London Underground is now over 150 years old and stretches over 250 miles of track, but what lays beneath those rails is said to be more sinister indeed...
For our beloved Tube network is said to house an endless array of ghosts, spectres, spirits and phantoms dating back to its grand opening in 1863.
These are the most haunted, complied in a graphic made by Brilliantly British...
LIVERPOOL STREET
Spooky tales of Liverpool Street have emerged, which is unsurprising considering it is built on top of a burial site, with an estimated eight bodies per cubic meter laying underneath its foundations.
In 2000, a man was reportedly spotted on CCTV after hours, dressed in white overalls and patrolling the deserted platforms, as if waiting for a train. When a member of station staff went to go search for the man, he was no where to be found. His colleague, watching the scenes on camera, claims to have seen the man standing next to the station worker. When the pair returned to the scene, they allegedly found a pair of white overalls.
BETHNAL GREEN
Horrifying screams can be heard echoing in the corridors of Bethnal Green, station staff report. The haunting sounds said to have emerged after 173 people died in a crush at the station during an air raid test in the Second World War.
The station became a safe haven for civilians during the blitz, with room for 5,000 bunks with full capacity stretching up to 7,000 people. Tragically the station also became the site of a huge disaster, as people were crushed whilst attempting to flee from the impending bombing, after hearing sirens.
Women and children's cries of terror allegedly haunt the chambers of the underground network to this day. One of the first reports of the sounds came from a worker who had finished his shift, locked up the station and went down into the underground to finish some paperwork.
Sat alone in the dark, he then reportedly heard children's cries, followed by screams and sounds of suffocation and struggle. He said the ordeal lasted from ten to 15 minutes.
BANK
The legend of 'the Black Nun' haunts the chambers of Bank station. Historically dating back to 1811, the mysterious circumstances are enough to frighten even the hardest of souls.
It all began back in the 1800's when Philip Whitehead, who was reportedly the 'Black Nun's' brother, was executed for committing forgery. Legend has it that the Nun waited outside of where Bank station now sits for his return, but he never came. She was rumored to have spent 40 years, dressed in black, waiting to see him again.
Her myth arose when Bank station was being built and some workers reportedly disturbed her sleeping spirit. She is still said to be roaming the platforms in search of her brother, dressed all in black.
COVENT GARDEN
Opened back in April of 1907, Covent Garden tube station serves the Piccadilly Line but according to myths that's not all that lies beneath its tracks.
The station is said to be haunted by the apparition of a tall man wearing white gloves, a top hat and a frock coat and grey suit. According to ghostly lore, his figure has been reported many times since the 1950’s although more recent sightings are uncommon.
He is believed to be the ghost of a murdered actor who used to frequent the baker which was knocked down to make way for the station.
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KING'S CROSS
The infamous fire of King's Cross in 1987 is believed to be the cause of a supernatural incident, featuring a supposed victim of the great tragedy.
Sightings of a frightening apparition, described as a cosmopolitan young woman with brown hair, is said to haunt the corridors of one of London's busiest stations. Reports say that the lady screams loudly with her arms outstretched – but when people come to her aid, she disappears into thin air.
The supposed first sighting the woman was back in 1988, when a commuter saw a woman appearing distressed and walked over to comfort her – only to pass right through her when he reached her.
ELEPHANT AND CASTLE
Home to it's fair share of paranormal activity, Elephant and Castle station might be one of London's most haunted. Reports of footfalls and rapping have been often heard in the station when it is closed - but on investigation, no source can be found.
Another myth attached to the historic station claims the last train of the night is haunted by a lone girl who walks from the last carriage to the tip of the train, vanishing as she reaches the engine.
The sighting of the woman in the station has so far been unexplainable, with no obvious clues to the appearance in the station built on 18 December 1890.
SOUTH KENSINGTON
A spooky scenario at South Kensington was first witnessed by a passenger on the last train of the evening, who claimed to have heard an unnerving high-pitched whistle, followed shortly by the arrival of another train with an unexpected passenger.
A spectral figure in a peaked hat and coat hanging from the side of the train was claimed to have last been seen in 1928, almost a century ago.
FARRINGDON
Known locally as ‘the Screaming Spectre of Farringdon’, this unseen apparition has been terrifying passengers for years, her piercing screams sending shivers down the spine or anyone unfortunate enough to be within hearing distance.
Dating back to the early days of the Tube, this supernatural phenomena is reported as often now as it’s ever been, with hundreds of witnesses confirming the horrific sounds.
Some believe that this phantom is the ghost of young Anne Naylor, an 18th Century orphan who was killed by her employer at a London workhouse aged just 12. Her body was dumped where the station now stands, explaining the pained screams which continue to pass through Farringdon’s corridors.
A woman tests the shutters at Liverpool Street Underground Station
ALDGATE
Built on the site of a plague pit that was the final resting place for an estimated thousand victims of the Bubonic Plague in 1665, Aldgate Station was opened in 1876. Since its construction, the station has had so many reports of ghostly sightings that there is now an official log book for paranormal sightings at the station.
One of the most known of the appellations comes from the story of an electrician, who slipped onto a live rail knocking himself unconscious and sending over 20,000 volts through his body. Much to everyone's amazement, he emerged unscathed.
Colleagues of the man insist that prior to his fall they saw a luminous figure of an old lady kneeling next to the stricken worker, stroking his hair. The tale of the ‘Elderly Angel’ goes back over a century, although a precise date has never been confirmed.
BRITISH MUSEUM STATION
The British Museum Station has been abandoned since the 1930s, so it isn't really much of a surprise that its played host to a plethora of reported supernatural happenings.
Legend has it that the disused station is haunted by the ghost of Amun-ra, an Ancient Egyptian God, dressed in traditional Egyptian loincloth and headdress – and a couple of years after the station’s closure, two women vanished from nearby Holborn station, with witnesses claiming they heard ghostly moaning around the time of their disappearance.
To explain the mysterious situation, It has long been rumoured that there is a secret tunnel stretching from Holborn station to the British Museum’s famous ‘Egyptian Room’.
HIGHGATE
In scenes of a more bizarre scenario, Highgate station happenings have left locals perplexed for years. A disused extension of the Northern line left one section of the railway disused, with the rails removed. However it hasn't stopped the the sound of trains passing through the night.
The Northern line extension project was shelved at the end of the 1940s following the renovation of Highgate station, with the unexplained train noises occurring ever since.