HBT - Ghost Story: Bloody Bones

My Haunted Blog Tour post for today will be a ghost story called "Bloody Bones." It relates to the house on 50 Berkeley Square, and known as "the Most Haunted House in London."

The exterior of 50 Berkley Square is plain. But inside, it’s been mayhem, perhaps since its foundations were laid in the 1700s. In the 19^th century this address was considered by Charles Harper, in his 1907 publication Haunted Houses to be “the Most Haunted House in London!”

“…it seems that a Something or Other, very terrible indeed, haunts or did haunt a particular room. This unnamed Raw Head and Bloody Bones, or whatever it is, has been sufficiently awful to have caused the death, in convulsions, of at least two fool-hardy persons who have dared to sleep in that chamber…”

There are several theories as to why the very bricks of this Georgian-style building can cause a palpable shock to the psychically adept, the most chilling is that the lunatic brother of a Mr. Du Pré was once locked up and fed through a hole in a door due to his extremely violent tendencies and his ghost remains therein. Two deaths have been attributed to the premises. A nobleman died of shock to his system soon after seeing something he couldn’t even speak to describe. Due to the reputation of a hideous entity residing within, the building could not keep tenants. Strange lights were seen in windows, disembodied screams as well as the sound of a heavy body dragged down the staircase could be heard at night. The second death occurred when two trespassing sailors awoke to heavy footsteps. The door of the haunted room flew open and a horrific, formless mass began to overtake them. One sailor escaped and returned with a policeman, only to find his friend’s corpse impaled on the railings outside, terror on his face.

In the late 19th century, the building had been rented by a Mr. Myers. The man had become an eccentric recluse after he was jilted by his bride-to-be, and took to wandering the house each evening by candlelight. The peculiar behavior of Mr. Myers attracted the press, and gradually the tale of the 'haunted house of Berkeley Square' began to emerge.

The room in which Mr. Myers was reputed to lock himself away in during daylight hours was said to have a terrible, chilling atmosphere, although since the building has been converted for business purposes there have been no reports of untoward happenings.

A maid living in the house after Mr. Myers was found rigid with fright in the upstairs room. It appeared that something there had caused her to go mad with fear. A skeptical guest asked to stay in the room for the night, and promised to ring the servant's bell once if he was comfortable and twice should he become 'disturbed'. That night the bell rang out clearly, and after a pause, a second, more frantic ring was heard. when the residing family rushed to his assistance, they found his lifeless corpse in the bed.

These are not the only strange occurrences within the walls of 50 Berkeley Square. Many other occupants have allegedly gone mad or died suddenly. Others have told tales of a 'shapeless, slithering, horrible mass', which has left them terrified and repulsed.

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Creepy stuff!!