Hello again my lovelies! Welcome back, or welcome if this is your first time visiting. Today we will be looking at a haunting, well a haunted house. This London townhouse had the reputation of being England’s most haunted house. No one knows what dwells here as there are many stories and descriptions of the horror that resides in this home. All they know is it is evil. Like so many things this story really intrigued me as a child and hopefully I can do the same to you. So grab a drink and a snack and we will dive into the Horror of 50 Berkeley Square.

50 Berkeley Square is a townhouse situated in Berkeley Square (obviously), Mayfair, London, UK. It was built in 1740 by a man named William Kent. It was once home to a former Prime Minister George Canning until his death in 1827. It was then home to a Miss Curzon who lived there until she also died at the age of 90. In 1859 it was then taken over by a Mr Thomas Myers. It was this point the house started to get its reputation.

It was rumoured that after Thomas moved in and furnished the home, his fiancé rejected him forcing him to become a recluse. He moved into the attic room, slept all day, and only walked around the house at night with a candle. He never saw a living soul. The house fell into disrepair and the local council sued him in 1873 for not paying his rates. Thomas was due to go to court, but he never showed. The magistrate excused him on account of him living in the haunted house.  

The legends associated with the house vary. However, most versions tell the tale of a young woman who committed suicide in the attic of the house. She allegedly threw herself out of a top floor window after her uncle abused her and is said to have the ability to frighten people to death. Her spirit has been reported to take the form of a brown mist but sometimes it is said she appears as a white figure. Other versions include a young man that was locked in the attic, fed through a hole in the door and eventually went mad and died. Another alleged ghost is one of a little girl who was killed by a servant.

There are many stories about the house and its hauntings along with accounts of people who visited or dared stay there for one night. One such story is that of Lord Lyttleton, who apparently saw the ghost and lived to tell the tale. Lord Lyttleton belonged to a family who were deemed “the most haunted family in England” and was said to collect ghosts.

One night he stayed in a second-floor room in the house, one where a ghost was said to have always appeared. With him he took two blunderbuss guns loaded with buckshot and sixpenny pieces. The silver coins were used as charms to protect him from evil. During the night the Lord met the ghost, it came into the room and leapt at him. He managed to raise the gun in the nick of time and shot at the ghost. The ghost apparently fell to the floor then evaporated. Lord Lyttleton couldn’t describe anything more about the ghost, he couldn’t even tell its colour or shape. It was only a shadowy presence, but one thing he was sure of was that he had never met a more terrible, or evil ghost in his life.  

One of the other better-known stories in regard to the house is that of Sir Robert Warboys. Sir Robert did not believe in ghosts nor the supernatural. When he heard of the tales of the house, he dismissed them as impossible, which he told friends. He and his friends argued about this for a while until they finally dared Sir Robert to spend the night alone in the haunted room. The then owner of the house a Mr Benson was contacted to gain permission for Sir Robert to stay in the room, however Mr Benson wanted nothing to do with it, he knew the fate of everyone else that had stayed there. Sir Robert and his friends were determined it was now a matter of honour. Sir Robert had accepted the challenge and if Mr Benson were to agree then they would all come to the house at the appointed night and be on hand if something should happen. Furthermore, Sir Robert would be armed with a gun. (Why do all these people think guns would be effective against ghosts? Silly people!). Mr Benson reluctantly agreed, and the night of the stay was agreed upon.

The party met at Mr Bensons house on the allocated night, where they had dinner and laughed with forced humour, masking their nervousness. All but Mr Benson. He made it very clear he was nervous and tried to persuade Sir Robert to give up. Sir Robert refused, after all these were just stories and ghosts did not exist. Defeated Mr Benson went through the safeguards once more, Sir Robert was to have a gun with him, and his friends were to stay up throughout the night in case he needed aid. Additionally, Mr Benson had arranged for a bell to be installed in the sitting room area where Sir Roberts Friends would be situated. It was attached to a bell pull in the haunted room, should Sir Robert need assistance he would ring the bell twice.

After dinner Sir Robert was shown to the room, it was large and furnished with a double bed and armchairs. It had two big windows overlooking the square below and a fire was burning brightly in the hearth. Sir Robert removed his jacket and sat on the bed, one side with the cocked pistol, the other with the bell pull.

In the room below sat Mr Benson and Sir Roberts friends, only one flight of stairs separated the rooms. Sir Robert had entered the room at quarter past eleven nothing happened until midnight. As the last of the midnight chimes rang through the city, the little bell on the sitting room wall jingled. Mr Benson leapt from his chair and ran to the door. One of the others stopped him and reminded him that Sir Robert said that he would ring the bell twice, his words were hardly out of his mouth when the bell rang again, this time more violently. They rushed up the stairs, halfway up they heard a gun shot coming from the haunted room, a few seconds later Mr Benson flung open the door.

