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Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780752499581 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | The History Press |
| Publication date: | 12/02/2013 |
| Series: | Haunted |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 128 |
| File size: | 4 MB |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
Haunted West End
By Gilly Pickup
The History Press
Copyright © 2013 Gilly Pickup,All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-7524-9958-1
CHAPTER 1
THE WEST END
The West End, so called because it is located to the west of the historic city of London, is the hub of one of the world's greatest cities.
This is where to find most of the capital's major tourist attractions, businesses and administrative headquarters. A host of neighbourhoods make up this part of London, weaving together major concentrations of art galleries, museums, hotels, media establishments, embassies, legal institutions, nightclubs, cinemas, bars, restaurants, shops and residential areas. However, what the West End is most renowned for is its theatre scene. London's West End is the largest theatre district in the world. Indeed, the term 'West End' has become synonymous with London's commercial theatre. 'Theatreland' is home to forty-two internationally renowned theatres and many more non-profit organisations and producing houses. Like the Old Vic, some of these lie outside the geographical boundaries of Theatreland, but are still very much a part of its tradition.
This epicentre of London has no hard and fast boundaries, but generally speaking is mainly contained within the city of Westminster, one of the thirty-two London boroughs. The West End often refers to the whole of central London, itself an area with no generally agreed boundaries.
The stories in this book take the reader on a spooktacular journey that covers Holborn's Lincoln's Inn, the one-time site of public executions and said to be haunted by an evil executioner. Then there is intellectual Bloomsbury, home of the British Library and a weeping ghost. Compact, frenetic, once-sleazy Soho, oozing trendy bars, smart restaurants and encompassing dynamic, bustling, colourful Chinatown also has its otherworldly side – no wonder, when you consider part of the area stands over a plague pit. Aristocratic, elegant Mayfair, named after the annual spring festival held until the 1730s, provides us with tales from two of London's spectacularly eerie haunted pubs, as well as the on-going mystery of what is surely London's most haunted house. St James's, which starts at Piccadilly and includes Green Park, has a couple of seriously scary phantoms that you wouldn't want to meet, while a poignant spectre haunts an embassy in swish Belgravia, one of the most expensive areas in the world. The many theatres in Covent Garden, Piccadilly, Leicester Square, Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross are simply awash with mysterious spirits and strange goings-on. Marylebone, owned in the twelfth century by a brotherhood of warrior monks called the Knights Templar, has its phantoms too, including that of a famous actress; as does the once-bohemian Fitzrovia, which lies to the north-east of Oxford Circus and is where a plethora of hospital ghosts can be found. Familiar names all, that trip off the tongue whether you are a local, a visitor, or someone who knows London only from films and books.
I have loosely divided the stories into four regions: North, South, East and West. The boundaries are not fixed and there is some overlap because some sites have a linking theme. Logically, therefore, they are linked to others with that theme. However, with a little planning and the help of a street map, visitors and ghost hunters should be able to access a good number of sites in one day.
The West End is one of the busiest places in the world so anyone can be forgiven for thinking there are few dark corners, creepy buildings or nooks and crannies for the odd ghost to lurk. Who would expect to encounter a supernatural being in the middle of one of the world's greatest cities? But below and within these streets of modern London, embedded in the fabric of buildings and the streets themselves, are layers of mysteries of times gone by – memories and emotions of those no longer in our world.
That is why, without further ado, we'll leave behind the buzz, bustle and bright lights and set off to explore the West End's more mysterious, creepy side – that is, of course, if you are prepared to be scared!
CHAPTER 2NORTH
'Yesterday, upon the stair,
I met a man who wasn't there,
He wasn't there again today,
I wish that man would go away.'
(Antigonish by Hughes Mearns)
Everyone loves a good ghost story, whether or not they actually believe in ghouls, ghosts and things that go bump in the night. You would not be reading this book otherwise. Even those with a cynical mind will admit to even just a wisp of worry about the supernatural, and there can be few among us who would look forward to meeting a ghost.
