Liverpool is best-known throughout the UK – and the rest of the world for that matter – for its football team, Liverpool FC.
The city is also famous for its Cavern Club where the Beatles, the biggest music band to ever come out of the UK, played regularly. But, a lesser known side of Liverpool has made it notorious since The Middle Ages. It is paranormal activity.
Tales of haunting and ghost sightings plague its cemeteries, buildings and streets. And hundreds of years later, they still refuse to go away. Are they old-wives tales or is there more to them? Let’s look at the top five haunted locations in Liverpool to find out.
1. Penny Lane
Before the Beatles immortalised Penny Lane in a song, the street was already famous for being sinister. With a reputation going as far back as The Middle Ages, its reputation as being the most haunted street in the UK is well-deserved. And disturbingly, its paranormal residents are aggressive. They stir up a continuous racket that keeps residents up at night. A little blonde phantom girl also stares at passers-by while she plays with her hair.
2. St James’ Cemetery
This sunken cemetery, which lies next to the biggest cathedral in Europe, contains close to 60,000 graves dating from the Victorian era. With this many graves, it comes as no surprise that the cemetery has many notable ghosts. One of them is William Huskisson MP, who was interred in 1830 after being the first person in history to be run over by a train. The other is a vampire-like spirit first sighted in 1960.
3. Britannia Adelphi Hotel
The Adelphi has been famous for its spectres since its construction in 1826. The first hotel proved to be so popular that it was demolished to pave way for the larger one, which stands to this day. Today, the property is among the most popular Liverpool hotels and paranormal buffs flood it to book a stay and find out how it feels to spend a night in a haunted hotel.
They are keen to learn more about two famous Adelphi residents. The first is Raymond, the page boy who died after an accident in the baggage lift, and who still helps guests with their luggage. The second is George, a smartly dressed guest who committed suicide here, and who enjoys shouting at people from a window.
4. Speke Hall
Speke Hall, a Tudor mansion built in the 16th Century, is known for its many ghosts. The deeply religious and catholic Norris family lived here until Edward, the patriarch, drove them to bankruptcy as a result of his alcoholism. In despair, his wife Mary killed her son before committing suicide. To this day, she glides through the mansion. A catholic priest, one from the era of Cromwell and another from the 1930s, a werewolf, and a Victorian gardener also live here. The creepiest one is probably the laughing cavalier who calls himself “Mr Pobjoy.”
5. Blood Acre
No one knows where this piece of scrubland, located next to All Saint’s Church in Childwall, got its chilling name from. Local legends claim that the Liverpool Council decided never to build on the vacant lot for fear being cursed. By whom, is not clear, but the ghost populating the place might be the answer. Or, maybe it is the coloured orbs that float around at night, or the so-called “Angel of Death” who appeared just before the beginning of the first and second World Wars.
Liverpool’s ghosts draw a large number of ghost hunters to the city, and with good reason. They haunt places like Penny Lane, St James Cemetery, Britannia Adelphi Hotel, Speke Hall and Blood Acre.