Liverpool's Metropolitan Cathedral is said to be haunted by the ghost of Bernard "Bernie" Brown, a shabby-looking man whose story is rooted in the grim history of the site long before the distinctive cathedral stood above Hope Street.
The apparition, also known as the "pauper's ghost," has been encountered by a number of people over the years, who claim to have seen his shadowy figure around the cathedral. The story, however, begins long before the famous landmark was built.
A workhouse past
The Metropolitan Cathedral stands on the former site of the Liverpool Workhouse, a place where some of the city's poorest and most desperate residents once ended up. According to the legend, Bernard Brown was one of them.
A medium brought in to investigate reports of the ghost claimed that Bernie had died in the workhouse during the 19th century after breaking his neck in a fall from a window. It is said that his spirit never left the area.
A chilling encounter
One of the most chilling accounts dates back to a freezing December night in the 1970s. At around 1am, a crying 27-year-old Liverpool businessman, referred to as Mr Smith, was making his way up the frosted steps of Brownlow Hill towards the Metropolitan Cathedral, intending to end his life. The streets were deserted, and snow had begun to fall.
Smith had stopped off at the very place where he and his wife Melanie had walked hand in hand on the night of their first date. He had met Melanie at the Augustus John pub on that distant summer evening. They had both been students at Liverpool University before moving in together and marrying a year later. Then Melanie tragically died from a brain tumour.
As he reached the top of the steps and crossed the square, he climbed a snow-covered wall bordering it. He noticed a solitary figure approaching from the direction of the cathedral.
The stranger began talking to him before making a sinister revelation. He tilted his head to one side until his ear rested against his shoulder. Then, in an unnatural swift movement, he flipped his head backwards until his head touched his shoulder blades. The businessman realised with horror that the man's neck appeared to be broken.
The figure turned around, his head dangling unnaturally, smiling and telling him: "I jumped and look what happened." Before screaming with laughter with his face upside down.
Terrified, Smith fled. When he looked back, the mysterious man had disappeared, despite there being no footprints in the freshly fallen snow where he had been standing.
Ghost story series
This article is part of the ECHO's ghost story of the week series. If you have a ghost story or unusual experience you'd like to share with the Liverpool ECHO, get in contact at rebecca.mcgrath@reachplc.com.
