Towneley Hall in Burnley lures visitors with its haunting allure, echoing with ghostly tales in its ancient corridors, says JOANNA HAGUE
Off a busy high street, down a tree-lined driveway, sits Towneley Hall. The hall in Burnley, dates back to the 13th century, and was owned by the Towneley Family for more than five centuries. The local council took over the building in 1902 and it is now part of a museum which is open to the public.
The Hall has seen many deaths, there is an apparent curse on the property, and paranormal occurrences are happening more now since it has opened to the public. Every room shares a haunting tale, from doors slamming to footsteps in the hallway and children’s voices being heard from nowhere. There is an evil entity that is said to drag guests off their feet. Even the outside is haunted by a lady in white who is seen on the turret.
My Ghost Hunting Experience at Towneley Hall
Needing a girly weekend away, I decided there would be nothing better than bringing my best friend away for the weekend for ghost hunting. We stayed in a haunted bed and breakfast in Pendle, and she was as excited as I was when we arrived at Towneley Hall. Knowing the history of the place, we were both looking forward to what the evening would bring, and as always, armed with both my torch and EMF Meter, we entered the Hall.
The inside was absolutely stunning. Some of the Hall has been changed into a museum, but there was an ominous feeling as we ventured around. We headed down to the cellar to start, and even though it was a lot colder down there, it didn’t feel any different from the rest of the house. We called out, and there were a few knocks and bangs, but nothing really consistent with an answer to the questions we were asking. We also found a small pipe that was dripping.
We moved up the stairs to the banqueting hall and sat quietly for a while with the EMF Meter, just listening. When we started asking questions, it sounded like something was walking around in the room that was joined on to the hall. The footsteps sounded like they were walking towards us, so I placed the EMF Meter in the arch that connected the rooms. Before long, the lights began flashing up, detecting that something was in the area, heading towards us. This continued for a few minutes, then the lights stopped flashing, and the footsteps grew faint.
The last stop on our exploration was a top floor hallway where children’s voices and footsteps have been heard. The hall itself would have been amazing to run along in socks and slide down. This is what I imagined the children were doing. We called out for the children to come forward and play. Very faintly, we heard the creaking of the floorboards at the end of the hall, followed by the sound of tiny footsteps. Both of us had a happy/giddy feeling over us, as if we were having the time of our lives on this hallway. I get the feeling that children must have been with us, and we were experiencing the feelings that they felt.
I would recommend visiting Towneley Hall. It is a beautiful house sat in the most amazing grounds. It’s worth visiting both during the day and, if you feel brave, in the evening.
Have you been to Towneley Hall? Tell us about your experience in the comments section below!
JOANNA HAGUE says: “I write fiction stories and in my spare time love ghost hunting: I have dabbled in the paranormal since I was a little girl. I currently live in Yorkshire. My latest book is on Amazon: Ashfield Asylum and Other Haunted Memories.”
