Spirits of the Underground.

The London Underground first opened with the Metropolitan Line way back in 1863.  Almost 150 years later it has expanded to a vast maze of tunnels and escalators, covering over 250 miles of track.  As we find ourselves travelling deeper under ground, you can’t help but feel that you are entering the unknown.  What secrets lie hidden within these concrete walls?  After a century and a half of murder and tragedy, a few unexplained bumps in the night should not be unexpected.  Everyone knows that rush hour can get a little crowded, with approximately 4 million people travelling on the tube everyday but even after closing time, the underground is busier than you might think.  Once the commuters have returned home, that is when the lingering spirits of the past come out to play.  With footsteps echoing down empty corridors and strange screams coming through the dark, travelling alone at night can be a very unsettling experience.

            One of the most chilling occurrences on the underground, had its origins more than one hundred years before the tube was even opened.  A terrifying scream that echoes down the tunnels of Farringdon, is all that remains of a young girl who was the victim of terrible abuse, ending in murder.

            Anne Naylor was a thirteen year old trainee hat maker, who was murdered by her employer, Sarah Metyard, in 1758.  She had suffered for many years at the hands of Metyard and her daughter, until finally one day, her employer went too far and she lost her life. Metyard had tried to dispose of Anne’s body in the sewers of Chick Lane.  Parts of the body were discovered, leading to her conviction.

            The ghost of Anne Naylor, was thought to haunt the sewers of Chick Lane for many years.  For reasons that no one knows,  she has now managed to somehow find her way to Farringdon Station , where she has become known as ‘The Screaming Spectre.’  Many people have claimed to hear her cries echoing down the station.  Could this be the devastating cry of a young girl desperate to be heard?  Or is it just the sound of ancient rails begging to be replaced?

            During World War Two, the underground was used as a safe place for many people, as a communal shelter during the air raids.  Entire families would gather together and hide from the Luftwaffe.  They would tell stories and sing songs to keep their morale high, whilst their homes were being destroyed above their heads.  For one group of 173 people, mainly women and children, that safe place became a nightmare.

            The station entrance at Bethnal Green , was the location of one of the more serious losses of civilians during the war.  173 people were crushed in the stairway entrance, whilst trying to escape an air raid in a blind panic.  One of the more poignant parts of this tragedy, is that it wasn’t even an air raid they had been running from.  The sirens had been a false alarm, after a new anti-aircraft gun recently set up in Victoria Park had caused a panic with its large booming sounds that were mistaken for a bomb.  There had been no reason for any of those people to die that day.

            Ever since the tragedy, there have been many reports of people feeling uncomfortable whilst in the station.  This has often been explained by the use of machines with low-frequency sounds, which can cause some people to feel uncomfortable.  That does not however, explain the sounds of women and children screaming.  A sound that many people have reported hearing in the booking hall.  This could be explained during the busy daytime, when there may well be groups of over-excited children about.  How would you explain it after hours, when the station is supposed to be empty?  Surely a large, noisy group would be easy to spot, wouldn’t they?

            Many  famous people have been seen on the Piccadilly Line.  I have even spotted a few familiar faces myself.  If you find yourself in Covent Garden Station late at night during the winter months, then you might be lucky enough to spot the actor William Terriss.  With his tall hat and white gloves, he should be fairly easy to recognise.

            William Terriss was stabbed to death on The Strand, close to the Adelphi Theatre in December 1897.  It is thought that he was a regular visitor to a bakery, which once stood where the station now stands.  Terriss’s ghost has often been spotted in the tunnels of Covent Garden, with the first recorded sighting happening in the 1950’s.  The station staff had got used to his presence and never had any problem with it,  until he one day appeared in their staff room, resulting in many of them applying for a transfer elsewhere.  It would seem that this harmless manifestation had gotten a little too close for comfort.

            One of the most unsettling experiences reported by London underground staff, is that of the disappearing tube traveller.  The most occurrences seem to be at Elephant and Castle Underground Station, situated on the end of the Bakerloo Line.  Both staff and commuters have seen a woman boarding a train but have never seen her leave.  She gets on the train but does not appear to get off again.  When staff go to remove her from the empty train she has disappeared.  This mysterious entity has also been blamed, for the echoing footsteps that have often been heard in the empty station after hours.  Is this the spirit of a restless traveller who never made it home?  Or is it that some people move so quickly, that they seem to just disappear into the shadows.

            Ever since the underground opened and even whilst it was being built, it has been plagued by tragedy.  From tunnel collapses, to collisions and suicide.  This vast maze of endless tunnels has seen its fair share of death.  Even in more recent times it has seen tragedy on a large scale, with the fire in the Kings Cross Tunnel in 1987.  Then of course there was the suicide bombings in 2005.  Millions of people travel on the underground on a daily basis and for some of them, it is a journey that they will quite literally be making for all eternity.  The tube is probably filled with as many unseen commuters as it is physical ones.  Spirits of the dead, who will wander through the tunnels or ride across the city day after day, never reaching their planned destination.

            If you find yourself on an empty underground station, don’t just assume that you are alone.  If you can hear voices or footsteps when there is no one else around, just because you cannot see them, it doesn’t mean that they are not there.  When you can hear a train that doesn’t arrive, spare a thought for the poor souls that never made it to the platform.