Croxteth Hall, known for its grand interiors and sprawling country park, also has a reputation for being haunted. Staff have reported unexplained footsteps, disembodied voices, mysterious figures, and unsettling encounters over the years.
Ghostly Figures and Strange Noises
Among the accounts are reports of a miserable-looking young boy wandering the upper floors, a faceless woman appearing in a mirror, and an employee who felt an unseen presence trying to push her from a chair. These stories were documented by author John Reppion in his book 800 Years of Haunted Liverpool.
One reported apparition is that of a young boy said to appear at the top of the main staircase. Witnesses described him as wearing “Victorian rags” with a face conveying “perfect misery”. A similar apparition was reportedly seen in the nearby dining room, where staff also described disembodied voices. Researchers found no historical evidence identifying the child or explaining why his spirit might remain at the hall.
A figure dressed in white was reportedly glimpsed moving quickly along an upstairs corridor before disappearing into one of the rooms.
The Faceless Woman in the Mirror
A member of staff saw a mysterious woman reflected in a large mirror in Lady Sefton's sitting room. The figure was described as wearing a grey cowl and a longish jacket with embroidered edges, but the witness could not remember seeing a face. According to the account, the reflection appeared solid rather than transparent.
A similar faceless grey figure was reportedly seen in a corridor to the left of the main staircase. Who the woman might have been remains unknown.
Footsteps and Unseen Hands
In the late 1990s, a security guard in the old mess room heard childlike footsteps running around at the top of the Red Stairs. When he went upstairs to investigate, the footsteps stopped, but they started again as he descended. He repeated the journey several times with the same result, but found nobody in the upstairs corridor.
An electrician working in an old housekeeping corridor reportedly left before finishing the job after seeing something in the passageway. He was so shaken that he refused to return, but did not explain what he had seen.
In 2004, a member of staff standing on a chair to change a light bulb near the old pantry felt hands pushing against her back. When she turned around, she was completely alone. Other employees described feeling as though they were being watched while working in the kitchen area. In the servant's hall, a worker once noticed the smell of pipe smoke, despite the building being a non-smoking area, and colleagues beside them could not smell anything.
