Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana of London's W1 District
Woman on Staircase
Location: W1 - London Palladium, Argyll Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: A red staircase and the surrounding passageways towards the back of the building are haunted by a rarely seen woman moving silently between them.
Woman in Lace
Location: W1 - Marylebone Station, switch room on Platform 1
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa May / June 2000, 02:00h
Further Comments: While trying to sleep, a maintenance fitter saw a young woman hovering in front of him. The figure had a lacy top, and her face was blurred. The man ran from the room, and met a cleaner, who asked if he had seen the ghost of the woman who appears there.
Mary Janet Kelly
Location: W1 - Miller's Court, Dorset Street (street no longer present)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late nineteenth century
Further Comments: Mary's shade hung around the scene of her death for many months after Jack the Ripper attacked her; dressed in black, she would enter her house and gaze through the windows.
Major Henry Bradell
Location: W1 - Naval and Military Club, Piccadilly
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Killed in the Blitz, the Major is often seen smiling as he walks post-mortem through the club.
Angels
Location: W1 - Peckham Rye
Type: Other
Date / Time: 1760s
Further Comments: The artist William Blake experienced visions during his time here, including a tree filled with angels and angels walking towards him along the road.
Red Haired Woman
Location: W1 - Piccadilly, outside Fortnum & Mason
Type: Post-Mortem Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A journalist recalled the story of helping a wealthy socialite from a taxi in Piccadilly, only to discover a few hours later that the woman in question had died three days before the event.
Angry Figure
Location: W1 - Prince Edward theatre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2001
Further Comments: An actor reported seeing an angry looking figure glaring at them from the wings.
Murder
Location: W1 - Private flat along Old Burlington Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A bedroom in a flat along here is reportedly so haunted that no one has ever spent two nights in the room.
Blue Light
Location: W1 - Private flat, Wigmore Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Mid 1910s
Further Comments: A flat was supposed to be haunted by a blue light which moved from room to room and by a man who stood motionless by a staircase.
Electricity Problems
Location: W1 - Private property along Brendon Street
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 2002
Further Comments: This property was home to strange and erratic gas and power outages, an external door which would open by itself, and a low-toned voice which would talk in the kitchen.
Fleeting Vision
Location: W1 - Radio studio, Wogan House (was Western House)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2020s
Further Comments: Presenter Rylan Clark claimed his studio became home to an entity that could be felt by him and production staff, occasionally being glimpsed out of the corner of an eye.
Prisoners
Location: W1 - Rose and Crown public house, Old Park Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Once housed in the basement of this pub prior to hanging, the shades of those killed are still lurking here.
Faraday
Location: W1 - Royal Institution, Albemarle Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Home of the famous Christmas Lectures, Michael Faraday's spirit has been felt by several scientists while in the main lecture hall.
Actor or Highwayman?
Location: W1 - Sheppeys Restaurant, Shepherd Market
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This tall, dark stranger has often been observed standing in the shadows, his face obscured to make identification impossible, though it is speculated he is either a highwayman or a thespian.
Grey Lady
Location: W1 - St George's Hospital, Hyde Park Corner
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Mid to late 1960s
Further Comments: This phantom grey lady was thought to be a former nurse. While anyone could hear her footsteps echoing down corridors, she was said to only appear to the very ill, some of whom claimed to have spoken to her.
Praying Figure
Location: W1 - St Thomas' Church, Regent Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1921
Further Comments: The ghost of a previous rector has been seen several times either praying at the altar or walking down the aisle.
Kneeling Priest
Location: W1 - St Thomas's Church (no longer standing), Tenison Court
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1921
Further Comments: This phantom was observed praying before the altar, before silently moving off and vanishing.
German Officer
Location: W1 - The Langham Hotel, Room 333, Langham Place
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1973, 2014
Further Comments: BBC Workers staying in room 333 have been awoken at night to find a man dressed in uniform standing in their room - it is reportedly a German officer who killed himself by leaping from the room's window just prior to the start of World War 1. The upper floors of this building are haunted by a butler dressed smartly, carrying a tray. It has been speculated that he is not a butler, but an early radio presenter wearing a dinner jacket. The hotel hit the news again in July 2014 when tabloid newspapers reported that members of the England cricket team had experienced strange happenings.
Shelley
Location: W1 - The Serpentine, Hyde Park
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Post-1816
Further Comments: Harriet Westbrook Shelley drowned herself in this lake. Her ghost, as well as others who had also taken their lives in the waters, were said to occasionally walk the edge of the lake. One story has it that a ghostly hand once rose from the lake and was spotted by two women who continued to watch the apparition until it sank back into the water.
Housemaid
Location: W1 - Unidentified house in Hyde Park Place
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: June 1884
Further Comments: A lady in the house reported seeing a maid ascending the staircase, a mere two steps in front of her - the servant vanished once the guest reached the top.
Giant Black Bird
Location: W1 - Unknown house, Dean Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1860
Further Comments: Elliott O'Donnell wrote (albeit briefly) about a large, phantom black bird which appeared so frequently that the residents grew accustom to it.
Clock
Location: W1 - Upper Gloucester Place, Portman Square
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: Late nineteenth / early twentieth century
Further Comments: A house located in the square was haunted by a clock that chimed prior to a death in the family.
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