UK haunted cities: 10 terrifying places to live including Newcastle and Brighton

Most people have a spooky suspicion they live in the UK’s most haunted place but it’s difficult to know if your hunch is more stars hollow than sleepy. With Halloween soon approaching, join us on a spooky journey to uncover which city is home to the creepiest cemeteries, abandoned buildings and hair-raising reports.

Paranormal investigators at BonusFinder have created a list of the most haunted places in the UK by devising a ‘scary score’ based upon factors such as paranormal reports, the number of cemeteries, vacant properties and houses built before 1918. The data has been standardised per 10,000 people, to ensure ensures that city and town sizes, and the corresponding population, are consistent with the truth.

The result paints a vivid picture of each place’s paranormal activity and some of the names might surprise you. Here’s the list of the UK’s most haunted places.

10 most haunted places in the UK

1. Salford

Salford, located in Greater Manchester, takes the top spot with a haunted score of 8.5 out of 10. In Salford, you’ll find 41 cemeteries, over 1,000 vacant properties, and more than 21,000 houses that were constructed over a century ago.

To put it in perspective, that’s 139 vacant properties for every 10,000 people and 2,990 houses built before 1918 for every 10,000 people.

Spookiest spot: Wardley Hall

2. Bolton

Bolton takes the second spot with a scary score of 8.4 out of 10. Although it has fewer cemeteries compared to the first-place Salford, it stands out with a higher number of paranormal reports (15), vacant properties (1,642), and old houses (32,520).

However, when considering these figures per population, Bolton has 116 vacant properties and 2,031 houses built before 1918 per 10,000 people, which is lower than Salford’s count.

Spookiest spot: Smithills Hall

3. Chichester

In the third spot for the most haunted places in the UK, we have Chichester, scoring 8.2 out of 10 on the spookiness scale. Chichester boasts just 11 paranormal reports and 14 cemeteries, translating to 3.5 and 4.4 per 10,000 people, respectively.

However, Chichester has higher numbers for vacant properties (194) and over 11,000 houses constructed more than a century ago, at 61 and 3,481 per 10,000 people, respectively.

Spookiest spot: Chichester Cathedral and Priory Park

4. Brighton and Hove

In the ranking of the most haunted places in the UK, Brighton and Hove secured the fourth position with a haunting score of 8.1 out of 10. This seaside city boasts a notable number of paranormal reports (36) and an array of cemeteries (69).

Additionally, there are 75 vacant properties per 10,000 residents and a substantial count of 2,541 houses built before 1918 per 10,000 residents.

Spookiest spot: The Royal Pavilion

=4. Lancaster

Tying for fourth place with Brighton and Hove is Lancaster, scoring 8.1 points out of 10. While Lancaster may have fewer total spooky elements, it outshines Brighton and Hove when we consider these elements per population.

Lancaster surpasses Brighton and Hove in two aspects: vacant properties and old houses. Specifically, Lancaster boasts 140 vacant properties and 3,632 houses built before 1918 per 10,000 people.

Spookiest spot: Lancaster Castle, The Three Mariners and St. Mary’s Churchyard.

6. Winchester

Ranked next among the most haunted places in the UK is Winchester, with a haunting score of 8.0 out of 10. In Winchester, you’ll discover a collection of paranormal reports (20) and cemeteries (23), but what sets The City of Kings and Priests apart is its count of over 10,000 houses constructed before 1918.

Additionally, the city boasts more than 3,000 memorials, yet another factor considered in our study. This translates to 789 memorials per 10,000 people.

Spookiest spot: Winchester Cathedral and Wolvesey Castle

7. Wakefield

With just one recorded paranormal report but over 25,000 old houses, Wakefield secures the seventh spot with a score of 7.6 out of 10. This cathedral city in West Yorkshire has 18 cemeteries and 1,522 vacant properties, translating to two cemeteries and 193 vacant properties per 10,000 residents, respectively.

Spookiest spot: Wakefield Theatre Royal and Opera House

=7. Lichfield

Tied for seventh place with Wakefield is Lichfield. In comparison to Wakefield, Lichfield holds a higher number of paranormal reports, totalling eight, which equates to 2.4 per 10,000 people. However, it falls short in terms of vacant properties (486) and old houses (4,700), with figures amounting to 148 and 1,430 per 10,000 people, respectively.

Spookiest spot: Erasmus Darwin House

9. Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne secures the ninth position with a score of 7.4 out of 10. This city in the north is notable for its abundant memorials, totalling over 28,000, as well as 1.7 paranormal reports per 10,000 residents, and just over 26,000 old houses constructed before 1918.

Spookiest spot: The Castle Keep

10. Barnsley

Finishing the top 10 most haunted places in the UK is Barnsley with 7.3 out of 10. In Barnsley, you’ll find 16 cemeteries and 4,236 memorials, along with a creepy count of 3,230 old houses per 10,000 residents. Additionally, there are four paranormal reports and over 1,000 vacant properties.

Spookiest spot: Locke Park