Halloween Happenings: Celebrate Spooky Season at Brighton's Historic Museums and Manor Houses
Brighthelmstone, or Brighton as we know it now, was mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086. A bit before Quadrophenia, no? Our history dates back much further than many routinely acknowledge. Still, I believe you can almost feel the city's age, especially on an autumnal evening walk through The Lanes. Streetlamps reflect in the damp cobbled streets, and footsteps echo off brick walkways as shadows loom around sharp corners. It could almost be considered… creepy?
The atmospheric twists and turns of Brighton could also be attributed to the 19th Century Quaker burial ground beneath the Dome's Corn Exchange, where 18 skeletons were discovered in 2017. Or perhaps the secret tunnels running under the entire Royal Pavilion Estate? (Many locals appreciate the urban myth that one of the tunnels runs to Ye Olde King and Queen pub. Unfortunately, they don’t!) The estate was built by King George IV, who some say still visits the grounds in spirit form, accompanied by his scandalous first wife, Maria Fitzherbert. Though the marriage was not recognised by law, it was widely accepted by Brighton residents. And keep an eye out for the ghost of local legend, Martha Gunn, Brighton’s famous 19th Century bather shaped the city's tourism industry. Or you might even encounter the spirits of injured soldiers, from when the estate was utilised as a war hospital in the 1910’s. Indeed, Central Brighton is practically overflowing with tales of the supernatural.
Whilst the Royal Pavilion and the Dome are inundated with unearthly visitors, one building in the city takes the crown as the ‘most haunted building in Sussex’. Preston Manor.
The gardens of Preston Manor appear almost monochromatic in the darkness, their crisscrossed paths speckled with shrubbery and foliage-covered archways. You could almost imagine a figure crossing in front of you, leading you from the small walled garden up to the house itself. The small tower of a medieval church accompanies the house. The manor itself stands tall above its grounds, with large grey walls and the lightly shuddering panes of Victorian windows. In the hazy evening light, I swear I almost saw someone standing behind the sheer curtains…
Undeterred, I returned a few days later (in the safety of the daylight) to research the paranormal history further. The curated route of the house follows the sun; each room becoming darker as you progress into the evening part of your visit - a thoughtful atmospheric approach to the building’s history. I must admit, I felt somewhat on edge a few times throughout the house, especially when descending into the servant’s quarters in the basement, where the service bells suddenly started ringing… and then again in the darkened study upstairs, where a clock started chiming loudly amid the silence. Yes, I’m a tad jumpy…
One room stood out for its paranormal history: the Cleves Room, named after Henry VIII’s fourth wife. The room is shrouded in Flemish gilt leather wallpaper; it is literally covered in skin. If you look closely enough at the botanical and monkey designs, you can spot puncture holes; the ladies of the house used the creatures as target practice for darts. But this isn’t just where the family entertained themselves. This is where they held their séances. A most fashionable pastime for wealthy Victorians.
The family had been bothered by an unwanted visitor for a while, bad smells and strange noises throughout the home. So, they called upon spiritual medium Ada Goodrich Freer, who was said to have used a talking board (later named a Ouija Board) to communicate with the spirit. Their visitor was apparently an excommunicated nun named Sister Agnes. She told them she had been quite friendly with a priest in the 16th Century so that they wouldn’t bury her body.
Not even a year later, workers discovered skeletal remains of a middle-aged woman beside the house. The local priest wouldn’t allow the remains to be buried in St. Peter's Church, so they were secretly buried on the perimeter under the cover of darkness. Strangely, after the burial, the spirit was not felt again… A follow-up séance with the same medium confirmed her eternal rest. Luckily, much documentation remains of the Stanford family’s time at Preston Manor, including a full transcript of the séance, which remains in the archives of Brighton & Hove Museums.
Brighton and Hove Museums run ghost tours of the manor each year, currently ongoing for the Halloween season. Can’t make that one? Then try ghost hunting in February, organised by Spirit Chasers UK, which offers evidence-based investigations and insight into the stories behind historical buildings, including Preston Manor. The British paranormal investigation group is also running a one-of-a-kind ghost hunt at the Royal Pavilion in April 2027, with all proceeds donated to the museum. This is a date night you won’t forget in a hurry!