Manchester’s most haunted: the paranormal sightings reported at city pubs, prisons and stately homes

With Halloween on the horizon, researchers have combed a paranormal database and named Manchester’s ghostly hotspots, according to reports from the public.
By The Newsroom
Published 29th Oct 2021, 14:27 GMT
Updated 29th Oct 2021, 14:55 GMT
Ordsall Hall Credit: ShutterstockOrdsall Hall Credit: Shutterstock
Ordsall Hall Credit: Shutterstock

As Halloween approaches a new paranormal activity study examining spooky sightings has claimed Manchester is one of the most haunted places in the UK.

The caravan rental platform PaulCamper conducted the study by looking at reports on the online Paranormal Database, a site which has collected over 13,000 locations with reported folkloric, paranormal and cryptozoological connections in the UK.

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There were 55 different reports of paranormal activity in Manchester, plus 43 reports of “haunting manifestations”, two poltergeist sightings, two UFO reports, and even an evil curse.

And they named pubs and prisons among the reports submitted in Manchester.

Most haunted map! Credit: PaulCamperMost haunted map! Credit: PaulCamper
Most haunted map! Credit: PaulCamper

Among the places where people have reported ghostly goings on over the years are:

  • a spooky story from the early 2000s at Brannigan’s nightclub (which is now the Albert Schloss), with a report of staff being pushed down the stairs by an invisible force;
  • a phantom man in a dark suit carrying a briefcase walks down Strangeways Prison halls at night. Some have named him as John Ellis, a former executioner who committed suicide in 1932;
  • the Screaming Skull of Wardley Hall: Edward Ambrose Barlow, also known as Father Ambrose, was a minister of several secret Catholic chapels around the Worsley area, including Wardley Hall. He was executed for this, and his skull is kept at Wardley Hall, where people have reported the chilling sounds of faint screams;
  • the Ring O’ Bells Pub in Middleton is said to have a grumpy ghost haunting its visitors. The building dates back to the 12th century and is on the site of an ancient Druid temple. Customers have reported sightings of glasses sliding along the bar.
  • Ordsall Hall offers ghost nights and among the apparitions is The White Lady, Margaret Radclyffe who has been stuck in time. She was the maid of honour to Queen Elizabeth I. Her twin brother Alexander Radclyffe was killed fighting in Ireland during the Nine Years War. Margaret was so distraught she supposedly starved herself to death. As she still desperately searches for her twin brother to arrive back from battle, guests can see her ghostly figure or a candle floating on its own.

Brighton was named the most haunted spot overall in the PaulCamper research.

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