Voted as one of the ‘most haunted buildings’ in the UK, with an extensive macabre history of people imprisoned and executed over the centuries, what better place is there to get in the Halloween spirit?
Throughout October and November The National Justice Museum is hosting after hours Ghost Tours for a chance to visit the museum under the cover of darkness, and see if you witness any supernatural encounters.
We began our tour alongside a mixture of enthusiastic amateur paranormal investigators and perhaps slightly reluctant rationalists. Our guide shared some of the common sightings which have been spotted in the entrance of the museum including a young girl on the stairs, a suffragette gliding along the balconies and the ghost of a jailor’s whippet that would brush against visitors’ legs. Coincidentally, I had earlier felt something knock against the shopping bag I was carrying, but saw nothing that could have bumped it.
As someone who had not visited before, seeing the museum in darkness with only candlelight illuminating our way added an extra eerie layer to our visit. We visited various parts of the Museum including the courtroom, the bathhouses, and caves under the museum where prisoners were kept for days at a time. We had the opportunity to enter and be briefly trapped in one of the cells where on more than one occasion, a spiritual being has been seen or heard.
A highlight of the tour was the visit to the women’s bathhouse. There, paranormal activity is high with heavy footsteps heard in the vacant room above, and a haggard lady sat hunched on a stool in the corner seen on numerous occasions. A scrubbing brush left on the side of a bath has been thrown across the room of its own accord, and my friend on the tour claimed she heard the sound of scrubbing when close to the brush.
One of the last stops of the tour was the visit to the dark cellars where prisoners would be held in confinement. There, we were greeted by shadows and a cold feeling thick in the air. We all agreed that this part of the museum gave a heavy, uncomfortable feeling, dread running through our bones. Perhaps the ghosts were confirming to us this was once a desolate place to spend their lives shackled in?
Although we saw no significant supernatural occurrence on this visit, the tour was still a great introduction to a core part of Nottingham’s history,, and we all really enjoyed hearing about the various ghosts that reside in the museum. If you are looking for a spooktacular event to get you in the mood for Halloween this is a great option.