The Museum Tavern

The Museum Tavern stands directly opposite the British Museum and has served scholars, researchers, and tourists since 1723. The pub’s most famous patron was Karl Marx, who would refresh himself there while spending long days researching “Das Kapital” in the British Museum’s Reading Room. According to numerous reports, Marx’s spirit has never left his favorite drinking establishment, eternally pondering the theories that would change the world.

The apparition of Karl Marx appears as a bearded, scholarly figure in Victorian clothing, most often seen sitting at what was reportedly his preferred table near the window overlooking the British Museum. Witnesses describe him as appearing deep in thought, sometimes making notes on invisible papers or gesturing as if in animated discussion with unseen companions. The ghost appears most frequently during the afternoon hours, when Marx would have taken his breaks from research. Some witnesses report hearing German being spoken in low tones when no German speakers are present.

Beyond Marx’s manifestation, the pub experiences a range of paranormal phenomena. Books and papers left on tables have been found rearranged or moved to different locations. Staff members report the strong smell of pipe tobacco in areas where smoking has long been prohibited. The sound of heated debates and political discussions have been heard coming from empty rooms, complete with the banging of fists on tables and the passionate rhetoric of long-dead revolutionaries. Glasses occasionally slide across the bar on their own, and there are reports of cold spots forming near certain tables. Some visitors claim to experience sudden political revelations or economic insights while sitting in particular areas of the pub, as if Marx’s intellectual energy still permeates the building. The haunting is considered largely benign, though some have reported feeling uncomfortably scrutinized by invisible eyes, as if being judged by the critical gaze of the great thinker himself.