pleas for mercy coming from the Pass. Winnats Pass, Castleton, Hope Valley S33 8WA
A15 Ruskington turn-off, Lincolnshire
Following an ancient Roman road, there’s a cavalcade of incorporeal commuters on the A15. Spectral horses, phantom cyclists, revenant hitchhikers, even a spooky girl who stands beside the road. Then there’s the “Ruskington Horror”, a mysterious figure who runs out into the road before cars turn off for the village of the same name. Lincoln Road, Leasingham, Sleaford NG34 8WA
Cannock Chase, Staffordshire
Visitors to this 26 square-mile former royal hunting estate have reported everything from black dogs to werewolves, aliens, British big cats, and even a bigfoot. The most persistently recorded sighting is the presence of pale children with black eyes who haunt the forest.
Cannock Chase Forest Centre, Birches Valley, Rugeley WS15 2UQ
The Nag’s Head, Shropshire
A haunted painting attracts paranormal enthusiasts to this 17th-century coaching inn in the village of Pontesbury. The image, painted on the back wall of an upstairs bedroom cupboard depicts a spooky figure holding a pitchfork. All who look upon it are cursed with misfortune.
2 Main Rd, Pontesbury, Shrewsbury SY5 0QD
Coughton Court, Warwickshire
Once the home of Robert Catesby, one of the founding members of the Gunpowder Plot. By some miracle, his family avoided persecution and the house survived. Visitors sometimes see a figure in a yellow dress in the local churchyard then encounter the same woman in the house: a portrait of Lady Lucy Throckmorton painted around 1700.
Coughton, Alcester B49 5JA
London
The Viaduct Tavern, The City
Built above the old Newgate prison, staff and visitors to this pub claim to experience poltergeist activity with objects thrown and people grabbed. Some staff fear going down into the cellar (converted from the former prison’s cells) at closing time for fear of being locked inside.
126 Newgate St, London EC1A 7AA
The Grenadier, Belgravia
The grenadier who lent his title to the pub was a young soldier named Cedric. Caught cheating at cards, he was beaten to death by local mobsters and has stayed trapped in the pub ever since. Some visitors hang money from the pub’s ceiling, trying to pay Cedric’s debt.
18 Wilton Row, London SW1X 7NR
Theatre Royal Drury Lane, West End
Allegedly the world’s most haunted theatre, even in death thespians keep coming back. The Regency-era comic Joseph Grimaldi and pantomime star Dan Leno supposedly haunt the actors’ dressing rooms and a chap in a tricorn hat and riding cloak is sometimes spotted watching from the Grand Circle.
Catherine St, London WC2B 5JF
Sutton House, Hackney
In the 1990s an architecture student staying in the house woke to find a lady dressed in blue floating over his bed. Guide dogs have been known to panic or stop dead in their tracks in certain rooms, while housekeepers have felt hair brushing up against their hands. Could they be spirits of the dogs owned by 16th-century resident, wool merchant John Machell?
Sutton House, 2 and 4 Homerton High St, London E9 6JQ
The Spaniards Inn, Hampstead
Built in 1595, this Grade II listed pub near Hampstead Heath is one of London’s oldest pubs with visitors including Bram Stoker, Charles Dickens and Lord Byron. It continues to be the haunt of highwayman Dick Turpin who has been seen riding his horse outside.
Spaniards Rd, London NW3 7JJ
Wales
Llanerchaeron, Ceredigion
People report smelling ghosts before seeing them. Specifically, their cooking: sausages and bacon in the kitchen, or the smell of pipe smoke in the servant’s corridor, accompanied by the rapping of a walking stick. The latter could be the ghost of Ponsonby Lewes who lived in the house in 1940.
Llanerchaeron, A482, Ciliau Aeron, Lampeter SA48 8DG
Nannau Hall, Gwynedd
In 1402, Welsh commander Owain Glyndwr came to Nannau Hall to see his cousin, Hywel Sele. The two quarrelled and Sele disappeared, only to return as a ghost. Forty years later, a huge oak tree was split by lightning and Sele’s body was found within. Sele continued to haunt the estate until the tree fell in 1813 when the body was extracted and laid to rest.
Nannau, Dolgellau, LL40 2NG
Castle Hotel, Conwy
Haunted by the ghost of a chambermaid who, knowing that she was days from dying, asked her employer to send her body back to Anglesey. The landlord reneged on his promise however, and since then her ghost has wandered the halls. Some guests also report her phantom cat, climbing across their beds.
High St, Conwy LL32 8DB
The Old Rectory in Rhossili, Gower
The only property on the picturesque Rhossili Bay with stunning views across the Atlantic, the Old Rectory is a sought-after holiday let. However, some guests have reported random drops in temperature and a gruff voice behind them, asking “why don’t you turn around and look at me?” When they do, there’s no one to be seen.
