London’s Haunted Tube Station
If you have ever had the pleasure (displeasure) of being the only person in an underground train station late at night, you might wonder what secrets these walls hold. Thousands of people pass through every day and bring their own stories. Not to mention, there are secrets within these walls, especially London’s underground which first opened in 1863.
Although there are a dozen or more allegedly haunted stations and trains, I’m only going to be covering Bank Station, The British Museum Station, and Bethnal Green.
Some people believe that the reason for the haunted tube stations is they may be near or even through some of London’s infamous plague pits of the 17th century.
Bank Station has one of the oldest sightings in the tube station. Since the 19th century, there have been sinister sightings of strange figures looming around the station. There is a rumor that tube construction disturbed the spirit known as the ‘Black Monk.’ According to legends, the Nun's brother was Phillip Whitehead, a cashier at the bank. Phillip was executed in 1811 due to forgery. His sister, it is said, waited outside the bank every evening for 4 decades before she died. When she did die, she continued to hold vigil for her brother, walking the lengths of the platforms for eternity. In addition to the nun, some report an intensely putrid smell that arrives and leaves out of nowhere. Others claim to feel oppressive sadness when they enter the station.
The British Museum stop is not only haunted, but it is also abandoned! No trains have arrived at the platforms of this tube station in over eighty years...yet it seems the ghosts have yet to depart. Some believe that the now-empty tunnels at the station are haunted by Amun-ra, the chief Egyptian God. Allegedly, those who feel his presence are aware it is angry and malevolent. In fact, several people who went missing were blamed on Amun-ra. There are rumors that the reason for this haunting is due to a secret tunnel that connects the Egyptian Room in the museum directly to the station. It is through this that Amun-ra and other Egyptian spirits are able to wreak havoc and snatch hapless underground passengers. Additionally, the figure of an Egyptian Princess has also been seen in the station, wailing and screaming throughout the tunnels.
One of the most interesting stories of the British Museum stop occurred two years after it closed. In 1935, a comedy thriller titled Bulldog Jack used the legend of the secret tunnel connection as a major plot night. Oddly, the same night the film was released two young women disappeared from the Holborn platform, which was the next station from the British Museum. Upon investigation of the missing girls, marks were found all over the walls of the closed station and the girls were never seen again.
This brings us to Bethnal Green. Bethnal Green has quite a busy ghost life and there have been countless reports of children crying, women screaming, and a general sound of panic and terror. It is said that those who hear this ghostly cacophony usually first notice it very quietly, but, once they acknowledge it the noise grows louder and louder and until it is overwhelmingly terrifying.
The reason for this haunting comes from quite a sad true story. Bethnal Green was one of the deepest stations in 1943. So, it was used as an air-raid shelter during World War II. Whenever the sirens wailed, whoever was near would rush down the stairs into the promised safety of the station. However, in March of 1943 an anti-aircraft gun went off nearby that terrified people so intensely that a stampede began and over 170 people died in the crush of bodies trying to make their way to safety. It is said these poor souls continue to haunt where they died.
There are a dozen or more hauntings throughout the tube, but I hope these stories send you on your own underground investigation.
Thank you Grace P for the Blogstonishig suggestion!
The blog image comes from the collection of the London Transport museum