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Spooky London: A Tour of the Creepiest Places in the Capital

Tower of London

London is a gorgeous capital with a history stretching over millennia, but this history also includes some pretty gruesome events, many of which are immortalised in the city’s infrastructure.

If you want to learn about the dark side of London by visiting these creepy places, then you are at the right place. Today’s article will discuss these eerie London sites, so you can take a self-guided tour there, if you’re brave enough.

The Tower of London

We just had to start with the Tower of London, which draws more than 2.8 million tourists every year. What’s the Tower of London though? Many people associate it with torture and executions, which is accurate, but it didn’t always represent this.

William the Conqueror commissioned the castle sometime after 1066, and the first Norman monarchs used it as royal residence. Sometime later, the kings moved their royal court to Westminster Palace, and many other palaces in the next thousand years.

Still, the Tower of London retained its royal chambers, which were used for ceremonial (the monarch would sleep there before their coronation) and strategic purposes (royals would live there in times of turmoil).

However, since its very inception, the Tower had a designated prison, the White Tower (that’s where its name comes from). Later, the Tower became an even bigger symbol of tyranny and gore. Henry VI was murdered there in 1471, and in 1483, young Edward V and his brother, Richard, vanished from the Tower.

The Tower also saw a great deal of royal executions in the following century. Edward, Duke of Buckingham, was beheaded there in 1521, followed by Anne Boleyn in 1536, Margaret Poole in 1541, and Katherine Howard in 1542. The castle was also used for numerous interrogations that included torture.

Nowadays, the Tower of London is among the best-preserved castles in London, and if you read our article on the forgotten palaces in the capital, you’d know how significant that is.

Whitechapel and the Ten Bells

Whitechapel is a neighbourhood in London, which is frequented by true crime enthusiasts every year, because it served as the “hunting grounds” for the infamous serial killer, Jack the Ripper.

Whitechapel was a classic Dickensian neighbourhood by the mid-19th century, exhibited in the poor condition of the infrastructure and the droves of destitute residents. These conditions drove up crime, which culminated in the Whitechapel murders between 1888-1891 when eleven prostitutes were killed. Some contribute them all to Jack the Ripper, but many past and contemporary investigators disagree.

Many of the Victorian buildings in Whitechapel are preserved today, so you don’t have to imagine what the district looked like back then. You can take a self-guided tour along the Whitechapel streets or go on the famous Jack the Ripper walking tour with experienced guides.

If you are brave enough, you can also visit the Ten Bells. It’s said that the non-conspicuous pub is haunted by the spirits of two Jack the Ripper’s victims – Annie Chapman and Mary Jane Kelly.

Both women are said to have visited the pub, and some believe they never left spiritually. Bar staff and customers claim they have seen their ghosts and that there are also unexplainable cold spots in the venue.

The Ten Bells was mentioned in the famous graphic novel From Hell (1999), and its film adaptation, starring Johnny Depp, in 2001.

Hyde Park

Hyde Park is the perfect place for a picnic, and one of London’s most famous parks, mostly thanks to the Rolling Stones who love performing there. Hyde Park, however, has a creepy side to it.

In 1881, a family asked to bury their beloved Maltese terrier, Cherry, in the park since it was the little one’s favourite spot. The park allowed it and the family even put a tiny gravestone on the spot.

The Duke of Cambridge heard of this and later buried his dog there. This started a trend within London’s elite who would bury their pets in the cemetery. Now, more than 300 pets are buried there.

While no cemetery is ever not creepy, this one is also profoundly sweet. The engraved epitaphs show the owners’ adoration of their animal companions and they prove that people have always had a special place in their heart for their pets.

Bonus: Haunted Places

London is full of houses, castles, and pubs thought to be haunted; there are so many that we couldn’t possibly dedicate separate sections in the article. Still, we don’t want you to miss out on some good old ghost fun, so here’s a list of the most haunted places in London:

  • Hampton Court
  • Queen’s House
  • Westminster Abbey
  • Sutton House and Breaker’s Yard
  • Bruce Castle Museum
  • Greenwich Foot Tunnel
  • Spaniards Inn
  • The Flask
  • 50 Berkeley Square
  • Bleeding Heart Yard