5 of Merseyside’s most haunted hotspots for Halloween

Liverpool dates back to 1190 and the borough in the beginning of the next century was made up of just seven streets. How things have changed since then as we’ve become a vibrant, major city of the North. With all those shifts and growths, it’s not surprise we have a rich and varied history that means Liverpool has more than its fair share of ghosts and unexplained happenings linked to our past.   

Bidston Hill

Bidston Hill in the Birkenhead suburb of Bidston is beautiful to look at, with its famous windmill over two hundred years old, historic buildings and ancient carvings linking the past to the present. An attraction for locals and tourists alike, Bidston Hill is one of the highest points on the Wirral peninsular, 234 miles above sea level, and stretches across 100 acres of land.

But the area is a hot spot for something a lot more sinister. With a history of witchcraft and satanic worship, it’s a notorious hotspot for paranormal activity.

The ghost of a former miller, a victim of murder in the 19^th Century, is seen walking around the mill. The son of the original miller turned werewolf due to neglect and still wanders the area, legend says.  The ghost of Satanist and suspected murderer Richard Tilly is said to be protected against his detractors and ghost hunters by a mysterious black dog. 

And Bidston Hill is known for its UFO sightings, with strange-shaped objects hovering in the air…

Watch below as we speak to Lucy Crew from Shiverpool about her favourite haunted hotspots and how Liverpool’s famous ghost tours are surviving 2020.

44 Penny Lane

The Beatles’ song Penny Lane is a colourful description of how busy and bustling the area is, with an array of relatable characters getting on with their daily lives. The lyrics “all the people that come and go, stop and say, “Hello” tell us how friendly and warm Paul McCartney viewed the area as he was penning the very words themselves.

We can’t help but wonder though if he knew about the ghostly occupants of Penny Lane and had he, how different the song might have been!
No 44 Penny Lane was haunted by a poltergeist in Victorian times who was blamed for when things went wrong, for example if horses couldn’t carry their loads or things like milk or beer went prematurely sour.

Rumour has it the spirit still lingers, angrily banging and running around number 44, unhappy with the property’s living and breathing residents.  Sporadically over the past century the little girl has been seen combing her long blonde hair in the window of the house, visible to passersby sometimes in front of crowds and in broad daylight.

Queensway Tunnel

Driving or riding the bus through the tunnel linking Liverpool with Birkenhead is an everyday activity for people going to work or visiting friends. But if you look a little more carefully as you follow the tunnel’s bends and turns, you may witness some very strange things indeed going on.
Nearly seventy years old, millions of people have used the tunnel and a number of accidents with tragic conclusions have taken place which haunt the minutes long journey.

In the Swinging Sixties a motorcyclist was killed in an accident and she is seen by many drivers each year since trying to thumb a lift! If you don’t spy her then maybe you’ll catch the old fashioned police car driving in the early hours, only to vanish into thin air…
It costs £1.80 to pass through the tunnel in your car, you may get more than your money’s worth on the right day – or night!

In 2016 we went on a ghost hunt at another haunted hotspot in Liverpool. Watch as we join Dusk til’ Dawn events at Newsham Park abandoned hospistal and asylum for some seriously spooky goings on.

St James Cemetery

Located behind the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, St James Cemetery is a Grade I Historic Park and is the final resting place of 57,839 souls departed from this world. Until 1825, the space was a stone quarry, and became the Liverpool city centre cemetery until 1936. It was then closed and consequently fell into a sad state of disrepair. The project to turn the cemetery into an urban park was completed by 1972 after clearing the vast majority of gravestones

It’s no surprise then with such a history and the sheer number of remains that it has been a place of strange ghostly activity!

White figures have been spied scuttling along the path in the gardens.  Member of Parliament William Huskisson is buried there and was the first man to be run over by a train, when the Liverpool and Manchester Railway opened in 1830. Huskisson apparently is a common visitor, limping about almost two hundred years on!.

And did we mention the vampire-like figure darting around the grounds in the dead of night?

Speke Hall

Speke Hall, built 400 years ago, is a popular draw for those who have a love of architecture, history, art and horticulture. A chance to get away from the stresses and strains of everyday life. The gardens the house nestles in are a beautiful and peaceful green oasis with woodland and wonderful views of the River Mersey.

But four centuries is several lifetimes, so of course there are paranormal goings on in this Tudor house!  Lady Mary mistress of the house in the 1730s, was driven to despair when her feckless husband gambled away her fortune. She threw her baby boy into the Moat and killed herself shortly afterwards. With such a tragic past, now wonder visitors have reported bouts of feeling suddenly unexpectedly ill when they find themselves within the Hall’s walls.

It is said to have many ghosts walking the corridors and rooms, including a priest, a gardener from Victorian times, a woman all in white and a werewolf.
There are lots of spooky sounds too, unseen children crying and footsteps in empty corridors…