They found Sir Robert laid, with his legs sprawled across the bed, his head hanging over the edge. In his left hand he had the bell pull that had been ripped from its fixing, and on the floor near his right hand, the pistol lay. Benson and the others rushed towards him, that is when they saw his face. His eyes locked in agony and fear, his lips curled back over his teeth which were locked as though he had had a fit. Mr Benson covered his dead body with a sheet.

Sir Robert had not died from a bullet, but from extreme terror. What could have caused this sceptical man such deadly fear? No one knows. (However, I’m getting extreme “The Ring” vibes right now).

The spirit of that room has been described as a male ghost with an unbelievably white and flabby ghastly face and gaping pitch-black mouth. Others have described it as an animal type creature a Lovecraftian entity with many legs and tentacles, supposedly have crawled from the sewers of London. Yet some others have just described it as a shapeless being composed of depthless shadows. The only thing everyone can agree on is that it is an evil being intent on causing fear and death to anyone who dares stay in its domain.

Finally, we get to the tale of the two sailors, this is probably the most well-known story of the haunted house and the horror that inhabits it. This is the story that would cement the house’s place in history. Edward Blunden and Robert Martin met the ghost by chance. They arrived in London late on a December night on their way home to Portsmouth. With little money in their pockets, they wandered the London streets arguing where to spend the night. As they were walking through Berkeley Square they noticed a TO LET sign outside a dilapidated house. By now it had been uninhabited for 40 years.

To the sailors this seemed like the answer to their problem, it would serve as shelter until at least morning. Using a basement window they entered the house, one of them had a stump of a candle in their pocket which they lit and explored the downstairs rooms. The house was clearly neglected with bits of furniture scattered about, dust everywhere and rats scuttling across the floor.

They decided to investigate the first floor but as with the downstairs it was in utter disorder. With the candle soon to run out the sailors moved up to the second floor. Blunden by this point was starting to feel nervous and wanted to leave but Martin would not hear of it. Why should they pay for a lodging if they could stay here for free? It was at this moment they entered the haunted room. It was more kept than the rest of the house and Martin decided a fire could be made in the hearth. They managed to collect bits of wood between them and soon a warm fire was made. Then the sailors settled down for the night.  

Martin fell asleep almost instantly, however, Blunden felt uneasy and wakefully watched the fire flickering in the hearth. It was Blunden who first heard the noise. He shook Martin awake. At first Martin couldn’t hear anything but then came the sound of a footstep on the stairs. After a pause the sound was heard again but closer. What made these footfalls even more terrifying was that they didn’t sound human, they didn’t sound earthly. The footfalls made a soft, hollow sound, but also scratched on the bare wood floor boards of the stairs, as though the feet were padded and clawed like an animals. The footfalls came agonizingly slow, until they reached the door of the room where the sailors sat sweating with fear, this is where they stopped.

Slowly the door to the room opened and something entered. Martin could not seem to figure out what it was. A collection of shadows or a shapeless being he couldn’t tell. Blunden screamed and both men scrambled to their feet and faced the being which seemed to grow in size as they watched. Frantic with fear, Blunden scanned the room looking for something to defend himself with, he spotted a curtain pole propped against the wall. He rushed to it and grabbed it. As he did so the spectre moved so it was positioned between Blunden and the door. Then, two limbs appeared from the shapeless, featureless form. Not quite arms or hands, they reminded Martin of a large bird’s talons. For a moment it remained motionless, towering over Blunden, it’s “limbs” outstretched. It then began to move slowly towards Blunden. Blunden screamed in anguish when he saw the creature move towards him, but it did not deter the figure.

It was at this point Martin saw his chance, as the ghost moved towards Blunden the open door was left unguarded. Martin dived for it, tumbled out of the room, and crashed down the stairs. He could never recall undoing the bolts that secured the front door, Panic-stricken he ran from the square yelling for help. He found a policeman in Piccadilly, Martin stammered out some of his story as he brought the policeman back to the house. As they were running towards it, both men heard the sound of breaking glass, splintering wood and a long falling scream followed by silence. They found Blunden’s body crumpled over the steps to the basement, his neck broken, and his eyes stared in paralyzed horror.

Unfortunately, I have not been successful in finding any recent stories relating to this house. Other than in 2016 it was home to an antique booksellers called Maggs Brothers until they moved to a larger premises in Bedford square.

Thank you once again for joining me. If you have not read any of my previous blogs feel free to click the links below to read them.

Mother Shipton

The Mandela Effect

The Jersey Devil

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As always take care my lovelies, Curious Chris xxx