The Haunted Townhouse of 50 Berkeley Square in London

One of the most haunted houses in London was 50 Berkeley Square, which according to the stories had a dangerous ghost that could kill the people staying in the attic.

Once there was a house that was thought to be London’s most haunted house. The Georgian townhouse was located on 50 Berkeley Square in upmarket Mayfair.

Back in the 18th and 19th century the place was linked with many horrific deaths and mysterious things happening. Residents as well as guests claimed to have seen ghosts in the house before they themselves were found dead. Their mouths and eyes wide open as if they died of pure fear.

One of the most haunted houses in London was 50 Berkeley Square, which according to the stories had a dangerous ghost that could kill the people staying in the attic.

In 1879, reports of the house were published in Mayfair Magazine, telling about a maid who stayed in the attic and was found mad and died in an asylum the day after. In the same article there was also said a nobleman spent the night in the same attic and by morning he was found paralyzed, so scared that he couldn’t even speak. Also he died shortly after.

The Victorian Christmas Deaths

Britain is known for its ghost stories tied to Christmastime, and this is one of those. One of the more haunted happenings in the house is said to have taken place on Christmas Eve, at least it was published in the magazine as it.

This is what happened on Christmas Eve in 1887 when two sailors came to London. Blunden and Martin were on leave from HMS Penelope from the Royal Navy and walked through the dark and foggy winter streets, trying to find a place to stay for the night.
If they were allowed to come in for the night or if they broke into the house is unclear, but they at least settled for the night in the attic.

What they didn’t know at the time when they found lodging at 50 Berkeley Square when they stumbled upon it, happy to find someplace warm in the cold night, was all the haunted rumors and that the previous occupants of their room had been found mysteriously dead in the very room.

During the night, Blunden felt uneasy and unable to fall asleep. Something wasn’t right in the house. He woke up Martin when he saw a ghost hanging over him. Blunden acted quickly and went for his weapon to protect them. The ghost came toward him as Martin managed to get out to the streets and found a policeman.

Martin came back with the bobby and went inside of the house. They found Blunden at the bottom of the stairs, dead. His neck had been broken, probably because of the fall from the stairs. His eyes were wide open, as if from pure terror and fear.

The Woman in the Attic

The most told legend is that the house was haunted by the spirit of a young woman who killed herself in the attic. After being abused by her uncle for a long time, she is said to have thrown herself out from the top-floor window in the attic.
She is said to be the one behind the strange deaths as well, as her sight is so frightful people have died from fear of it. Depending who you ask, her spirit takes mostly form as a brown mist or a white ghostly figure.

The Starved Man

Another version of the haunted legends of the house is that there once was a man who was locked in the attic room and was only fed through a hole in the door. His brother, Mr. Du Pre of Wilton Park had to lock him inside because of his violent madness. In some versions he wasn’t mad to start with, but he eventually went mad and died.

After his death he became a ghost and his moans and screams haunted the whole neighborhood.

The Strange Thomas Myers of 50 Berkeley Square

So who was haunting the house that in modern times were owned by the Maggs Bros, Antiquarian Booksellers? Most stories are thought to have come from one of the peculiars occupants, Thomas Myers. He slept during the day, and in the night he made strange noises that many believed became exaggerated later.

He moved into 50 Berkeley Square in 1859 after having been rejected by his fiancee according to the stories. He lived there alone and was said to be slowly getting mad as he locked himself in all day until he died in 1874 at 76.

When he stayed there, the house with the sweeping stairs, high plaster ceilings and marble floors slowly started decaying more and more and rumors about it being haunted started to form around this time.

When he was summoned to court for not paying his rates of 50 Berkeley Square, the magistrate excused him because they all knew he lived in a haunted house. So what came first? Thomas Myers or the hauntings?

The Haunted House

The spirits of the house at 50 Berkeley Square are said to be so strong that you only need to touch the Gregorian exterior of the house to feel the shivering hauntings that have infected the house.

In modern times, we don’t really hear much about any more of the haunted incidents as before, and owners have refuted that the building is haunted.

So the question is really, was the strange behavior of Mr. Myers the cause behind all of the haunting in the house, or did he see something that made him so?