Joanna Cowell from Cotgrave, has published a book titled Travels with the Reluctant Ghost Hunter, featuring a collection of her own experiences travelling around Nottingham and the UK visiting various mysterious or haunted locations.
This month we’re going on a detour into the City of London!
I was there to celebrate my 50th and witness the fabulous Ceremony Of The Keys. This is a centuries old re-enactment which is part of the “locking up” of the Tower of London, which is incredibly atmospheric and held at probably one of the most haunted places in the world.
But that’s not all there is….. St Paul’s Cathedral contains not just a Whispering Gallery but a whistling ghost in the Kitchener Chapel, who disappears into a secret doorway.
Or try All Hallows By The Tower, which not only has a wonderful museum in the crypt and London’s oldest surviving Saxon Arch, but also the ghost of a former choir mistress who turns into a cat!
And what visit to London would be complete without a trip to one of its many haunted pubs?
The Viaduct Tavern was a Victorian gin palace and has tales of numerous hauntings over the years. Two electricians were terrified by a flying carpet (yes, really!) The pub manager was once locked inside his own cellar by unseen hands who also thoughtfully turned the lights out.
And there’s a resident ghost called Fred who has a penchant for playing with the hand drier in the ladies toilets – the first pub I’ve ever been to with a warning sign about ghosts!
London certainly has a lot to offer; incredible history, great pubs and a plethora of ghosts – what’s not to love!