Red Lodge

The Red Lodge is a beautiful Elizabethan house built around 1580, originally constructed as a lodge to the Great House that once stood on the site. Despite its location in the heart of modern Bristol, the Red Lodge retains much of its original Tudor character, with elaborate plasterwork ceilings, oak paneling, and a magnificent carved stone chimney piece. The building served various purposes over the centuries, including a boarding school for girls in the Victorian era, and it is from this period that some believe the house’s most poignant ghosts originate.

The Red Lodge is haunted by phantom children whose presence manifests in particularly touching ways. Visitors and museum staff report hearing the sounds of children laughing, running, and playing in the upper chambers and on the staircase, particularly in the Oak Room and Great Oak Room. The sounds are distinct and joyful, but when investigators arrive, the rooms are empty. Some witnesses have seen fleeting shadows of small figures darting around corners or caught glimpses of children in period clothing before they vanish. The sensation of small hands tugging at clothing or touching visitors has also been reported.

The building’s paranormal activity extends beyond the child spirits. Staff members have reported objects moving on their own, particularly toys and period items in the museum displays. Cold spots appear suddenly in specific areas of the house, and some visitors experience overwhelming feelings of sadness or nostalgia without apparent cause. The knot garden area outside has also been the site of strange phenomena, with the apparition of a woman in Tudor dress seen walking the paths. Footsteps echo through empty corridors, and doors are found open that were previously secured. The Red Lodge’s ghosts seem content to share their space, creating an atmosphere that is more wistful and melancholic than frightening, as if the spirits of the past are simply continuing their eternal routines in the house they once called home.