The Ghosts of Newsham Park Hospital: Liverpool’s Haunted Asylum



Once a Victorian orphanage, later a hospital for seamen and psychiatric facility, then an asylum and now a decaying monument to sorrow, Newsham Park Hospital in Liverpool holds a chilling reputation as one of the most haunted sites in the UK.

Haunted History & Grim Beginnings

Opened in 1874 as the Liverpool Seamen’s Orphan Institute, housing up to 1,000 orphans under strict, often harsh discipline. The infamous “naughty boys’ corridor” where misbehaving children were locked in small cupboards later became a focal point of the hauntings.  Converted into a hospital in 1954, then a psychiatric asylum, even housing notorious criminally insane patients before closing in 1997.

Apparitions & Strange Phenomena

Children’s Apparitions & Laughter
Visitors commonly hear disembodied giggles, footsteps, and see small children playing in corridors—echoes from its orphanage past.

The Naughty Boys’ Corridor
Formerly used for harsh punishments, this attic corridor is rife with reports of cupboard doors opening/closing and cold spots.

Shadow Figures & Headless Man
Dark silhouettes stalk stairwells and wards. Staff have even reported a headless man in white prowling the basement.

Phantom Nurse
A Victorian‑dressed nurse apparition appears in the main stairwell, some link her to a tragic death at that spot.

Tool Disappearances
On renovation and ghost‑hunt evenings, tools vanish from one room only to reappear elsewhere suggesting room‑to‑room poltergeist activity.

Voices, Knocks & Movements
Investigators heard knocks, whispers, even foreign‑language child voices saying things like “I feel observed.” Toys or chalked circles were sometimes disturbed overnight.

Ghostly Evidence & Eyewitness Accounts

In 2016, a woman captured what looked like a jogger‑ghost sprinting past the building, though skeptics suggest a reflection could be the culprit. Ghost‑hunters report full apparitions, sudden oppressive feelings, hair being touched, and nightmares after investigations.

Voices from the Field

From Liverpool Echo author Emily Sleight:

  “I don’t believe in ghosts but… I walked through there… coming out feeling pretty spooked.”
 
And paranormal team leader Sandy Lakdar:

  “We heard a French sentence… ‘I feel observed.’… part of [chalk] circle had disappeared… you could see fingerprints.”
 
Explaining the Unseen

Some dismiss experiences as psychological suggestion, quiet corridors and ghost-talk readily feed expectations. Others speculate residual hauntings (repeated patterns) or intelligent spirits (interactive events: tools moved, voices). The layered history, from orphanage trauma to psychiatric suffering and asylum tragedies gives the site strong emotional energy.

Explore at Your Own Risk

Now derelict and secured, Newsham Park draws tour groups and ghost‑hunt experiences but solo trespassers risk security dogs and legal trouble.

Final Thoughts

Newsham Park Hospital stands out as a haunted landscape shaped by sorrowful history and visceral encounters. Whether you're drawn by shadowy figures, orphan laughter, or haunting tools, the building’s atmosphere leaves many believing something lingers within its crumbling walls.