Prison Ghosts

From medieval dungeons to modern American penitentiaries, prisons are truly frightening places – and they remain frightening long after the last inmate has finished his porridge.

One former prison that sees a lot of paranormal activity is Derby Gaol, owned by ghost expert and historian Richard Felix.

Derby Gaol was built in the 1750’s on a traditional, and very busy, execution site. Death and suffering were associated with the building right from the start.

England at this time was experiencing a massive crimewave caused by terrible poverty and cheap gin which large numbers of the population were addicted to.

The gap between rich and poor was immense and the ruling classes were not about to let the peasants get their grubby hands on the family silver. If you were poor and committed a crime you could definitely expect brutal punishment.

Over 260 crimes carried the death penalty. A twelve year old who stole a handkerchief was just as likely to hang as a highwayman who committed murder.

Therefore, the vast majority of the poor souls who entered Derby Gaol had a rather unpleasant appointment with the hangman. Even those inmates not sentenced to death were probably going to die from the filthy conditions and the violence of the gaolers and fellow convicts.

As if the prospect of the gallows was not terrible enough, condemned inmates had an additional fear which caused them great anguish. Their bodies were often handed to the surgeons to be dissected and examined (and then put on public display as a warning to others). In these more religious times it was firmly believed that your soul could not enter heaven if your body had been dismembered. This belief could be a contributing factor as to why some spirits stay on the earthly plane and refuse to “cross over”.

Derby Gaol is regularly visited by paranormal investigators and interested members of the public. Many people have witnessed unusual and sometimes quite scary activity within the building.

Even an experienced investigator like Richard Felix has been frightened by close encounters of the paranormal kind. He was once confronted by a grey haze in the shape of a man. This strange grey mist glided straight past him before disappearing at the end of the corridor.

A builder was once working in one of the cells when the heavy cell door slowly closed by itself, locking him in. This happened twice and no rational explanation could be found. These doors are very heavy and another person closing them would have been heard or seen. This builder also experienced feelings of nausea – a common experience in haunted locations. Many people visiting Derby Gaol begin to feel sick and have to leave. Some people seem to feel that they are being suffocated or strangled.

A very disturbing scene has been witnessed in one of the cells. People claim to have seen two young men hanging from a beam, their bodies slowly rotating. A similar vision has been seen in the Day Room where a visitor noticed a man hanging from a doorway. He thought that this was a very convincing stunt by an actor but was shocked to discover that nobody else had seen the hanging man. Could these frightening visions be somehow conjured up by the buildings long association with death by hanging?

One particular scary figure has been encountered lurking in a doorway of Derby Gaol. He has been described as an evil looking bald man wearing a kind of leather garment or apron. I remember reading that when prisoners were flogged, the jailer would wear a leather apron because it was easier to wipe off blood and bits of flesh. This leather clad bald man has also been seen to walk through a wall.

Another strangely dressed figure, a woman in a large fancy hat, was seen to walk down a corridor and through a door to the outside. The witnesses followed her outside to be confronted by freshly fallen snow – and no footprints!

Derby Gaol seems to be full of strange ghostly people. A man in a long scarlet coat is sometimes seen acting as if he is looking for someone or something. A “terrified looking” blonde woman was witnessed lying on a bed, a dark, shadowy figure seemed to be menacing her. People have commented on black shapes congregating around the fireplace in the Day Room.

Many people have commented on a strong tobacco smell. This is something that I and other investigators have increasingly begun to notice in haunted locations. The smell of strong tobacco smoke (mainly pipes and cigars) has become very noticeable since the smoking ban was introduced.

Derby Gaol also has more than its fair share of poltergeist activity. Cups, glasses and various ornaments have all moved by themselves – sometimes flying past the heads of shocked visitors and staff. A pair of antique spectacles seem to be able to move themselves around the building whenever they feel like it.

Other prisons, some still in use, also appear to be haunted.

For over a hundred years Wandsworth Prison in London has been the home of a well known ghost called ‘Wandsworth Annie’. Many prisoners and staff have described her as middle aged and wearing a long grey woollen dress and black boots. She appears for a few seconds at various points in the prison and as soon as she is noticed she quickly vanishes. ‘Wandsworth Annie’ is thought to be a woman who worked at the prison, probably as a cook, in the mid nineteenth century.

Dartmoor prison also has a ghost with a name and, back in the 1930’s, was even recognised as a former inmate called David Davies. He spent most of his life, over fifty years, incarcerated at Dartmoor Prison. For much of that time he looked after the prison sheep and was so devoted to them he gave them names and was able to tell them apart. He died in 1929 but a year later the prison governor was shocked to see him walking among his beloved sheep. Some prisoners also saw this figure and recognised him as their old mate David Davies.

A much more disturbing experience has been had by inmates at Durham Prison. In 1947 a brutal murder took place in one of the cells. One prisoner killed another with a knife stolen from the Dining Hall. The killer was eventually hanged but his malevolent presence lingered in the cell of his horrific crime. One prisoner who was locked up in this cell emerged screaming one morning. He claimed to have seen the murder re-enacted before his very eyes. Other convicts refused to enter this cell and begged to be put into solitary confinement instead.

The ghost of the infamous Dr Hawley Crippen has been seen at Pentonville Prison where he was hanged in 1910 for the murder of his wife. His bespectacled, sorrowful figure has apparently been witnessed standing over his unmarked grave, complete with a bent, crooked neck.

Many of our old Victorian prisons must still have their execution chambers and condemned cells and I would love to hear of any strange experience in these places.

Hauntings often occur in locations that have seen great trauma and suffering. Negative emotions – anger, hate, violence, fear, despair – have always been prevalent in prisons throughout history. These emotions tend to linger in the atmosphere, providing energy for spirits to manifest.