Let's start by taking a look at the presences which haunt some theatres in this part of London known as Theatreland.
Look Out Behind You!
Theatres can be spooky labyrinths at night after the audience has gone home. Everyone knows that actors are a superstitious and imaginative lot, with sayings about 'breaking a leg', squeaky shoes, no whistling allowed in dressing rooms and woe betide anyone who brings a peacock feather on stage.
Then there is the 'Scottish' play which I won't name but will only say that if an actor mistakenly lets the 'Mac****' word slip in the dressing room, he or she must perform a ritual to reverse the curse. Although antics vary depending on whom you ask, the actor may have to run from the building, turn around three times, spit and then ask permission to come back into the theatre.
Many West End theatres have resident phantoms or documented reports of weird, otherworldly happenings. Some are humorous, some are definitely grisly, but there are a few which are simply terrifying. Others, meanwhile, have a sad story attached to them, as is the case of the spirits who haunt the Dominion Theatre.
Dominion Theatre, Tottenham Court Road
The theatre stands on the site of Meux's Horse Shoe Brewery, and over the years members of the audience have claimed to see a ghostly figure, thought to be that of a brewery worker, lurking in the wings. Occasionally, too, sounds of giggling children filter through empty dressing rooms while reports of poltergeist activity, involving objects which mysteriously disappear only to reappear elsewhere, may send a shiver down the spine.
But perhaps it is not surprising that this theatre should have an apparition or two because on 17 October 1814, a huge vat containing 3,550 barrels of beer – over a million pints – ruptured. The beer tsunami destroyed two houses and knocked down the wall of the Tavistock Arms pub in Great Russell Street.
The Times of 19 October reported:
The neighbourhood of St. Giles was thrown into the utmost consternation on Monday night, by one of the most melancholy accidents we ever remember. About six o'clock, one of the vats in the extensive premises of Messrs. Henry Meux and Co., in Banbury-street, St. Giles burst, and in a moment New-street, George-street and several others in the vicinity were deluged with the contents, amounting to 3,500 barrels of strong beer. The fluid, in its course, swept everything before it. Two houses in New-street, adjoining the brewhouse, were totally demolished.
A flood of alcohol swept the area, killing most of those in its path by drowning, injury, poisoning by porter fumes or, in the case of one man, simply from alcohol poisoning, such was his heroic attempt to stem the tide by drinking as much beer as he possibly could. One of the dead was a 14-year-old barmaid, Eleanor Cooper, and it is thought that she is one of those who comes back to haunt her former workplace. Staff and patrons have had numerous unusual experiences in this theatre – being aware of strange sensations, perhaps a gentle tapping on the shoulders, the fleeting touch of a hand, lights which flicker and fail, or even something which pushes through groups of visitors. The strange thing is, though they feel it, they cannot see what it is that is pushing past them.
The London Palladium, Argyll Street
Argyll Street was developed in the early 1730s, on land belonging to John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll. His son, Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke, built Argyll House in 1737, and from 1740–62 his mistress, Mrs Shireburn, lived here.
Originally, Argyll House occupied the site on which the London Palladium now stands, on the east side of Argyll Street. The Palladium has a rather colourful past. It started out as the Corinthian Bazaar, which featured an aviary, before it became a circus venue, the brainchild of Fredrick Hengler, son of a tightrope walker. After that it opened as the National Skating Palace, an ice rink, and when that did not succeed it was rebuilt as a theatre and called the Palladium.
Arguably, the most famous of the West End theatres, it was built in 1910, though the façade (that of Argyll House) dates back to the nineteenth century. Grade II listed by English Heritage in 1960, this theatre originally had its own telephone system so that the occupants of boxes could call one another; it had a revolving stage too – very high tech for the day.
