Newsham Park Hospital in Liverpool is a Grade II listed building. This oppressive complex has operated as an orphanage, hospital and mental asylum and now lays abandoned. It is one of the UK’s most haunted and sinister places.
History of Newsham Park Hospital
The hospital complex is made of up of six buildings encompassing approximately 99,000 square feet.
It was initially built in 1874 as the Liverpool Seamen’s Orphan Institute for the children of Merseyside. Many children who called Newsham Park home were the offspring of sailors tragically lost at sea.
Life was tough for up to 1,000 children housed in the main hall of the orphanage. Siblings were often kept separate, and strict rules were enforced.
If children misbehaved, they could be punished in what is now known as the “naughty boys corridor,” a particularly oppressive and paranormally active part of the site.
The orphanage closed on 27th July 1949. The building reopened as a hospital in 1954 with a dedicated psychiatric department, welcoming an influx of mental health patients.
When the hospital became into a psychiatric asylum in 1992, it held some of the country’s criminally insane, including infamous figures like the Moors murderer Ian Brady.
The asylum closed its doors in 1997. The building was left abandoned and now lies derelict.
Ghosts of Newsham Park Hospital
Reports of paranormal activity are rife in all corners of this sprawling location, which is thought to be one of Liverpool’s most haunted buildings.
Apparitions of children and nurses are reported in the Main Hall, where scratching sounds, faint whispers, unexplained footsteps, and the distant sound of children’s laughter have also been heard.
The sinister ‘Naughty Boys Corridor’ in the attic above the old C-wing is considered the most haunted part of the building. Young children who misbehaved were often locked in the small cupboards and left in complete isolation.
A particularly chilling tale involves a young orphan who is said to have died in one of the punishment cupboards. His angry spirit is said to be responsible for the knocks, bangs and the slamming of cupboard doors that regularly startle visitors.
Elsewhere a dark, shadow figure stalks the psychiatric ward, which is thought to have become a sanctum for restless spirits.
The basement is another hotspot for paranormal activity. Former staff member John Gray, who worked at Newsham Park for 13 years, reported seeing a headless man dressed in white and labelled the building as ‘pure evil.’
