The Roman city of Chester is upgrading its ‘spooky’ credentials for Autumn 2025 as the city aims to the top the ghost charts as the UK’s spookiest city just in time for Halloween. Last year, research* by train company LNER (London North Eastern Railway), ranked Chester at number three (after Exeter and York) for spooky sightings – the city has one of the highest numbers of ghost sightings per capita in the UK (standing at 33 reported sightings per 100,000 people).
This year Chester aims to go one better with a myriad of ghoulish goings-on to entice and enchant.
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY
Paranormal heights begin in October with the arrival of Lost Soul Paracon at the Hotel Crowne Plaza from 10-12 October, 2025. Leading experts in the fields of the paranormal, cryptozoology, UFO sightings, witchcraft, the occult and psychic phenomena will uncover the secrets of the supernatural. The events include a tour of Chester’s haunted taverns, with a stop at The Kings Head, a 400-year-old paranormal hotspot known as much for the spirits within its walls as well as behind the bar – and is the subject of the Amazon Prime series, My Haunted Project. Throughout the weekend is a line-up of talks and workshops by renowned speakers who share their paranormal encounters, while Saturday night is a Great Gatsby fancy dress dinner with live entertainment. Price: Day tickets from £55, VIP weekend tickets from £180 (www.lostsoulparacon.co.uk).
GHOST TOURS
There is a year-round programme of night-time ghost tours offered by Chester Ghost Tours. Departing from the Town Hall Visitor Information Centre on Northgate, the group wafts around the eerie haunts of Chester’s mysterious and murky past, recounting spine-chilling tales of ghosts, ghouls and things that go bump in the night. Price: 90-minute tours cost £10 per adult, or £30 for a family with 2 adults and 2 children under 16 years of age (www.chesterghosttour.co.uk). Or try Dark Chester tours.
SICK TO DEATH
Visit Sick to Death for the gory story of medicine through time, offering a playground of plague, magic and medicine. Explore pestilence alley – and try not to catch anything – perform an autopsy and, for the brave, encounter the grim reaper and plague doctor. Price: Adults £8, children 5-15 years £4.50, open 10am – 6pm daily (https://sicktodeath.org/).
GHOULISH GATHERINGS
The City Walls are another spooktacular spot, where the ghost of a Roman legionnaire has been spotted between the amphitheatre and Newgate. According to folklore, he was in love with a local girl and frequently left his post in order to meet her, and on one such night her parents killed the sentries that were left on guard and snatched up as much loot as they could carry. When the lovestruck soldier returned he was murdered and now remains close to his post, doomed to do the duty he neglected in life. Walk the Walls with Chester Tours who offer guided walks (2 hrs) from £10 (www.chestertours.org.uk).
Another unusual spot for ghostly goings-on is the former Thorntons chocolate shop at 39 Eastgate Street, the setting for a scorned bride who is reported to have haunted the building for more than 200 years, moving objects and giving both staff and customers the creeps. Rumours are the woman, Sarah, hanged herself in the early 19th century after her fiancé jilted her at the altar, while mediums have been called in to help her find peace.
WHERE TO STAY
Bed down – if you dare – at The Pied Bull an historic pub with rooms known for its paranormal sightings – a ghost that haunts the cellar is thought to be John Davies who died when he fell down the stairs in 1609 while carrying a knife. Ghoulish activity is so frequent that most of the staff refuse to go downstairs alone. It is also said that two of the bedrooms are haunted by ghosts of former chambermaids who loved working at the hotel and simply never bothered to leave. Price: Double rooms from £99 per night room only, or £133 with breakfast (www.piedbull.co.uk). Or for something less spooky but certainly eccentric, try Oddfellows Chester where rooms start from £95 room only or £107 with breakfast (www.oddfellowschester.com).
WHERE TO EAT
Ghost hunting is hungry work, so where better to refuel than Death by Tacos on Watergate Street, Chester’s very own Dive Bar and Taqueria, serving cold beers and fresh tortillas with a side of Heavy Metal. (www.deathbytacos.co.uk )
For more information see: visitchester.com
Images courtesy of @visitchesterandcheshire