Behind the Royal Circle there is a red staircase called, rather unimaginatively, the 'Old Crimson Staircase'. Before 1973, nothing unusual as far as paranormal goings-on were concerned seemed to occur in this theatre, or at least none were reported, but it was in that year that a female spectre dressed in a lemon-coloured crinoline made her first appearance. Since then she has emerged from time to time, and actors, usherettes and other theatre staff have seen her gliding past them, skirt rustling, as they ascend the stairs. This unassuming presence is thought to be Mrs Shireburn, the 3rd Duke's mistress.
Palace Theatre, Cambridge Circus
To conciliate spirits, the Palace Theatre keeps two seats in the balcony permanently bolted open to provide seating for the theatre ghosts. The shade of ballerina Anna Pavlova has occasionally appeared in this theatre also. Originally built as an opera house, the Palace Theatre was the venue for her first London performance, so it is perhaps apt that she should choose to return here from time to time. Visitors have reported seeing orbs of light coming from darkened areas at the rear left-hand side of the building followed by the vague shape of a female, assumed to be her. Some who have seen her say she is 'not quite white, but semi-transparent'.
The building's other entity is that of Ivor Novello, the Anglo-Welsh matinee idol, author and composer who died in 1951. Several actors and members of staff have encountered the spectre in the wings. Novello, who wrote 'Keep the Home Fires Burning', a song that expressed the feelings of innumerable families torn apart by the First World War, has also been spotted watching performances from the back of the dress circle. But don't worry, these presences are not frightening but simply add an extra soupçon of interest to a visit to the Palace Theatre.
Non-Theatrical Ghosts
Room 333, Langham Hotel, Portland Place
Foley House, the 3rd Lord Foley's London residence, used to stand on the spot where the Langham Hotel is today. The demise of Foley House came about when the family fortune was squandered in 1814 and architect John Nash acquired the whole estate as settlement of a debt. The upshot was the house was demolished and the Langham Hotel, London's largest residential building and Europe's first 'Grand Hotel', was constructed in its place.
The Langham, an ostentatious building with gold and scarlet interiors lavish to the point of bombast, had 600 rooms and cost £300,000 to build – a huge sum in those days. Over 2,000 people, including HRH the Prince of Wales, who later became King Edward VII, attended the glittering gala opening on 10 June 1865.
Anyone staying at the Langham Hotel was automatically assumed to be of very high standing. Roll those credits for Mark Twain, Arnold Bennett, Arthur Conan Doyle, Noel Coward, Napoleon III, Gracie Fields, Charles Laughton, Mrs Wallis Simpson and, more recently, Diana, Princess of Wales. The composer Dvorak once visited too, although he managed to offend the sensibilities of the management when, in an attempt to save money, he requested a double room for himself and his grown-up daughter. The hotel was also the setting for several of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, including the chilling Sign of Four.
Not only was the Langham the first hotel with state-of-the-art fire protection and hydraulic lifts, or 'rising rooms' as they were known, but it had – indeed, still has – another rather more sinister claim to fame as one of England's most haunted hotels. This hotel has somehow acquired several uninvited guests during its 148-year history, reportedly having up to seven ghosts.
The Langham encountered a blip when, as other grand hotels were built in the West End, its popularity waned and it closed down. When it reopened, it had a change of purpose and was used as administrative offices for the BBC. Several rooms on the third floor became staff quarters for those whose late finishes or early starts necessitated an overnight stay, and many sightings come from this time.
The spectre of a tall, silver-haired man dressed in a sweeping cloak and cravat sometimes frequents the hotel's upper floors. Although his description sounds harmless enough, those who have encountered him say he is 'a terrifying figure' with 'blank staring eyes'. Whispers are that he is the spirit of a doctor rumoured to have killed himself after murdering his wife while they honeymooned in the hotel. Exactly who he was, and why he murdered his wife, no one seems to know.
In another room, formerly a reference library in the days of the BBC, occupants have reported a sudden sharp drop in temperature which heralds the arrival of a footman dressed in blue livery, complete with powdered wig. This eighteenth-century figure is thought to be a good-natured apparition from the days when Foley House stood here. It often happens that the ghosts of those from times gone by return to reclaim those places that they knew so well in life.
