As a skeptic, I’m not prepared to believe in ghosts until I get some scientific proof that they exist. Or I meet one myself. Nevertheless, I do like a good ghost story, so I thought I’d do a round-up of haunted places you can visit in Britain, which specialises in this kind of thing.
I was inspired by this article in The Scotsman detailing “six Edinburgh pubs you didn’t know were haunted”.
They include the brilliantly named Banshee Labyrinth, the Toolbooth Tavern and Whistlebinkies Live Music Bar. The story has stories and addresses about them and the other three.
According to The Drinks Business, the ghosts of the demon barber Sweeney Todd and highwayman Dick Turpin remain active at their old drinking haunts (get it?) — The Old Bank of England in London’s Fleet Street and the Ostrich Inn in Colnbrook, near Slough respectively.
The Viaduct Tavern, Holborn, London is opposite to the Old Bailey courts and was a former remand prison, so it’s obviously haunted by some of the old lags, who once tried to lock the landlord in one of the old cells.
Nobody knows who’s haunting The Grenadier in Belgravia, even though King George IV used to drink there. The Old Queen’s Head in Islington is said to have been frequented by Sir Walter Raliegh. These days it boasts a karaoke bar, so that’s probably where all the shrill noises are coming from.
Of course, there are many others. If you want to see a selection of historic and haunted venues, pub owners Taylor and Walker have an app here.
