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Do you believe in ghosts? With a long and horrible history of executed royals, wronged women and mysterious disappearances, London is a hotspot for supernatural occurrences. Spirits supposedly haunt houses, alleyways, pubs and shops across the capital, but there’s one borough you’re more likely to leave in a fright than any other.
A new study has revealed that Kensington and Chelsea is the most haunted borough in London. K&C has had ten reports of paranormal activity, is host to 11 cemeteries (including the eerily beautiful Brompton Cemetery) and has over 204,000 memorials to figures of the past. It’s also has 11.6 empty homes per 10,000 people and is home to the most properties built before 1918, by quite a long way. There are 402.3 houses per 10,000 people there that are over 106-years-old.
The research was carried out by the Alan Boswell Group, an insurance company for unoccupied houses (so must have come across a ghost or two in its time). It gave Kensington and Chelsea an overall spooky score of 9.18 out of 10.
City of London was second on the list and actually has had more than double the number of paranormal reports than Kensington and Chelsea, with 22 in total, almost four times as many cemeteries and 23.8 empty homes per 10,000 people. Some may argue that all of that makes it more haunted overall, but the study only gave it an overall spooky score of 8.94.
The 10 most haunted boroughs in London
- Kensington and Chelsea
- City of London
- Camden
- Southwark
- Westminster
- Richmond upon Thames
- Hammersmith and Fulham
- Enfield
- Newham
- Barnet
Get spooked with Time Out
For guaranteed frights and jump-scares, look no further than Time Out’s guide to Halloween in London. We’ve got roundups of the eeriest events, the most petrifying parties and freakiest film screenings happening across the capital this spooky season. Plus, these are the most haunted places in London, according to our experts.
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