Westminster, Enfield, and Bromley are the spookiest boroughs in London according to new research.
As the temperature drops and orange and yellow leaves fill the ground, it’s officially spooky season.
To get into the Halloween spirit, Barratt London has revealed the spookiest boroughs analysing ghost sightings, cemeteries, spooky tours, supernatural beings as well as Halloween events.
Which are the spookiest boroughs?
Westminster is officially the spookiest borough scoring 78 out of 100. This borough has 45 ghost sightings, 16 supernatural beings, 15 spooky tours and 14 Halloween events.
The City of London borough came in second place with a score of 39 out of 100. The ‘square mile’ area has 21 ghost sightings, 21 spooky tours, seven supernatural beings, one Halloween event and zero cemeteries.
Enfield is the third spookiest borough scoring 33 out of 100. The North London borough has seven cemeteries and 20 ghost sightings but scored zero on supernatural beings, Halloween events and spooky tours.
| Top 10 spookiest boroughs | |||||||
| Ranking | Borough | Cemeteries | Famous ghosts, vampires, and witches | Ghost Sightings | Spooky Tours | Halloween events | Spooky score |
| 1 | Westminster | 0 | 16 | 45 | 15 | 14 | 78 |
| 2 | City of London | 0 | 7 | 21 | 21 | 1 | 39 |
| 3 | Enfield | 7 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 33 |
| 4 | Bromley | 5 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
| 5 | Tower Hamlets | 1 | 20 | 6 | 11 | 3 | 31 |
| 6 | Kensington and Chelsea | 3 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 29 |
| 7 | Camden | 1 | 4 | 16 | 3 | 5 | 27 |
| 8 | Richmond upon Thames | 9 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 25 |
| 9 | Southwark | 4 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 22 |
| 10 | Greenwich | 4 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 18 |
Which borough has the most ghost sightings?
Halloween wouldn’t be complete without ghostly figures; the City of London is 2,000 years old which means it’s filled with haunted stories and ghouls.
Westminster takes first place for the most ghost sightings with 45 sightings. Within Westminster, Buckingham Palace and No.10 Downing Streetare hotspots for paranormal activity, with reports of a monk on the King’s grounds and unexplained footsteps and cigar smoke at No.10.
Bromley follows in second with 23 sightings and the City of London in third with 21. An old sea captain is said to haunt the Bromley United Services Club and there have been reports of voices as well as the lifting of carpets at the Viaduct Tavern in the City of London.
| Top 10 ghostliest boroughs | |||
| Ranking | Borough | Ghost sightings | Total spooky score |
| 1 | Westminster | 45 | 78 |
| 2 | Bromley | 23 | 32 |
| 3 | City of London | 21 | 39 |
| 4 | Enfield | 20 | 33 |
| 5 | Camden | 16 | 27 |
| 6 | Kensington and Chelsea | 10 | 29 |
| 7 | Southwark | 7 | 22 |
| 8 | Greenwich | 7 | 18 |
| 9 | Tower Hamlets | 6 | 31 |
| 10 | Richmond upon Thames | 6 | 25 |
Which borough is haunted by the most supernatural beings?
The study also explored which areas had the most reports of famous vampires, ghosts, and famous witches. Tower Hamlets takes the crown for first place with 20 sightings, 11 belonging to the Tower of London. Famous ghosts include Henry VI, Lady Jane Grey (known as the nine-day queen) and The White Lady. The White Lady, whose identity remains unknown has been sighted on numerous occasions waving at children and smelling of old perfume.
Westminster follows behind in second place with 16 supernatural sightings, four taking place in Westminster Abbey. There have been reports of monks and soldiers in the Abbey.
The City of London is in third place as the most supernatural borough with seven sightings, with three of these in London tube stations (Liverpool Street station, Bank station and Aldgate station).
Liverpool Street station is built on an ancient burial ground and is said to be one of London’s most haunted tube stations which is plagued by a worker in white overalls.
Sarah Whitehead, The Black Nun is said to haunt both the Bank of England and the Bank station.
Aldgate station is said to be haunted by a woman who fell on the tracks when sheltering in the Underground during World War Two.
| Top 10 supernatural boroughs | |||
| Ranking | Borough | Famous vampires, ghosts, and witches | Total Spooky Score |
| 1 | Tower Hamlets | 20 | 31 |
| 2 | Westminster | 16 | 78 |
| 3 | City of London | 7 | 39 |
| 4 | Camden | 4 | 27 |
| 5 | Islington | 4 | 17 |
| 6 | Hackney | 4 | 11 |
| 7 | Greenwich | 3 | 18 |
| 8 | Richmond upon Thames | 3 | 25 |
| 9 | Kensington and Chelsea | 2 | 29 |
| 10 | Southwark | 2 | 22 |
Some other honourable mentions that make the top 10 are Islington and Hackney with four sightings each. Interestingly, there has only been one vampire sighting in London which was the Highgate Vampire in the 1970s.
Rose Pullan, senior marketing and communications manager at Barratt West London, said: “We were excited to throw ourselves into the Halloween season and learn more about the haunting history of London.
With Barratt London having a presence in many of these communities, we wanted to find out the spookiest sights for locals to explore.
Whether you celebrate the spooky season or not, the city is filled with unearthly stories and hauntings as well as a wide variety of events which makes it the perfect place to spend Halloween.”
You can find more information about each of the spookiest boroughs here.