Several BBC personnel say they also experienced the antics of a mischievous spirit in Room 632, who had a habit of tipping sleeping night-shift staff out of their beds. Regular sightings continued over the years with the last recorded chilling experience in this room taking place in August 2002, when a guest found himself lying on the floor after 'something unseen but with a huge strength' pushed him out of bed.
There have also been sightings of a phantom butler wandering the corridors before dissolving into thin air, though he seems to have gone for good now as his apparition has not been witnessed, or at least reported, since 1974. There are a number of people, however, who have since observed the figure of a young woman in the same area. According to witnesses, the girl, who is dressed in a 'bluish gown, probably a nightdress', is thought to be the butler's girlfriend, but why she has replaced him is yet another mystery.
All well and spooky, but by far the most nerve-racking of all the inexplicable happenings in the Langham is the phantom of Room 333. Mock if you will, but it scares the living daylights out of most of those who check into that room.
In 1973, James Alexander Gordon, legendary reader of the football results on BBC Radio, awoke in the night to see a fluorescent ball hovering on the opposite side of the room. Slowly, it took on the shape of a man dressed in Victorian eveningwear. Summoning up his courage, the terrified presenter asked the apparition who it was and what it wanted. The question seemed to irritate it, and it began to float towards him, arms outstretched, staring at him maliciously. This was bad enough, but what made this sight more blood-curdling was that its legs seemed to be cut off from just below the knee. At this point, Gordon got up and fled. He went down to the commissionaire, who refused to accompany him back to the room. Gordon bravely returned alone and found his mysterious guest still present, although its appearance seemed less distinct than before. He shouted at the spirit, told it to get out and leave him alone before removing a shoe to throw it at it. The presence vanished, at least for the rest of the night. Later, when he told his colleagues at Broadcasting House about his ordeal, others told of seeing the apparition in the same room. Why did the ghoul look as if his legs were cut off? Because the floors had been raised since Victorian times, when central heating pipes were installed throughout the building.
But that isn't all the eerie goings-on in the Langham. A German prince who committed suicide by jumping from a fourth-floor window, just after the start of the First World War, has been seen quite often. Although his antics are not confined solely to Room 333, he seems to have a particular penchant for that room. The late BBC announcer Ray Moore, described him as 'beefy, with cropped hair, sporting a military-style jacket that buttoned up to the neck'. He has been observed several times in the early morning, walking through closed doors, and is rated the most active apparition at the hotel.
After the BBC moved out, the hotel had a glitzy makeover before being reopened by the Hilton Hotel Group in 1991, at a cost of £80 million. The building work didn't seem to deter the phantoms though. Emperor Napoleon III, who lived at the Langham during his last days in exile, still continues to haunt the basement, while a rather more disturbing sight of a apparition with a gaping wound on his face haunts the lower floor hallways late at night, causing fear and revulsion to those who happen upon him.
But, if you will, let's go back to Room 333. A guest told how a friend of hers saw the apparition in this room. Terrified, she screamed and, like James Alexander Gordon, hurled her shoe at it. It seemed as if the footwear passed right through the phantom but did not deter it as it kept moving towards her, its face contorted in a dreadful grimace.
In May 2003, a guest checked out of the hotel in a rush very late one night without giving any reason for her premature departure. A few days later she sent a letter to the management explaining that her slumbers had been interrupted by the activities of a spectre who kept her from her sleep by repeatedly shaking the bed during the night.
Why is this room apparently haunted by so many apparitions? Is it because the number 333 represents the Holy Trinity? Is it because when doubled, it is the number of the devil? Or is it because 3 a.m. is the demonic witching hour, and of all the minutes in that hour, 3.33 a.m. is considered by some to be the devil's favourite time of day? Perhaps we will never know.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Haunted West End by Gilly Pickup. Copyright © 2013 Gilly Pickup,. Excerpted by permission of The History Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Table of Contents
Contents
Title Page,Dedication,
Introduction,
one The West End,
two North,
three South,
four East,
five West,
Bibliography and Sources,
Copyright,