The Ghosts of Bradford

There are other ghosts dotted around the city. Some live in City Hall, while others haunt the local drinking establishments. Here is a story of the more popular ghosts of Bradford.

While there are the odd locations in the area with ghost stories, one of those allegedly being the haunting ground of the Bronte sisters’ brother, Branwell, there is one ghost story in particular that many visitors hear about. That is of the Victorian girl who simply likes to play by running up and down the stairs.

She lives in the Parkside Social Club and many have heard the sounds her footsteps make. Visitors have even gone investigating up the two sets of stairs to try and catch the culprit making the noise, but there was never anything there.

The pool room has become the place for guests to stay away from after reports of sightings of the girl there. However, the daughter of a volunteer, who is just 10, happily goes into the room to play with the “ghost girl.”

Hare and Hounds in Oxenhope is a place where plate s fall off the wall with no contact. Michael Roper, landlord of the pub, believes that the ghost is that of a female pig farmer who died in a horse and cart accident. She died in the pub and patrons have noted that there is a black-dressed woman in the establishment.

It was also the site of a fire that firefighters could not explain. A porcelain figure somehow caught fire with nothing around it. Strange voices and slamming doors have been heard in the establishment.

Wrose is just on the outskirts of Shipley and offers a beautiful look over Aire Valley. However it was an area that always gave me the creeps when I was younger. We would pass it on the way to my dance lessons and I always got the sense that there was something watching me every time I drove through the area.

It turns out that Bolton Old Hall is haunted by a ghost called Blue Mary. Anyone who enters the house feels her presence but very little is known about her. In fact, most of what is known is based on legends dating back to the 19^th century. She was blamed for the cows not producing enough milk at one point but nobody knows who she could be or where she came from.

These two locations are in the heart of the city. The Midland Hotel is commonly used for functions and is beautiful on the inside (the outside really needs some work). It is said to be haunted by the ghost of Sir Henry Irving, who suffered a stroke on stage while performing Becket. He uttered his character’s dying words after dying in the hotel’s lobby. I’ve only been in the hotel twice and I’ve never felt the presence as strongly as I have in other establishments around the city.