They are the beautiful urban spaces that come into their own in summer – but could your local park be hiding a dark secret? Many of the green gems are associated with spooky legends, ranging from a headless woman to a ghostly funeral procession of mourners in Tudor costume. Here is a closer look at some of the most haunted parks across Britain.
Boggart Hole Clough, Manchester
In English folklore, boggarts are mischievous spirits – and these mythical creatures featured in JK Rowling's Harry Potter tales as shapeshifters who can turn into your worst fear. Legend has it that boggarts are also able to turn milk sour and make dogs unable to walk.
Strange disturbances have been reported in the eerie woods of this park named after them, with walkers describing unexplained demonic laughter and stones being thrown by unseen forces.
St James's Park, London
Back in 1804 a soldier called George Jones testified that a “woman without a head” had once suddenly risen from the ground a mere three feet in front of him in the Royal park. He said she was wearing a red striped gown and was enveloped in a mist, before disappearing.
Since then, other witnesses have come forward to report a similar sight. It's thought to be the ghost of an 18th century woman who was decapitated, before her body was thrown in the nearby lake.
Black Patch Park, Birmingham and Roundhay Park, Leeds
An old woman wearing a long black dress and red cape is said to lurk in Black Patch Park. One female witness told how the apparition suddenly popped up in front her while she was pushing her four-year-old in a pram, then disappeared. It's thought the phantom could be the spirit of a Romany woman dubbed 'Queen Henty' who once camped in the area.
In 2015 post office worker Nurul Islam, 37, took a snap of his two children in front of a 19th century folly at Roundhay Park's 700 acres. Later he noticed a chilling ghostly figure in the background, beneath the castle-like structure. It was dressed in a cloak and appeared to be walking up the steps with its arm outstretched. He said that at the time he was sure there was “no-one there.” The same spot is associated with a mythical devil dog, also said to have been caught on camera in 2019.
Auchinlea Park, Glasgow and Stoke Park, Bristol
One of Glasgow's oldest buildings, Provan Hall house, lies at the centre of Auchinlea Park – and boasts multiple ghost stories. The spirits of a mother and her two-year-old son are said to haunt the building as well as their killer – a 19th century soldier who returned from two years of war to find his wife had given birth. The house's last private owner Reston Mather is also said to appear on the staircase wearing a black bowler hat. Even the ghoul of 16th century King James V, a regular visitor, has apparently been detected by paranormal investigators in the master bedroom. A mysterious figure also peers from a window.
Stoke Park in Bristol, with its distinctive yellow Dower House, was the site of the tragic death of 18-year-old Lady Elizabeth Somerset in a riding accident in 1760. Today visitors repeatedly report hearing the sound of disembodied horses' hooves galloping across the landscape at the spot where a monument marks her violent end.
Hyde Park, London, Wardown Park, Luton and Boultham Park, Lincoln
In 1877 several reports came in of a ghostly carriage pulled by four horses being seen in Hyde Park, near Buckingham Palace. It is said to have been driven by a figure in white and done several laps of the park before disappearing. At the time many believed it was the ghost of the long-dead George IV. The park is also said to be home to phantom trees with branches shaped like arms which lure people to their deaths.
Wardown House museum and gallery in Luton's Wardown Park is said to be haunted by the ghost of a figure dubbed 'The Housekeeper'. The sinister spectre is often described as wearing black and carrying jangling keys. Sometimes seen on the stairs, she vanishes into thin air. Workers in the 1970s encountered her in the cellar, before they were told of the legend by the caretaker.
Beside Boultham Park's tranquil lake in Lincoln, people have encountered a faceless man who appears to float. The most famous sighting came from two girls who were crossing the park at night in 1977 and said the disappearing entity appeared lit up, even in the gloom.
Greenwich Park, London
Greenwich Park is associated with a ghostly funeral procession of mourners in Tudor costume who disappear at the knees. It's not the only spooky occurrence in the park. In 1898 the famous paranormal investigator Elliot O'Donnell reported sitting under an old elm tree on a sunny day only to be visited by a black mass which descended from it and turned the landscape bare and parched. He fled in fright.
