With Halloween around the corner, ghost-hunters looking for some spooky places to visit should look no further than creepy 50 Berkeley Square in Mayfair, London
One of the UK’s most haunted houses is said to have been the at the centre of a number of inexplicable and unexplained deaths and other devilish happenings.
Many of the chilling 50 Berkeley Square’s former residents and guests have either mysteriously died in the house or gone insane, ghost hunters say. Nestled in the posh neighbourhood of Mayfair, this grand terraced mansion was built in 1750, but it wasn’t until the late 19th century that it earned its title as the most haunted house in London.
Over the years, a number of its past residents and guests either vanished, suffered a sudden death or lost their sanity, report MyLondon. The property was once exempt from council tax because it was struggling to sell and Barri Ghai, a professional paranormal investigator, is in no doubt that it’s the capital’s most terrifying address.
“The attic room of the house is said to be haunted by the spirit of a young woman who died by suicide by throwing herself from a top-floor window after being abused by her uncle, with her tormented soul said to be capable of frightening people to death.
“Various eyewitness accounts claim to have seen her ghostly white figure or a strange brown mist. A child believed to have been murdered by a servant and the ghost of a young man, allegedly locked up there and fed through a hole in the door until he eventually succumbed to madness and death, are also said to lurk in the attic’s rafters.
“Over the years brave or foolish men have attempted to spend the night in the attic room of the house but they have either left frantically, gone mad, been found dead or died by suicide years later due to their terrifying ordeals.” Legend has it that her tormented spirit can scare those who cross her path to death. Eyewitnesses often report seeing her as a ghostly white figure or a brown mist-like apparition.
Two other hauntings that have taken place in the attic include the spirit of a child thought to have been killed by a servant, and the ghost of a young man who was allegedly confined there, fed through a hole in the door until he eventually succumbed to madness and death.
Over the years, a mix of brave and foolhardy individuals, including sailors and even a Lord, have dared to spend the night in the attic room of the house. Their experiences have been nothing short of harrowing, with outcomes ranging from frantic departures to madness, untimely deaths, or suicides years later due to their terrifying encounters.
However, those more sceptical of the house’s spooky reputation have pointed to former resident Thomas Myers, who lived there from 1859-the early 1870s after being rejected by his fiancée. Myers apparently let the house fall into disrepair and would sleep all day before clattering around the house in the dead of night.
Thankfully, no fresh hauntings have been reported since the 1930s. Even if you would dare spend a night in the attic of 50 Berkeley Square, the property is sadly not open to the public. Those hoping to live on the historical square will have to dig deep in their pockets – the last time flats in the adjacent 48 Berkeley Square were up for sale in 2008, they went for £1 million, according to Zoopla.
