As the veil between the living and the dead grows thin on All Hallows’ Eve, many seek out thrilling experiences in the most haunted houses of London. Prepare to be both captivated and petrified as we delve into the secrets and spooks that reside within these eerie abodes. Compare My Move has put a report together on the 5 most haunted properties in London. From friendly ghosts who just like a pint, to unexplainable entities that are known to scare people to death, all of these properties have the grounds to call themselves the most haunted in London…
1. 50 Berkeley Square
50 Berekely Square is a townhouse in Mayfair London, built in 1740 and home to the former Prime Minister, George Canning, the house is known as the most haunted in London, and the house has supposedly taken over 4 lives in the course of the 19th century. The house has had many reports of supernatural goings on, but the most famous and most accounted paranormal activity was in the form of “The Nameless Horror of Berkeley Square”.
The house already had a reputation for the paranormal before the first sighting of the Nameless Horror. In 1840, a student known as Robert Warboys was drinking in a nearby tavern, and after hearing stories about 50 Berkeley Square, wanted to spend the night. The landlord of the property reluctantly agreed for him to sleep in the upstairs room, however, there were two rules, Robert must be armed at all times, and if he saw anything strange he must pull the cord next to the bed and alert the landlord. An hour passed before the landlord heard frantic ringing, followed by a single gunshot. The landlord got to the room and found Warboys sitting in the corner, incomprehensible, with an empty pistol. There was nothing else in the room. In his state, Warboys could not explain what had happened and quickly ran out into the London streets.
30 years later, former MP Lord George Lyttleton had an obsession with the paranormal and decided that he was going to spend a night in 50 Berkeley Square and explain what was going on. It wasn’t long into the night when Lyttleton was awoken by a strange noise coming from a dark corner of the room. He reached for a hunting rifle he had brought and the sound stopped, a disgusting brown mass of tentacles jumped out of the darkness toward Lyttleton, causing him to shoot his rifle. After reloading, the creature was gone. However, a sludgy residue remained.
Six years later, 50 Berkeley Square had a new owner, and the owner employed a local girl as a maid for the house. It was agreed that her husband-to-be could live with, a naval captain by the name of Kentfield. As the maid was getting the upstairs bedroom ready for her and Kentfield, the house was filled with screaming. The owner found the maid on the floor, shrieking and pointing at the corner of the room. She was repeating “Don’t let it touch me” and was committed to a hospital that day. Kentfield stayed the same night in the upstairs bedroom, through the night a shout and a single gunshot were heard. The owners awoke to find Kenfield’s body in the centre of the room, having apparently committed suicide, it was later found out that the maid passed away the same night.
On Christmas Eve in 1887, two sailors named Robert Martin and Edward Blunden were in the city for the holidays. They couldn’t find a place to stay, so they decided to sleep in the abandoned 50 Berkeley Square. Since the lower levels were damaged, they chose to spend the night upstairs. During the night, Blunden woke up and saw a shapeless figure approaching Martin while leaving a slime trail behind. Blunden grabbed a poker and tried to attack the creature, but it jumped at him and wrapped itself around his face and neck. Martin witnessed tentacles tightly wrapped around Blunden before he ran out of the house to get help from a nearby policeman. When they returned, they found Blunden dead, pierced by the fence spikes below the window where he had fallen.
2. Langham Hotel
The Langham Hotel is a beautiful building near the BBC studios in Marylebone, London. It was built between 1863 and 1865 and was the largest and most modern hotel in the city at that time. It had the first hydraulic lifts in England. The Langham Hotel is famous for being one of the most haunted hotels in the world, with many ghosts haunting its halls and teasing the guests.
The most popular haunted room in the Langham Hotel is room 333. Three different ghosts have haunted three different guests in that room. One of the ghosts is a German Prince who died by jumping from a fourth-floor window of the hotel. He is one of the most active ghosts in the hotel and seems to prefer room 333. BBC announcer Ray Moore is one of the many people who have reported seeing the ghost, and he describes the ghost as wearing a military jacket.
Another BBC announcer had a particularly frightening run-in with a ghost in room 333. James Gordon was staying in the room in 1973, where he awoke to a fluorescent sphere in his room, that turned into the figure of a silver-haired gentleman. This man was reportedly a guest who had taken his own life in the hotel after killing his new wife on their honeymoon. Politely, Gordon asked the figure’s identity, the figure started floating toward him with his arms out and a blank stare. Gordon ran out of the room and came back with a member of staff, to their surprise, they came back to see the ghost standing over the bed in which Gordon was sleeping. A third paranormal incident that happened in room 333 was more physical, in which one guest was sleeping, and was awoken by a figure tipping them out of bed. After the guest realised what had happened, they ran out of the hotel and onto the London streets in the morning hours.
