A SERIES of pitch-black underground tunnels near Kidderminster have been featured in a new list of the top 10 most haunted locations in Britain.
Drakelow Tunnels, near Wolverley, came 7th on an Amazon Prime Video list of the most haunted places in the country, based on 2020 research by the UK’s leading paranormal magazine, Haunted Magazine.
The disorienting labyrinth of tunnels are around 3.5 miles long and were built as part of a shadow factory for car manufacturer Rover to contribute to the war effort with engines for the RAF.
The underground bunkers were used during the Second World War and the Cold War and rumours have circulated over the years that seven people died in the Drakelow Tunnels as a result of a roof collapse, an impact with a truck and people riding on the conveyor belts.
In 2016, paranormal investigator Anthony Mark got the shock of his life when, after watching back his footage from the tunnels, he saw a ghostly face stood directly in front of him.
Part of the Afterlight Paranormal group, Anthony interpreted some of the static from the footage to be the sound of someone saying 'Hi'. He can be heard asking 'Are you stuck here?' - to which something responds 'By you'.
The camera then zooms into the shape of a face hovering behind his electronic device, looking directly at Anthony.
New research released by Amazon Prime Video to mark the release of its new paranormal comedy drama series, Truth Seekers, suggests the tunnels are haunted by the guardian of the burial ground above.
Here's the full list of the top 10 most haunted locations in Britain:
1. Newsham Park Hospital, Liverpool
Haunted locations do not get much more chilling than this vast former orphanage. During its operational days as a hospital, many patients and staff reported seeing an unexplained apparition of a woman, the ghost of children, as well as seeing dark shadowy figures.
2. Ordsall Hall, Manchester
Once a moated Tudor Mansion, although records indicate a house being on this site for over 800 years, staff now refuse to enter parts of the building alone. There are reports of ghostly sightings and unexplained phenomena and the ghostly cries of a drowned child can still be heard from a well in the kitchen. Add to that poltergeist activity, knocks on doors, extreme drops in temperature and strange light anomalies. It is also reported that the cries of a woman who threw herself from the balcony in the Great Hall are heard and that many who venture up there are overcome with feelings of sadness and grief.
3. HMP Shepton Mallet, Somerset
With almost 400 years of detaining murderers, violent criminals, and notorious gangsters, it is no wonder HMP Shepton Mallet is said to be the most haunted prison in the country. During its operational years, this now-abandoned prison saw its fair share of misery and suffering including brutal executions, cruel punishments, suicides, and countless dead in unmarked graves within the prison walls.
4. 30 East Drive, Pontefract
The haunted house the divides the paranormal community. For some ghost hunters this unassuming semi-detached house in West Yorkshire is the mecca for paranormal investigation. Others will tell you that the house is over-hyped or not haunted at all. When it comes to things that go bump in the night, the best way to find out is to investigate it for yourself... if you dare.
5. Chillingham Castle, Alnwick
How about a haunted medieval castle that you can actually spend the night in? You might be awoken by the castle's most famous ghost is the Blue Boy or the ghost of Lady Mary Berkeley who haunts the Grey Apartment. If you are planning on spending the night, you might want to think twice about stealing a loo roll or bar of soap from your room. A Spanish witch is said to have put a curse on the building that will bring ill fortune upon anyone who steals from the castle.
6. The Ancient Ram Inn, Wotton under Edge
You will struggle to find a haunted location as atmospheric as the Grade II listed Ancient Ram Inn in Gloucestershire. Those brave enough to investigate this quirky former pub will be following in the footsteps of television shows like 'Ghost Adventures' and 'Most Haunted'. Be on the lookout for icy blasts of air, strange light anomalies and doors slamming in empty rooms.
7. Drakelow Tunnels, near Kidderminster
Not only is the former wartime underground factory haunted by several spooks including the demon guardian of the burial ground above, but it is also a disorienting labyrinthine network of pitch-black tunnels that seem to go on forever.
8. The Skirrid Mountain Inn, Abergavenny
Think you can handle the spirits in Wales' oldest pub? The Skirrid was once used as the courtroom of the infamous Judge Jeffreys and many executions were carried out here. His ghost is still rumoured to walk the upper floors and the rope marks left by the many hangings can still be seen indented in a wooden beam where a replica hangman's noose swings to this day.
9. The Jamaica Inn, Bolventor
Built in 1750, the Jamaica Inn is historic, atmospheric, welcoming, and supposedly very haunted due to its history of hosting some of Cornwall’s most nefarious. If you're brave enough you can spend the night in one of the haunted rooms in that inn, where the paranormal activity most famously includes the sound of unseen horses and carts moving in the courtyard in the dead of night.
10. Edinburgh Vaults, Edinburgh
This network of eerie chambers beneath Edinburgh is a popular tourist attraction, but the dank caverns have a sinister past housing the city's criminal underworld, who used the tunnels for activities such as illegal gambling, whisky distillery and even body-snatching. These heinous practices have left their marks on the vaults, which are now said to be one of the most haunted places in Scotland.
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