According to a recent survey, 69% of Brits believe in ghosts, with a fifth (21%) considering their home haunted by a spirit…
The UK is steeped in centuries of history, paranormal encounters and folklore, making some cities known as supernatural hotspots. While Brits may love to enjoy horror films or a ghost story, nothing is more frightening than suspecting you may be in the presence of a ghost.
With this in mind, the unoccupied house insurance experts Alan Boswell Group set out to reveal the most haunted cities in the UK. As we head towards Halloween 2024 findings revealed that Aberdeen and Bradford are apparently the most haunted UK cities, scoring 8.25 out of 10 while Exeter holds the most paranormal reports per 10k people at 0.55.
Aberdeen has the most empty properties in the UK (41.1 per 10k people), Bradford is home to the oldest properties with 160 houses built pre-1918 per 10k people and with 0.33 cemeteries per 10k people, York is the city with the most cemeteries in the UK.
Aberdeen has had 20 paranormal reports (0.11 per 10k people), is home to 26 cemeteries (0.14 per 10k) and has the third most vacant/abandoned buildings in the UK at 7,790 (41.4 per 10k). Within the city is Norwood Hall Hotel – built in the 19th century this historic hotel has garnered a reputation with locals and visitors for its paranormal happenings.
Bradford has 24 paranormal reports (0.05 per 10k people), 79 cemeteries, and 80,450 properties built before 1918 – the city is definitely brimming with history. Bolling Hall, dating back to the 14th century, has put a chill in the air of Bradford by drawing in paranormal investigators from around the globe, even the TV show Most Haunted.
York comes in third – with 7.85 out of 10, it is living up to its name of ‘the City of 1,000 Ghosts’ and has 53 paranormal reports amounting to 0.33 reports per 10k people – the second highest in the UK. The city is home to 52 cemeteries, 979 vacant properties and 19,350 houses built before 1918. The Treasurer’s House is known as one of the most haunted locations in York.
On the other end, in 15th is Ipswich with 5.80/10 – with a rich history dating back to the Anglo-Saxons, Ipswich has 112 properties built pre-1918 per 10k people but only 0.16 paranormal reports per 10k people. In nearby Woodbridge, Sutton Hoo a famous site of two Anglo-Saxon cemeteries has been named one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of all time and adds to the eerie ambience of Suffolk.