Unlike some haunted properties, the ghost stories of the Langham Hotel don’t only come from the past, one of the most current hauntings happened in 2014 and was reported by England cricket legend Stuart Broad. Broad awoke in his hotel room as it was unexplainably hot, and as he awoke he heard the taps in the bathroom come on. Broad went to investigate, he turned on the bathroom light and as he did so, the taps stopped. He turned the lights back off, and sure enough the taps would come on again. After trying this a few more times, and seeing the same results, he requested that he and his partner be moved to a different room.
3. The Ten Bells Pub
The Ten Bells Pub is famous in London for its connection to Jack the Ripper, as it is reported that at least two of the victims of Jack the Ripper frequented this pub before they met their untimely deaths. The pub, which opened in 1752, has been reported to be haunted by 3 different ghosts, all of which have history linked to them and have made their presence known in different ways.
The first ghost, and one that has been seen by many staff at the pub over the years, is one of a Victorian-era man. Since the 1990s, the upper floor of the pub has been reserved as a living quarter for staff, and there have been multiple reports of the Victorian-era man climbing into bed with the staff while they are sleeping. When the staff open their eyes, they see the man lying next to them, he grins his blackened teeth and disappears.
The Ten Bells Pub is famous for its haunted stories. One ghost is believed to be George Roberts, a former landlord who was murdered in a cinema in Swansea in the early 1900s. Another ghost is the crying baby, whose distressing cries can be heard throughout the pub. It is said that something terrible happened to a baby in the 19th century in one of the pub’s rooms. The most well-known ghost is Annie Chapman, the second victim of Jack the Ripper. Her ghost is often seen sitting at the bar, and she is known for causing mischief like making things disappear, breaking glasses, and even pushing people downstairs.
4. Hampton Court Palace
Hampton Court Palace in Greater London is a historically significant place in the English monarchy. It was built by Cardinal Wolsey in the 16th century and later became the residence of King Henry VIII. The palace is known for its apparitions, including two of Henry VIII’s wives and possibly the King himself.
One of the haunting figures is Jane Seymour, Henry VIII’s third wife. She died after giving birth to their son and is often seen as a sorrowful white ghost carrying a candle. She is most frequently spotted on the Silverstick Stairs, which led to the room where she gave birth and later died.
Another haunting presence is Henry VIII’s fifth wife, Catherine Howard. She was beheaded at the Tower of London after being accused of adultery. Catherine was arrested at Hampton Court and tried to seek mercy from Henry, but she was unsuccessful. Her ghost is said to run down the haunted gallery, screaming and banging on the door, causing people to faint.
As well as his wives, the ghost of Henry VIII is also reported to roam the palace, and his ghost also appeared on CCTV footage in 2003, in what is one of the clearest apparitions caught on camera. The figure that appeared in Tudor’s clothing was large and pushed open the courtyard doors with power. The day before this CCTV footage, guards documented seeing the doors swing open in the exact same way on their own, and with no explanation behind it. The day after this occurrence, the doors would fly open in the same way, but much like the first day, there was no cause for it. Aside from the security tape, a visitor also reported a large figure near the same doors.
5. The Viaduct Tavern
The Viaduct Tavern is an old and haunted gin palace. It was built between 1872 and 1875 and is named after the nearby Holburn Viaduct. This tavern is located between two historically significant places. Across the road, there used to be Newgate Prison, which was demolished in 1777. From the tavern, you can see the fountain where public hangings took place. Next to the tavern was the Gilster Compter, a debtor’s prison that operated from 1791 to 1853. The tavern’s cellar still has the cells from the prison.
The most famous ghost at the Viaduct Tavern is called “Fred“. Fred is mischievous but friendly. He likes to finish people’s drinks when they’re not looking, turn on the hand dryers in the bathroom, and tap people on the shoulder. Many reports of Fred have been made, but the staff assures customers that he’s a friendly ghost.
The most chilling encounter would come in the cellar, where the Compter cells are located. The landlord was working down there and was in one of the cells when the door slammed shut, the lights went out, and he heard a voice whisper “There’s just two of us down here now.” The landlord tried to open the door but it was too heavy to open, thankfully for him, his wife heard his cries for help and came down to the cellar – she was able to open the door from the outside with ease. Many believe that the Viaduct Tavern is haunted by the ghosts of those who met their end hanging across the street, and even the friendly Fred could have been an executed criminal.
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