For more than 180 years, Clifton Hall has watched over Birkenhead from its spot on Clifton Road. The Grade II-listed building was built in 1845, originally serving as a home for wealthy families and their servants. In the late 19th century it became a Baptist Tabernacle, and by the 1920s it was transformed into a Masonic Hall, a role it still holds today. In recent years, the historic building has gained a reputation for something entirely different.
Ghost hunters regularly visit the hall, and paranormal investigation events help raise money for its upkeep. Hundreds have passed through its doors hoping to witness something unexplained. But the caretaker, Jeff Forshaw, an IT consultant from Bebington who volunteered in 2023, said some of the strangest moments have happened while he was simply doing his job.
Halloween night at Clifton Hall
Recalling one Halloween evening, Forshaw said he arrived at the hall with his daughter to prepare for a live paranormal investigation by Haunted Scouse. The pair got there well before the scheduled booking to unlock the building and get everything ready. At first, everything appeared normal. Then they heard what sounded like running water coming from upstairs.
"It was loud, as if someone was filling a bath. I shouted 'hello' up the staircase, half expecting someone to answer.." he told the ECHO. Instead of hearing a reply, the sound stopped immediately. "There was complete silence. Not another drip, not a creak."
Trying to brush off the experience, they carried on with their preparations and headed down into the basement to cover the automatic light sensors with cloths. As they worked, the fire door at the top of the basement stairs closed behind them. When they finished and attempted to leave, the door simply would not open.
"It genuinely felt like someone had planted their foot behind it. My daughter thought I was messing around, so she squeezed past me and tried it herself," he said. Despite both of them pushing together, it refused to move. Then, without warning, it suddenly sprang open. Back on the ground floor, his daughter tested the door again, opening, closing, and reopening it several times without any difficulty. "It worked perfectly. There was no sticking, no resistance at all, nothing to explain what had just happened."
Music box in the hall
Although left unsettled, they continued to wait in the kitchen for Haunted Scouse to arrive. It was there that his daughter heard another unusual sound. "My daughter, who's much braver than me, wandered into the corridor and called me over. We could both hear what sounded like an old music box playing somewhere in the hall. I heard it clearly."
Later that evening, members of Haunted Scouse also reported hearing what they believed was the same music box sound during their live investigation, which is still available to watch on YouTube. Forshaw said that, despite spending countless hours inside the historic building over the years, that Halloween evening remains one of the most memorable.
A volunteer’s experience - from skeptic to believer
Forshaw said one volunteer who works at the hall has always been "firmly skeptical" about anything paranormal, but that all changed one evening. "They supported the booking because the hall needed the income, but ghosts? Absolutely not."
The volunteer was down in the basement, in the old kitchen and laundry area, when they suddenly felt something lean hard into their shoulder. "It was a definite push, as if someone was standing right beside them." Assuming it was another volunteer messing around, they spun round ready to tell them off, but no one was there. "The space was empty. That moment shook them more than they cared to admit. The skepticism vanished overnight, and to this day, they refuse to go down into the basement alone."
The kitchen manager’s encounters
Forshaw said: "Our kitchen manager was another who started out unconvinced about anything paranormal. He didn’t dismiss it outright, but he certainly wasn’t as persuaded as the rest of us." However, that changed once the hall began hosting regular paranormal groups.
One evening, while walking through the kitchen area, a heavy old pan lid suddenly launched itself at him as he passed. "No wobble, no slow slide - it flung itself. He had no explanation." Another night, running late and eager to lock up, he realised he couldn't find his keys. Frustrated, he went into the bar area to retrace his steps. "Out of nowhere, the keys flew straight at him across the room."
More recently, while locking up, he stepped out to the external gate and glanced across at one of the main windows facing the car park. He saw the silhouette of a figure standing at the glass, looking out. "The next morning, he arrived first thing to check whether it could have been a chair or something casting a shadow, but there was nothing there. No object, no shape, nothing that could have created the silhouette he’d seen."