Rhossili, West Gower, Swansea SA3 1PL
Ruthin Castle, Ruthin
Ruthin castle was owned by the de Grey family in the middle ages. Lady Grey allegedly found her husband abed with a younger woman and decapitated them both. She was, in turn, beheaded herself but continues to haunt the battlements.
Castle St, Ruthin LL15 2NU
Scotland
Provan Hall, Glasgow
This hall in Glasgow which once played host to kings and nobles is said to have a lot of ghosts haunting its walls. There’s a 19th-century man with a dagger who came home from years at war to find his wife had a baby and slayed them both. Reston Mather, the last private owner of the house, is sometimes seen with a black bowler hat and white beard.
85 Auchinlea Rd, Glasgow G34 9PQ
Mary King’s Close, Edinburgh
Buried under the Royal Mile, this street has a long history of ghost sightings. There’s a plague-ridden girl, a 17th-century occultist found guilty of witchcraft, and a former resident who implores people to “get out.” One explanation could be the proximity to Nor Loch. Experts posit marsh gases escaping from the now filled-in loch could cause hallucinations.
2 Warriston’s Cl, Edinburgh EH1 1PG
The Necropolis, Glasgow
With 50,000 residents, it’s no surprise that Glasgow Necropolis has ghosts, including its own lady in white. But another supernatural creature put this cemetery on the map. In 1954, police were called to disperse hundreds of schoolchildren gathering in the necropolis armed with stakes and knives, to dispose of a “vampire with iron teeth”. The mass delusion was blamed on American comic books but folklore of the “Gorbals Vampire” persists.
Castle St, Glasgow G4 0UZ
Cawdor Castle, The Highlands
Theatre enthusiasts will remember the fate of Lady Macbeth, wife of the Thane of Cawdor, who went mad after killing the king, convinced a spot of blood remained on her hands. That may explain the “handless woman” who haunts Cawdor Castle. Perhaps in death, Lady Macbeth finally escaped the source of her madness.
B9090, Cawdor, Nairn IV12 5RD
Fyvie Castle, Aberdeenshire
Chief among Fyvie’s ghosts is the Grey Lady, thought to be the ghost of Lady Medrum, a 13th-century noble buried behind the walls in the castle. When the room was discovered in 1920, hauntings began. There’s also the Green Lady, Dame Lilias Drummond who gave birth to five daughters but died heartbroken when her husband, craving a son, abandoned her.
Fyvie, Turriff AB53 8JS
Northern Ireland
Crumlin Road Gaol, Belfast
Now a whiskey distillery, Crumlin Road Gaol was once a Victorian prison whose inmates still stalk the halls. Visitors hear voices calling for aid, doors slam shut seemingly by themselves. An inmate has been seen wandering down the halls, disappearing when approached.
53-55 Crumlin Rd, Belfast BT14 6ST
Newcastle Harbour, County Down
On 13 January 1843, 14 fishing boats were caught by a storm in the waters of the seaside village of Newcastle. Seventy-three men died. Since then, the town has been visited by a Banshee, a wailing Irish portent of death mourns with the victims’ families. Another ghost is seen at nearby Bogey Hill, looking out to sea, waiting for a lost love who’ll never return.
Newcastle BT33 0AH
North West
The Pied Bull Pub, Chester
In the 17th-century, John Davies tripped and fell down the stairs with a knife in hand. Visitors have seen Davies after developing pictures taken within the pub, and spotted him relaxing in the resident’s lounge with a book. Staff say he’s particularly active in the cellar where people feel blasts of cold air.
57 Northgate St, Chester CH1 2HQ
Ordsall Hall, Salford
Once a visiting place of Guy Fawkes, there are lots of ghosts at Ordsall Hall. There’s Margaret Radclyffe, who died broken-hearted in 1599 after her brother died. There’s Cecily, a young girl who smells of roses and appears to children. Finally, there’s John Radclyffe, an amorous ghost who touches the bottoms of women when they visit the Star Chamber.
322 Ordsall Ln, Salford M5 3AN
Rufford Old Hall, Lancashire
This Tudor mansion which may have been visited by a young Shakespeare has several ghosts: Elizabeth Hesketh, who died after her husband was called to war; a man in Elizabethan dress by the fireplace, and oddly, Queen Elizabeth I. The latter disappears before she can be asked: “why have you chosen to haunt somewhere you never visited in life?”
