Friday 30 October 2015

Haunted London, House of Detention Clerkenwell

If you are out for a stroll and curiosity gets the better of you, and then you might have a look for the entrance of the house of detention in Clerkenwell.  Don't expect too much as its closed with the only indication to the entrance shown here to the left. The best way to describe its location (You can easily walk past it) Stand On the Corner of Saint James Walk and Scotswood street (use Scotswood Street to search maps). Look down the street, 2nd lamp post down its opposite.

If you could get access today, you would find a series of dark, damp tunnels and passageways. Records show that a prison had been on the site since 1616 with a rebuild in 1844. The underground chambers were used as a holding prison for those awaiting trial and earned its name as the house of detention. The buildings above the ground were demolished in 1890, the underground not being used until it became an air raid shelter WWII. In 1993, it opened for a few years as a museum, closing in 2000.

The Hauntings.
A lot of people used to say they had a feeling of being watched, the overall dark atmosphere adding to the eerie feeling. Reports of a shadowy figure have been seen rushing through the darkness ahead of them. An old lady who looks to be searching for something. A little girl is heard sobbing uncontrollably. As a holding prison, the occupants would have also been women and children, and this may explain some of the hauntings.