Interactive map reveals Northern Ireland’s most haunted areas ahead of Halloween

Paranormal encounters recorded range from unexplained footsteps heard in the dead of night to poltergeist activity

A ghostly MP is said to be among the poltergeists, phantoms, and ghouls lurking in the UK’s most haunted postcode area – check our map to see the spooks hanging around your neighbourhood.

Author Dr Paul Lee has documented more than 5,500 reported hauntings around the country over a decade of painstaking research, and they are all included in our map.

Paranormal encounters range from unexplained footsteps heard in the dead of night to poltergeist activity, including glasses and plates that appeared to have been thrown.

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Dr Lee’s research has revealed that the most haunted neighbourhood in the UK is the ME1 postcode area, which covers Rochester, Burham, and Wouldham in Kent.

Northern Ireland’s ‘most haunted postcode’ is BT48 (Derry, Cityside, Ballynagard, Coshquin, Rosemount, The Collon, Culmore) followed by BT2 (Belfast).

Here are some examples of hauntings from the listings in the map:

BT48 Spooks

• Argyle Bar: The upstairs storey is the location of the bar’s toilets, which are said to be haunted, this is where a little girl’s bedroom was originally located in the house that originally stood next door
• Lizzie O’Farrell’s: When this was “The Castle Bar”, the ghost of a 15 year old girl was seen here, and cold spots and sighing were also recorded – one barmad felt cold arms on his shoulders.
• The Park Bar: A sad middle-aged lady stares out of the window at St Eugene’s Cathedral.
• The Rocking Chair: The dark shape of a man has been seen in the lounge on the middle floor, while heavy footsteps, moving furniture and a foul smell were detected upstairs.)

BT2 Spooks

• Crown Liquor Saloon: Michael Flanagan who renovated the building in 1885 has been seen in the bar, while the ghost of “Amelia” has been seen near the stairs that she fell down, killing her.
• Flax House: Helena Blunden worked here as a spinner in the 19th century but died when she slipped and fell down the stairs. She had ambitions of appearing on stage, and it is said that her ghost can be heard singing in various rooms in the old factory
• Robinson’s Bar: Bursts of cold air have been reported here, as has a figure identified by some as Captain Smith of the R.M.S. Titanic

You can discover the haunted locations near you using our interactive map below:

All the descriptions of paranormal activity on the map have come from Dr Lee’s meticulous research, which, in many cases, includes interviews with witnesses and his own investigations, which have seen him visit numerous locations and trawl through various newspaper archives.

Dr Lee, of Norfolk – who achieved his doctorate in nuclear physics – began his research in 2015. He believes the paranormal world is “worthy of study” but admits, “I am stumped if I know what it all means.”

Dr Lee said: “I think we’re also hampered by hoaxes, folk legends and myths being accepted as truth.

“When it comes to apparitions, a good case can be made that most, but not all of them, are attributable to tricks of the mind.

“Poltergeists are another matter. No “trick of the mind” is going to explain things flying around of their own accord.”

You can find out more about his research by visiting his website: www.paullee.com/ghosts.

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