200 Liverpool Rd, Rufford, Ormskirk L40 1SG
Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Blackpool
Allegedly an old operator who died still hangs around the ghost train. “Cloggy” is known for wearing clogs and his footsteps can still be heard in quiet corners. The Pleasure Beach dates back to 1896 and has ghosts including a girl who haunts the gift shop and a phantom hangman.
525 Ocean Blvd, Blackpool FY4 1EZ
Kirkstone Pass, Cumbria
Several ghosts allegedly haunt this windy pass, including a boy mown down by a coach and various spectral hikers. The most famous story is of Ruth Ray, who got lost in the snow while hiking to visit her ailing father. She died, but the baby she was carrying was found alive and taken to safety. Since then Ruth continues looking for her child.
Pass Inn, Ambleside LA22 9LQ
Samlesbury Hall, Lancashire
A ghost-hunters paradise with thirteen regularly-spotted ghosts. The best known is Catholic Lady Dorothea Southworth who had planned to elope with Protestant Richard de Hoghton (whose nearby stately home, Hoghton Tower, is also haunted.) Southworth’s brother put a stop to this plan by murdering de Houghton as his sister looked on.
Preston New Rd, Samlesbury, Preston PR5 0UP
North East
The Lit & Phil Library, Newcastle
Spectres supposedly enjoy peering out from behind bookshelves to spook unsuspecting visitors to the Literary And Philosophical Society of Newcastle, and heavy doors sometimes open themselves. In the basement, staff have felt ghostly hands touching them, they claim.
23 Westgate Rd, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 1SE
Chillingham Castle, Northumberland
A 13th-century castle whose grounds were once the last outpost of the British Roman world has many revenants within its walls. There’s a blue boy who appears in an upstairs fireplace, and Lady Mary Berkeley accompanied by the smell of flowers. In 2021, a Telegraph journalist stayed the night and reported a loud tapping at his third-storey window at 2am.
Chillingham, Alnwick NE66 5NJ
30 East Drive, Pontefract
This unassuming 1950s terrace is home to “Fred”, the Black Monk, a violent poltergeist who first appeared to the Pritchard family in the 1960s. At first he’d simply make dust appear, but soon he was dragging people around by their hair, trashing rooms, and throwing objects. You can stay the night now, and guests regularly experience spooky happenings.
30 East Dr, Pontefract WF8 2AN
Whitby Abbey, North Yorkshire
Inspiring a section of Dracula, Whitby Abbey has ghosts as well as vampires. Some say they see the spectre of St Hilda peering from upstairs windows. Others recount hearing the wails of Constance de Beverley, a disgraced nun who slept with a handsome knight and was punished by being bricked up inside the abbey’s walls.
Abbey Ln, Whitby YO22 4JT
The Shambles, York
York residents have seen everything from Roman soldiers to a headless horseman to King James VI’s lover, George Villiers. The historic Golden Fleece Inn near the Shambles has seen all of the above, plus Victorian children, a WWII Canadian airman throwing himself from an upper window, and a 16-17th-century redcoat propping up the bar.
Shambles, York YO1 7LZ
East
The Adam and Eve, Norwich
Known as “Sam”, the ghost inhabiting this 800-year-old Norwich pub taps people on the shoulder, or runs fingers through their hair. The ghost is thought to be that of Lord Edmund Sheffield who led the king’s forces against rebels in 1549. Dying of his wounds, Sheffield was carried to the inn and never left.
17 Bishopgate, Norwich NR3 1RZ
Castle Rising, Norfolk
Isabella the Fair, wife of Edward II, supposedly haunts the 900-year-old castle. Her husband’s eye was more drawn to his male “favourites” so Isabella and her lover overthrew him, and put Edward III on the throne. Wary of his mother’s influence, the new king locked her up in Castle Rising where her manic laughter and mad screams can still be heard.
Lynn Rd, King’s Lynn PE31 6AH
The Sun Inn, Dedham, Essex
One of the rooms, Elsa, is said to be haunted by its namesake, the last woman in Essex found guilty of “witchcraft” and former staff member. She is heard walking the corridors and weeping by night, but at noon when she sometimes appears in the room named for her.
High St, Dedham, Colchester CO7 6DF
Holy Trinity Blythburgh, Suffolk
Black Shuck, a jet black hellhound the size of a horse appears around the East of England as a portent of doom. A 16th-century record describes his appearance in a church in the village of Bungay, killing locals, before reappearing at Holy Trinity church in Blythburgh, attacking more. Visitors can still see its claw marks on the church doors.
Church Ln, Blythburgh, Halesworth IP19 9LP
Moyse’s Hall, Bury St Edmunds
Feel around you for the wisps of ghostly cats which rise from the mummified remains of felines owned by witches. There are shrieks from William Corder, a farmer who stabbed and shot his lover, Maria, then buried her in a shallow grave in his barn in 1827.
