If I asked you to name “the most haunted house in London”, you probably wouldn’t pick Berkeley Square as your location. Yet for almost a century, No. 50. Berkeley Square had quite the supernatural reputation. It’s part of the Grosvenor Estate in Mayfair, built in the mid-18th century by architect William Kent. Famous residents of […]
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Two London Ghosts and Messages from Beyond the Grave
There’s a particular branch of ghost stories that sees the dead appear to warn the living of their own impending death. They act as a form of death omen. It’s not the same as those ghosts of the living that appear to family at the point of their death. These ghosts appear to offer help […]
Glastonbury Tor: The Ancient Entrance to the Fairy Otherworld
When it comes to hills and mountains in the British Isles, perhaps one hill feels more mystical than many others…and that’s Glastonbury Tor. Standing some 158 m high, it’s said to be a fairy hill, one of those curiously hollow hills in which fairies made them home. Not just any fairies lived inside Glastonbury Tor […]
The Folklore of the Cheviots: Ghosts, Fairies & Smugglers
There’s something both primal and ancient about mountains. Beautiful and remote, they can provide a harsh and unforgiving environment for those who venture into their territory. Sometimes linked with sleeping giants, mountains are also a reminder of the Earth’s formation, with rock contorted into fantastic shapes by immense geological pressures. We’re heading into Folklore of […]
Haunted Libraries: Footsteps and Shushes in the Stacks
If you’re anything like me, the idea of haunted libraries will conjure up the opening scene of Ghostbusters (1984). Our heroes investigate disturbances at the New York Public Library and encounter a ghost that tells them to shush. Surprisingly, this doesn’t seem to be so far off the mark if we look at tales of […]
Haunted Prisons: Ghosts of Joliet, Shepton Mallet, and Barlinnie
While schools and universities boast urban legends alongside ghosts, prisons tend to be more like hospitals. You find tales of hauntings, but little in the way of folklore. It’s probably due to the concentration of human life in one place – and the brutality that runs alongside it. Haunted prisons somehow don’t seem so surprising. […]