10 Most Haunted Places in Newcastle

The Old George Inn, Old George Yard

The Old George is apparently the oldest pub in the city, so that’s got to be haunted, right? Most famously, Charles I was held in Newcastle back in 1646 and, presumably because he was in a low-security facility, he was permitted the occasional pint in the George. The chair that he sat on is still there, and there are reports of regal apparitions and a feeling of being watched by both staff and patrons.

Newcastle Castle, Castle Garth

Newcastle Castle has a double-dose of dread, with both the Castle Keep and Black Gate said to harbour ghosts. The many stories related to the Keep seem to centre on the Queen’s Chamber – from ghostly monks chanting to unexplained shadows, cold spots and a sensation of hands touching you. And of course there’s the Poppy Girl: imprisoned for debts and abused horribly in prison, both her apparition and the scent of flowers are said to be evident at certain times, a particularly sad incarnation.

Tyne Theatre & Opera House, Westgate Road

Poor Bob Crowther. A stagehand at the theatre in the late 19^th century, he fell foul of a rogue cannonball! Cannonballs were often used as an early thunderstorm sound effect, rolled around the area above the stage but in 1887, a ball fell from its track and landed on Crowther, killing him instantly and causing him to lurk around the stage ever since. From an inexplicable cold breath on a visitor's cheek to a vision of him in his favourite seat, there are many who believe his deeply miffed ghost is still among us.

Long Stairs, The Close

The Long Stairs, running down to the Quayside from the city centre, are creepy enough as it is, but become even more so when you consider the cruel fate of Henry Hardwick. Trying to evade a life in the Navy, Hardwick was set upon and murdered by a notorious press gang – right by The Cooperage pub – and his ghost is said to wander the steps, often described as eyeless since the gang removed his eyeballs. Shudder.

Trinity Chare & Broad Chare

Sadder perhaps even than the Flower Girl or Bob Crowther and his cannonball is the tale of Mary Wilson who was driven to suicide by the loss of her husband. She took her life at home near Broad Chare and to this day is said to walk the area around Broad Chare and Trinity Chare. Known as the Silky Ghost because her presence is often sensed through the sound of rustling clothing - and having been refused a Christian burial because she died at her own hands - it seems poor Mary is doomed to wander the Quayside for ever more.

The Lit & Phil, Westgate Road

The Lit & Phil is positively TEEMING with ghosts – as many as sixteen different phantoms have been claimed! One such ghost, which manifested as a door seeming to open by itself, even made the national news. You can’t move in the building without mysterious disembodied coughs, shadowy figures and bookracks rolling unaided. One for the steeliest of hearts!

Theatre Royal, Grey Street

Appropriately imbued with a keen sense of the dramatic, the Grey Lady of Theatre Royal is said to have been a spurned lover - desperately in love with an actor who was an absolute cad - who threw herself from one of the theatre’s highest boxes to her death. The story varies to such an extent that even the theatre involved changes (sometimes it’s attributed to the Tyne Theatre) but we think the Grey Lady is very much a Theatre Royal sort of lass.

The Assembly Rooms, Fenkle Street

As if one Grey Lady in the city wasn’t enough, there’s said to be another haunting The Assembly Rooms. Shamed by a husband’s demand that she danced drunk and naked for his friends on a rowdy New Year’s Eve in 1777, her subsequent horror and disgrace at what she had done caused her to fling herself from a ballroom gallery to her death. To this day, her presence is announced by the scent of lavender, the rustle of a taffeta ball gown, a mysterious sense of someone nearby and heavy doors opening of their own accord.  

Newcastle Cathedral, St Nicholas Square

Like most ancient buildings (this one almost a thousand years old), Newcastle Cathedral has its fair share of gruesome history, regardless of its holy status. In the mid-17th century, Scottish prisoners were captive within the tower and many died from ill-treatment and malnutrition. Is that strange, disembodied noise the cries of the dead soldiers? What about that ghostly form in the graveyard? Is it poor Martha Williams, who accidently disturbed some grave robbers and was murdered? There’s even a ghostly knight, detected by his clanking armour, perhaps related to the Unknown Knight effigy in the cathedral.

The Town Moor, Grandstand Road

Of course, some ghosts prefer things alfresco and you can barely move on the Town Moor for ghosts hanging around. The moor was once the site of the local gallows and hundreds met their doom at the end of a rope here, not least those accused of being witches during the witchfinder hysteria on the mid-17th century. The old isolation/smallpox hospital was also sited on the moor, so there’s another potential source of the shadowy figures, disembodied screams and other terrors. Or it could just be the Hoppings’ Ghost Train?

Newcastle really does have its fair share of alarming, ghostly goings on – there are numerous books and pamphlets and groups concerned with it all if you dare to explore more deeply. And this misty, creepy, twilight time of year is just the season to head out into the gloaming to see what horrors you might encounter. Be careful out there…