Cornhill, Bury St Edmunds, Bury Saint Edmunds IP33 1DX
South East
Claydon House, Buckinghamshire
Once home to the heroic Sir Edmund Verney, King Charles I’s standard bearer. After the noble died at the Battle Of Edgehill in 1642, his standard was returned home with Verney’s hand still attached. Since the standard was interred in the family vault, Verney has haunted the first floor of Claydon House looking distraught, perhaps at losing the rest of his body.
Middle Claydon, Buckingham MK18 2EY
Dover Castle, Dover
During the Napoleonic wars, when Dover Castle was an important defence against the French, assailants supposedly broke into the keep and decapitated a drummer boy who came across them. His ghost still walks the walls without a head. Visitors also sometimes hear the shades of World War II personnel in the underground tunnels too.
Castle Hill Rd., Dover CT16 1HU
The Stag Inn, Hastings
Publicans at the Stag Inn made the grisly discovery of two dead cats within the walls: an idea from folklore that, by sealing a cat within the walls, its spirit would attach itself to the building and care for the inhabitants. The cats are still displayed behind the bar now. There is also supposedly the ghost of a murdered Dutch sea captain in the cellar.
14 All Saints’ St, Hastings TN34 3BJ
Pluckley, Kent
Often described as Britain’s most haunted village, there are phantom coaches and horsemen, a spectre of the highwayman hiding in a tree, the hanging body of a schoolmaster, The Lady of Rose Court who is said to have poisoned herself in despair over a love triangle and plenty more. The local Dering Woods are sometimes known as the “Screaming Woods” for the spooky noises coming from within.
The Street, Pluckley, Ashford TN27 0QS
Michelham Priory, East Sussex
An Augustinian priory which, following the dissolution of the monasteries became a private estate. There are loads of ghosts here, from the Grey Lady who stares at sleeping guests, a young kitchen boy, a black hooded monk in the undercroft, and many others. Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset, bought the house in 1601 and is said to still haunt its walls.
Michelham Priory, Upper Dicker, Hailsham BN27 3QS
The Ostrich Inn, Buckinghamshire
In the 16th-century, the Ostrich’s landlord would lure in wealthy travellers and put them in a special bed which tipped the unsuspecting guests into a vat of boiling water. Modern visitors and staff sometimes see ghostly figures at the bar, hear footsteps, or get a falling sensation.
High St, Colnbrook, Slough SL3 0JZ
South West
The Pilchard Inn, Devon
First opened in 1336, this drinking den was a popular hangout for smugglers and privateers. One infamous character was Tom Crocker, a pirate who was eventually hanged for his crimes. Visitors claim to see Crocker wandering the halls, hunting for his lost treasure.
Burgh Island, Bigbury-on-Sea, Kingsbridge TQ7 4BG
Sudeley Castle, Gloucestershire
Dowager Queen Catherine Parr, Henry VIII’s final wife, died at Sudeley Castle in childbirth after remarrying to her former love-interest, Thomas Seymour. She is believed to still roam the halls and castle grounds searching for her daughter who died around the age of two.
Winchcombe, Cheltenham GL54 5JD
Odeon Cinema, Bristol
In 1946 a full house was watching Rudyard Kipling’s “The Light That Failed”. Disguised by the sound of the film, they did not hear the cinema manager, 32-year-old Robert Parrington Jackson, being shot in the office next door. The murderer was never caught and Jackson’s ghost has been seen around Screen 3, next to where the manager’s office was located.
Union St, Bristol BS1 2DS
The Nothe Fort, Weymouth
When the Nothe fort was built in 1872, it served to protect Portland Harbour, an important Royal Navy base. One unlucky Victorian soldier went to spend a penny off the walls, tripped, and fell. His corpse was found beneath the fort, trousers still undone. His spirit is said to roam the fort, evidenced by cheery whistling.
Barrack Rd, Weymouth DT4 8UF
The Jamaica Inn, Cornwall
Phantom horses are sometimes heard outside, a man in a tricorn hat is seen stalking the halls, and guests sometimes hear voices speaking in the old Cornish language. The inn has ghost experts who compare every sighting to the inn’s real life history to ensure that the recording of ghosts is as scientific as possible.
Altarnun, Launceston PL15 7TS
The Ancient Ram Inn, Gloucestershire
Built on an ancient pagan burial site, the Ancient Ram Inn in the village of Wotton-under-Edge is regarded as among England’s most haunted buildings. No longer a pub, the building has been given over entirely to ghost hunts. Plenty have been spotted from a condemned witch casting dark spells to the spirit of a murdered woman rising from beneath the bar.
Potters Pond, Wotton-under-Edge GL12 7HF
