Westminster School

Westminster School, one of the original seven public schools of England, was refounded by Queen Elizabeth I in 1560, though its origins date back to a monastic school established in the 14th century. Located in the precincts of Westminster Abbey and the former Palace of Westminster, the school occupies buildings steeped in British history, including parts of the medieval abbey complex and Georgian townhouses. This proximity to royal and ecclesiastical power, combined with the school’s own 600-year history, has resulted in numerous ghostly encounters reported by students, staff, and visitors.

The most prominent ghost is believed to be that of a Stuart-era courtier, possibly connected to the nearby Palace of Westminster, who appears in the school’s older corridors dressed in elaborate 17th-century costume, complete with plumed hat and sword. This apparition has been seen primarily in College Hall and the surrounding buildings that once formed part of the abbey’s monastic complex. Students report the sound of running footsteps and shouting, as if someone is being chased through the medieval passages, followed by an abrupt and eerie silence. The school’s connection to Westminster Abbey means that some of the royal ghosts associated with the abbey—including monks and members of the royal household—occasionally manifest in the school buildings.

Little Dean’s Yard, the school’s historic central courtyard, experiences regular paranormal activity, with witnesses reporting seeing robed figures crossing from the abbey toward the school buildings, vanishing when they reach the walls. The school dormitories, some of which occupy 18th-century buildings, report classic poltergeist phenomena including objects moving without cause, unexplained knocking sounds, and the sensation of invisible presences sitting on beds. The Busby Library, housed in one of the school’s oldest sections, sees books mysteriously displaced, cold spots that appear without explanation, and the apparition of a scholarly figure in black robes who appears to be searching the shelves before fading from view.

Perhaps most unsettling are the reports from the Undercroft, a vaulted chamber beneath the school that dates to the medieval period. Students and staff describe overwhelming feelings of unease when entering this space, the sound of chanting that seems to come from the very stones, and fleeting glimpses of cowled figures that disappear into the shadows. The combination of Westminster School’s ancient buildings, proximity to one of Britain’s most haunted religious sites, and centuries of student and monastic occupation has created a layered haunting that reflects the full span of English history.