Friday 22-10-2021 - 14:06

Morbid Manchester: Manchester's Haunted Past

 

All Saints Park:

 

Starting close to home, All Saints Park isn’t simply the tranquil setting for students to sit with friends in between lectures. Before it was made a park in 1935, All Saints was actually a church burial ground. The park’s morbid history records reveal that 16,000 bodies are buried beneath the park from the hundred years it existed as a graveyard for the All Saints Church.

 

 

Deansgate Body Snatchers:

 

Many gruesome crimes have taken place in Manchester over the years, one of the most notorious being the Deansgate Body Snatchers. During the 1800s, corpses had a high value due to the science and developments in medicine that was occurring during this period – post-mortems were vital for scientists to learn about how our bodies work and often they were only given executed criminals to examine. As a result, grave robbing was a common crime.

Anatomy schools would often turn to the Black Market, encouraging men like William Johnson and William Harrison to carry out their crimes. Throughout January and February of 1824, the two men would go to Catholic Granby Row Cemetery in Deansgate to dig up newly buried bodies. They would remove the bodies from the coffins and re-bury the coffin afterwards to cover suspicion of their crimes. The bodies would be stored in their office on King Street, ready to be transported in suitcases via the Black Market to London. They were finally caught after a neighbour alerted police after witnessing what they thought was a house robbery, with the two men carrying suspicious packages. The bodies found were then put on public display for families to identify and re-bury. Johnson and Harrison were only two of many Deansgate Body Snatchers throughout the 1820s.

 

Palace Theatre:

 

The Palace Theatre home to Oxford Road has a rich history with living through World War II bombings, featuring in tours of world-renowned shows and hosting stars such as Judy Garland, Gracie Fields and Charlie Chaplin. Behind the grandeur and beautiful architecture though lies a ghostly past.

Staff have told stories of seeing spectators from the theatre’s history sat in the circle boxes enjoying the shows or lingering around the corridors and back stairwells leading private guest-hosting areas. Two notable spirits include a previously employed cleaning employee who appears as a female silhouette shrouded by grey mist and the wife of a previous Music Director carrying his beer during the intervals who was tragically killed outside the venue.

 

Demon of Manchester Cathedral:

 

Manchester Cathedral is an insight into the medieval history of the city; built in 1421 it has a gothic, spooky vibe for all who visit. Around the cathedral and that area of the city, it’s a legend that a demonic black giant dog, known as Black Shuck, haunts the night.

People have reported seeing a terrifying creature with “flaming red eyes, matted black fur and huge pointed teeth” roam the area and sometimes it’s even been seen without a head. Large black dogs (as many of you Harry Potter fans will know) are an omen of death, so many have been spooked with this legend and the prospect of seeing a demon dog. However, the legend also says that this one was exorcised on the bridge crossing the River Irwell behind the cathedral.

 

 

Ordsall Hall:

 

Finally, Ordsall Hall is last on our Morbid Manchester list. This beautiful period Salford property is said to be the most haunted place in Greater Manchester. It’s so haunted that the team who run the property have set up a permanent 24/7 ghost cam that they feature on their website so that visitors can do some ghost hunting from home this Halloween.

Margaret Radcliffe, a noblewoman who once lived in Ordsall Hall, has been described as a sensitive soul who longed to be reunited with her twin brother after he left for the Nine Year War in the 16^th Century. After his death at war some records say that she starved herself in grief whilst others say she jumped from a balcony in the home. Her ghost is said to be seen as The White Woman who carries a single candle searching the halls for her brother or lingering in the Star Chamber.

A young woman called Cecily was also a prior resident of Ordsall Hall. She was due to be married but was jilted at the altar and is said to have thrown herself down the stairs in grief and humiliation, killing herself. Sightings of her ghost are more popular whenever there are young children or school visits at Ordsall. Apparently, there’s a distinct sweet smell of roses whenever her ghost is present.

Sir John Radclyffe is also an Ordsall resident who refused to leave their home after death and instead haunts visitors. Notorious for being a bit of a lady’s man in his life, Sir Radclyffe is apparently more likely to haunt (and annoy) the female visitors of Ordsall Hall.