Repton School

Repton School, founded in 1557, occupies one of England’s most historically significant sites—the location of a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon monastery and later a 12th-century Augustinian priory. The school’s buildings incorporate substantial remains of both the medieval priory and even earlier Saxon structures, including an extraordinary 8th-century crypt beneath the school chapel that is one of the finest examples of Anglo-Saxon architecture in Britain. This layered history, spanning over 1,300 years of religious and educational use, has created an environment extraordinarily rich in paranormal phenomena.

The Saxon crypt beneath St. Wystan’s Church, which serves as the school chapel, is considered one of the most haunted locations in the entire school. The ancient vaulted chamber, with its distinctive twisted pillars dating to around 750 AD, is said to be haunted by the ghost of St. Wystan himself, a Mercian prince murdered in 849 AD. Visitors to the crypt report overwhelming sensations of being watched, sudden temperature drops that can reach freezing even in summer, and the sound of Saxon prayers being chanted in an ancient tongue. Some witnesses claim to have seen a translucent figure in princely robes standing among the pillars, radiating an aura of both sanctity and profound sorrow.

The school’s main buildings, which incorporate substantial portions of the 12th-century Augustinian priory, are haunted by numerous phantom monks. These black-robed figures are seen walking the cloisters, ascending staircases that were once part of the monastic dormitories, and kneeling in prayer in areas that served as the priory church. The Priory Guest House, now used as a boarding house, experiences regular poltergeist activity including doors opening and closing without physical cause, objects moving on their own, and the sound of footsteps pacing back and forth in empty corridors. Students report seeing hooded figures standing at the ends of dormitory halls, watching silently before vanishing into the shadows.

The school grounds contain the remains of the medieval priory’s extensive buildings, and archeological excavations over the decades have uncovered numerous burials from both Saxon and medieval periods. Following these excavations, there have been notable increases in paranormal activity, with witnesses reporting the apparitions of cowled monks processing across the playing fields, the sound of bells tolling from the locations where the priory’s bell tower once stood, and unexplained lights moving through areas known to contain ancient burial sites. The Old Hall, dating to the 16th century and among the oldest continuously used school buildings in England, experiences phenomena including the smell of incense when no services are taking place, phantom footsteps on creaking floorboards, and the sensation of invisible presences sitting in the historic rooms, suggesting that Repton’s long history of spiritual devotion continues to manifest across the centuries.