The current Britannia Adelphi Hotel is the third building here used as a hotel, and filled with ghosts according to rumours. From the dark basement to the haunted suites in the upper floors, this Liverpool hotel is often dubbed Britain’s most haunted one.
In the center of Liverpool stands a grand and opulent hotel whose luxury hides a darker history. The Britannia Adelphi Hotel, once hailed as the most elegant hotel outside of London, has long been a magnet for both travelers and the supernatural.
Behind the crystal chandeliers and marble halls lurk whispers of ghostly figures, disembodied voices and strange tapping noises from the walls, and something much more sinister said to dwell on the third floor. Guests have checked in expecting a night of comfort only to find themselves face-to-face with the unknown.
A History of Grandeur and Ghosts
A hotel has occupied this site since 1826, when it first replaced Ranaleigh Gardens, one of Liverpool’s earliest public recreation spaces. The original building gave way to a second hotel fifty years later, which was purchased by Midland Railway in 1892. By 1911, the current Adelphi Hotel replaced the old ones. When it opened its doors, it quickly became a symbol of wealth and sophistication, welcoming guests from across the world.
Famous figures such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, and Laurel and Hardy once graced its rooms. Even Roy Rogers brought his beloved horse, Trigger, to stay within its walls. Yet despite its polished surface, the Adelphi has always seemed to carry something restless beneath its grandeur, as though the echoes of its past refuse to fade.
The Haunted Adelphi Hotel
According to the stories, Adelphi is haunted because of the many deaths and suicides that have taken place here since it opened.
Read More: Check out more haunted hotels around the world
There are plenty of ghosts believed to haunt the hotel. One of them being a bellboy, 15 year old Raymond Brown, who was trapped in the baggage lift and died in 1961. He can now be seen picking up guests’ bags and carrying their luggage before he disappears around a corner or slips into the shadows.
In the elevators there is a whistler who is breathing down people’s necks and tapping them on the shoulder. A female ghost who is pickpocketing the guests, rifling through their belongings in the early morning, vanishes when she is caught.
In the basement it is said that a lady wearing Victorian clothing is haunting. Among the many tales, one rumor stands out—accounts of a demon that prowls the upper corridors, growling and whispering in a voice not of this world.
The Haunted Third Floor
The most haunted floor in the hotel is said to be the third floor. This is according to the staff. There have been several reports about people getting sick when staying there for too long, and people also claim to have seen shadows and ghostly figures at the end of their beds.
It is said that this shadow is the ghost of a man known only as George in a tuxedo and a toothbrush mustache. He is said to stand silently by people’s bed, his expression unreadable, before fading away into the shadows.
Some believe it is the ghost of a man who took his own life inside the hotel in the 1930s. It is said that he died in the elevator in the hotel or fell to his death. He is also said to call out to people from a particular window on the Brownlow Hill side of the hotel.
The Haunting of the Titanic Crew in The Sefton Suite
It is said that The Sefton Suite in the hotel is an exact replica of the first-class smoking room on the ship. It has later been disproven by the hotel itself. But this myth is perhaps the reason people think that Captain Edward Smith, who went down with the Titanic in 1912, is haunting this hotel.
A paranormal researcher and author Tom Slemen claims to have witnessed three men haunting the room, saying it was Smith together with two other naval officers who also went down with the ship.
“During one talk, there was standing room only, and I and many other people saw three men standing at the far end of the room who were dressed as naval officers with white caps and dark jackets with all the braiding. The middle officer, who looked about sixty, had a white beard and stood about 5 feet 7 or 8, and the trio were there one moment then gone the next, and there were gasps of shock when this trinity of ghosts vanished.” Source
It is also said that a woman in a grey Victorian dress is haunting it.
The Living and the Dead
Today, the Adelphi Hotel continues to welcome guests into its 402 rooms, each richly decorated with touches of old-world charm. Visitors can enjoy fine dining beneath sparkling chandeliers, relax in the sauna and marble swimming pool, or sip a quiet drink in the bar. Yet as night falls, and the last lights dim, the grandeur takes on a different tone. The laughter from the dining halls fades, replaced by faint whispers down long corridors and the creak of unseen footsteps.
For some, the Adelphi is a place of elegance and nostalgia. For others, it is a labyrinth of shadows and memories that refuse to die. Whether George’s ghost still stands watch or something far darker prowls the third floor, one thing is certain—those who stay at the Britannia Adelphi Hotel never quite leave as they arrived.
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References:
The Haunted Britannia Adelphi Hotel, Liverpool
Cumbrian ghost hunter Louis Dee explores Liverpool’s Adelphi Hotel | News and Star
The Eerie Legends of Adelphi Hotel Liverpool – DeadLive Events
Spookiest things to have ever happened at The Adelphi Hotel – Liverpool Echo
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