Transport for London have disclosed the only recent ghost sighting reported on the London Underground, with the incident said to have left a 15-year-old boy ‘distressed’
A 15-year-old boy has claimed to have seen a ‘ghost’ on the London Underground in one of its most well-known stations.
This week, Transport for London confirmed that a teenager had reported seeing an apparition while on the Metropolitan line at King’s Cross St Pancras station in December 2023 – leaving him visibly distressed. The unusual revelation came to light following a Freedom of Information request seeking records of any ghostly goings-on across London’s transport network.
It was the only ‘ghost sighting’ on the Tube reported to TfL since the beginning of 2022. The transport body did concede that it had unearthed a further 155 incident reports mentioning ‘spirits’, though these were largely in reference to individuals being in ‘high spirits’ post-accidents or consuming alcoholic beverages on trains.
An additional 1,000 cases cropped up when searching the customer contact centre database, with most of these linked to ‘phantom’ or ‘ghost’ Oyster card changes, reports MyLondon. Though the Metropolitan line incident remains the only recent reported ghost sighting on the Tube, there have been numerous rumours of hauntings along the London transport network in the past.
Passengers have reportedly seen a tall figure in a hat and cloak wandering Covent Garden station after hours, thought to be the ghost of Victorian actor William Terriss. Mr Terriss was tragically murdered by his ex-protégé, Richard Archer Prince, in 1897, leading to rumours that his spirit haunts the central London station.
Some even suggest that ghosts from the now-closed British Museum station have relocated to Holborn station since its closure in 1933. According to London rail enthusiast and popular YouTuber Jago Hazzard, Elephant & Castle station is also said by staff and passengers to have been the site of numerous hauntings throughout the years.
Unexplained sounds of running footsteps are claimed to have been heard at numerous points across the station, even when it is closed. Many years ago, unsettling ghostly activity even led one railway porter, Mr Horton, to refuse to work night shifts due to repeated incidents of tapping noises approaching his room, despite no-one being there.
Over the decades, others have reported a ‘Girl on the Train’ on the Bakerloo line platforms – a young woman who is seen to board a train but never actually appears on it.
