Whether you’re visiting the UK or have been a resident for years, the ghosts of the departed can be seen, or at the very least felt by anyone who reaches into the recessed shadows into another world. Those brave enough to wander the grounds of some of the United Kingdom’s most haunted locations will not be disappointed in their search for spirits. Berkshire’s Prospect Park is host to the ghost of a spectral woman who pushes a pram (old fashioned baby carriage) and navigates it well despite her lacking a head. And that’s just scratching the surface of what the Old World has in store for visitors
It may not be entirely uncommon to see a shadow-boxer training, especially not just before a big fight, but what patrons often report seeing at Rocky’s Nightclub in Birkenhead Wirral is often too bizarre to be believed. Several have reported seeing a spectral boxer made from shadow. The ghost is believed to be that of a man who died in his late 20’s while training for a boxing match at the club when it was a private boxing club. Locals have dubbed the paranormal pugilist “knocker” due to his tendency to knock objects around the bar. A few patrons even claim “knocker” has pushed them around. This activity eventually came to a head when the owner decided to summon an exorcist, but the building’s persistent ghost still knocks a few glasses around every now and again.
In England, the Barnsley District General Hospital Delany Hall is host to a number of patients who have never checked out. Where the hospital stands now, there was once an old maternity ward bearing the moniker St. Helens. Though no children are allowed in the infectious diseases ward due to the dangers of contamination, at all hours of the night staff have reported the sounds of haunting wailing emanating from unseen children. Then there’s Sally, a little girl who allegedly died in what is now the gynecology ward. She has been haunting the ward for years, ever since she could not be resuscitated, but she does take it upon herself to press on the stomach of anyone who enters the room where she passed. The ghosts of Barnsley are also said to manifest as shadows that slide along the walls of hallways, sometimes not bound by them. Also haunting the building are eerie noises that jolt visitors and staff awake in the wee hours of the night. The ghost of an elderly woman in a rocking chair is said to reside in the offices nearby, but she often greets those seeing her with a friendly smile.
Sheffield’s Stockbridge bypass, however, is quite possibly the most disturbing of these haunts, and has garnered itself a reputation as being one of the most haunted locations in Britain. And the ghosts of this location seem to have a much more malevolent intent to them. A teenager who had just received his driver’s license was driving down this road one October night when suddenly his headlights illuminated a little girl with her arms outstretched as though to grab for him. He swerved the car, and it hit a tree. Later, as he was filing a police report for his accident, he told them of the little girl. The police said it wasn’t uncommon at all for crashes around this area to be caused by a mysterious vanishing little girl. That’s when he learned the bizarre nature of Stockbridge pass. For years a little girl had appeared on the road, daring any car that approached her to run her over, but always sending drivers into the nearby trees or ditches. A security van had once been parked on the side of the road to investigate strange noises near the road, and suddenly the van was wracked by a banging sound on the roof. One of the guards leapt from the vehicle and spun around to check the right side of the van, but saw nothing. The guard in the left, however, could see a monk dressed in robes on the other side of the van punching the vehicle’s wall. When the police were told of this incident they too investigated, and they too were accosted by the menacing monk. Both police-men quit the force after the incident.
