In need of a pint after seeing a ghost in the Underground? Try a haunted pub!
Seems rather appropriate, it being Halloween and all, to give folks a few options tonight that go beyond the traditional trick-or-treat phenomenon where you can possibly cross paths with those that have yet to ‘cross-over’. Special thanks to London Paranormal which is where your Halloween tour begins. Kudos to London Paranormal, who have mapped out your tour below with their well-research and brilliant back story on a few tube stops that may be worth checking out tonight if you’re in the area. Need more than just haunted underground stations? Go to London Paranormal for the full list of pubs, haunted walks, underground stations, hotels, theatres and landmarks that you should check out.
The London Underground is now over 150 years old and stretches over 250 miles of track underneath the city of London. One of the greatest places to experience a bit of haunted London just might be right under your nose…or feet. According to London Paranormal, while the rail network was being built, there were countless bodies, graves and even plague pits discovered. Laying the groundwork and upping the ghost potential, there have been thousands of people who have died in and around the London Underground network. Deaths on the underground have been as a result of construction accidents, war time bomb blasts, acts of terrorism and, unfortunately, more often than not, suicides.
Where: Liverpool Street Underground Station. More specifically the eastbound central line platform.
Who: A man in white overalls standing on the platform as if waiting for a train.
When: In 2000 the man was spotted by Liverpool Street Station staff on CCTV after the station was closed to the public. A station worker went down to make sure that there was nobody on the platform, while being watched on CCTV. The station worker who watched his colleague conduct the search on CCTV saw that the man in white overalls was standing right next to his work mate, unbeknown to him. The colleague returned from the search saying he saw nothing. After the worker monitoring the CCTV told him what he saw, the searcher went back down to the platform and still saw nothing. As he was about to go back upstairs, he saw a pair of white paper overalls on a bench.
Why: Liverpool Street is built on mass burial site. When development work was carried out on the tube, around eight bodies per cubic meter were discovered in an area of the station.
Where: Kings Cross Underground Station
Who: A modern young woman with long brown hair wearing jeans and a t-shirt. The woman is heard screaming and crying, with her arms outstretched. However when passers by come to comfort her, she disappears
When: in 1998 a man spotted the distressed lady and went to comfort her. On approaching her, he said he passed through her. Since then others have reported spotting the distressed girl whilst others have reported smelling smoke in the underground tunnels in the spot where the girl was first seen.
Why: in 1987 there was a horrific and devastating fire in the Kings Cross underground that killed 31 people. It is possible that the young lady was one of the victims who tried to escape from the fire.
Where: Bethnal Green Station, mostly around the ticket hall area.
Who: The sounds of women and children crying and screaming
When: Heard on several occasions by the public and station staff.
Why: During World War II, Bethnal Green Tube station was one of the few stations that were the obvious choice for shelter when air raids were being carried out. The station has 5,000 bunks and at times it can hold 7,000 people. The station saved many lives during the Blitz; however, it also became the site of one of the worst civilian disasters of the war. 173 people died in a crush (126 women and children) at the station during an air raid test in the Second World War. On hearing air raid sirens, people rushed into the station. As somebody tripped on the stairs into the underground, people began to panic and a crush began to happen.
Once you’re done with the Underground, I’m guessing you might be in need of a pint. Why not check out The Grenadier in Wilton Mews, long considered London’s most haunted pub, if you’re in the neighborhood. Still in need of another pint or two? Check out these other haunted options before you head home. Me? I’m going to either The Lamb & Flag (it may not be haunted but it was known as the Bucket of Blood in the 1800’s), the Blind Beggar (totally due to its association with the Kray Brothers) in Whitechapel or Ten Bells, in Spitalfields, partly for its Jack the Ripper ties and, partly, because I really like this pub AND its Dallas counterpart, Ten Bells Tavern.
In: Locations
