Ghosts On The London Underground
The London Underground has been open since 1863 and was the world’s first underground railway.
Many buildings and structures have been demolished to make way for many of its 270 stations.
Also, large civilian disasters in World War Two have killed hundreds in tube stations and the surrounding areas.
It's no wonder then that lots of reports of alleged paranormal activity have taken place. Hundreds of reports have been logged but in this article I will list some of the better known:
Aldwych
Aldwych is a closed station on a no longer running branch line of the Piccadilly. Opened in the early 1900s, this station operated up until 1994, when it closed because a health and safety inspection deemed the lifts unsafe. It was originally called Strand because the Strand Theatre was demolished to make way for the station. It has been reported by the tunnel cleaners (or fluffers) that the ghost of an actress, who they believe never to have taken her final curtain call, walks the tunnels in the dead of night after the station was closed.
Bank & Monument Complex
Situated close to the Bank of England (hence the name) this station serves the Central, Circle and District Lines. Apparently the ghost of a lady called Sarah Whitehead haunts the station. Her brother, Philip Whitehead was arrested for forging cheques and hanged. It is said that after his death, Sarah waited outside the Bank of England in the forlorn hope of finding her brother. She is said to walk the station today, still waiting for her brother.
Becontree
Serving the District Line, Becontree is a quiet station in East London. Apparently a station supervisor working late at night became unnerved when the door to his office rattled three times. He went to find a colleague and had the strange feeling that he was being watched. On turning around he saw the ‘disturbing’ image of a woman who had a blank where her facial features should have been. On finding his colleague, he told him about the encounter and he confirmed that he too, had seen the apparition. A collision on this part of the line killed 10 people and both trains had left Becontree just minutes before...
British Museum
The British Museum Tube station is said to be haunted by the ghost of an Egyptian princess, whose mummified remains are kept in the nearby British Museum. A national newspaper offered a reward for anyone who would spend the night alone in the station, but nobody took up the offer. The British Museum station closed in the 1930s and its nearest station was Holborn, interestingly enough, Holborn was also the closest station to Aldwych.
Elephant & Castle
Operated by the Northern Line, this station is located in south London. Phantom footsteps have been heard running along the platform late at night after the station has closed. Also doors have been heard slamming shut for no apparent reason in the dead of night. An apparition seen by passengers too is one of a lady getting onto a train on the platform, and then disappearing when the train pulls away…
Farringdon
Serving the Metropolitan, the Hammersmith & City and the Circle Lines, the ghost of a girl named Ann, or Annie Naylor supposedly haunts here. She was stabbed by the man who was her husband and her tormented screams have been heard echoing through the station, which has earned her the nickname, ’the screaming spectre'.
Hyde Park Corner
Serving the Piccadilly Line, this is a station that, as the name suggests, is near to Hyde Park. A station supervisor closed down the station and shut down the escalators. In the early hours of the morning there was a commotion in the booking hall. On-going to inspect, the supervisor observed that the escalators had started moving again. This confused him, as he was certain that you needed a key to restart them. He found a colleague and made a cup of tea for the both of them. When he went to give the cup of tea to his colleague, he was white and leant back against the wall. When he brought his colleague round, he said that whilst he (the supervisor) had been making the tea, a disembodied head had appeared and stared at the both of them. He never returned to work on the Underground again.
Jubilee Line Extension (JLE)
The tunnels of the JLE, just like every other line on the Underground, are checked every night. A track-walker had a very scary experience when he sat down to take a break whilst walking the tunnel between Baker Street and St John's Wood stations. He suddenly saw the ballast moving behind him in between the rails in the shape of footsteps, but nobody was there. He then had to walk in the same direction as the phantom footsteps to complete his walk. His colleague confirmed that he had probably seen a ghost. Records show that about five maintenance workers have been killed on this stretch of track.
Kennington Loop
This loop is operated by the Northern Line. It is used to allow trains to terminate at Kennington and then go round the loop and start at Kennington on the northbound platform. At least two drivers have reported hearing the sounds of the connecting doors between carriages opening and closing as if someone was walking from the rear of the train to the driver's cab...
Liverpool Street
Operated by the Circle, District, Hammersmith and City and Central Lines, this is one of the busiest interchange stations on the network. It was reported that a station supervisor working the night shift got a call from a line operator, to say that CCTV had spotted at man on the eastbound Central Line platform. The station controller said that he would have a look and went to investigate. When he reached the platform, he could see no-one on the platform or in the immediate vicinity of the tunnel. He rang the line operator with the phone at the bottom of the escalators to report his findings. The line operator replied “but how could you not see this guy, he was right next to you!” The supervisor agreed to have another check. The same findings happened again. The Line operator hung up when he heard the news, and the supervisor returned to the eastbound platform to return to his office. As he did he saw some paper white overalls on a platform bench. What spooked the supervisor was that he would have seen and heard anyone putting the overalls on the bench, and the operator said that in the CCTV footage, the man was wearing paper white overalls...
I hope that I have shed some light onto this fascinating topic and next time you go on the Tube, have a look, and you may just spot something paranormal...
Simdude101
Source: http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=135129
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2 Comments – Post a comment
simdude101 (correspondent)
Commented 26 months ago - 4th March 2014 - 13:45pm
Hi guys
why is no one commenting on this article?
Sam Sprout (Editor)
Commented 26 months ago - 4th March 2014 - 14:49pm
Hi simdude,
Don't be too disheartened, everyone is struggling for comments at the moment, but the editorial group are thinking hard on how to solve it.
BTW I enjoyed editing your article, I found it very interesting and kept thinking of Prodigy's Firestarter video, which was filmed at Aldwych.