Rick Hale digs deep to discover the truth behind the phantoms of Kelvedon Hatch secret nuclear bunker in Essex, England
Following the horrors of World War II, the two major world powers, United States and its allies and the former Soviet Union entered into a war of ideology known as the Cold War.
For over 40 years, the leaders of their respective countries kept their finger hovering over a button that could end the world in a nightmarish hail of nuclear fire.
They came close more than once to calling it quits and taking millions of lives with them.
I can still remember nuclear assault drills in elementary school throughout the 1980s. Nightmare fuel for any impressionable third grader.
Cooler Heads Prevail
With the fall of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s, cooler heads prevailed and the threat of mutually assured destruction became a thing of the past.
Left in the wake of possible annihilation were a number of government established underground bunkers.
These fallout shelters were a place heads of state could hide out until the bombs stopped falling and the radiation cleared.
Located in the town of Kelvedon Hatch, Essex, is one such bunker. A bunker allegedly haunted by more than just it’s past.
History of the Kelvedon Hatch Bunker
Constructed between 1952 and 1953, the Kelvedon Hatch bunker was originally an air defence station, where eagle eyed men kept watch for enemy aircraft.
A few years later, the bunker was converted into a Home Office regional seat of government.
The purpose was, if a nuclear war should occur, the Kelvedon Hatch bunker would act as a headquarters for government operation.
If the worst case scenario came to be, the government could still function even in a diminished way.
With the threat of nuclear war a thing of the past, the bunker was sold back to the family who owned the land in the 1950s.
The Kelvedon Hatch bunker opened for tours and can be accessed in an unassuming bungalow nestled among trees on a quiet street.
If you didn’t have prior knowledge the fallout bunker was there, you would hardly suspect a governmental hidey hole for the end of the world was there.
Haunting of the Bunker
Upon visiting this relic of a bygone era, you may find yourself questioning how this facility came to be so haunted.
It’s believed that when the bunker was constructed, a bronze age settlement and Roman burial ground was disturbed.
This might explain a ghost we’ll take a look at later. But, what of the many contemporary ghosts said to haunt the bunker?Â
One of which is the ghost known as the phantom foreman.
The Phantom Foreman
When the concrete was being poured for the Kelvedon Hatch bunker, a foreman mysteriously went missing. And, foul play was suspected.
After searching the entire facility, the foreman’s hardhat was found floating in wet concrete.
No one ever found the body and whoever killed him got away. However, it’s believed a disgruntled employee grew tired of the foreman and murdered him. Disposing his body in a floor of concrete.
When the bunker reopened for tours, patrons reported catching the fleeting glimpse of a middle aged man in workman’s clothes.
They watched in horror as he either disappeared before their eyes or walked through a wall.
Military Ghosts
In its early years, military personnel were assigned to the bunker for shifts lasting two weeks.
This might very well explain the presence of several entities seen roaming the halls in military uniform.
One ghost in particular, an angry woman in RAF uniform, walks up to people and screams into their face demanding to know why they are there. She then turns and angrily stalks away.
Whenever someone goes to complain of the conduct of what they believe to be an actor, they are quickly informed the bunker doesn’t employ actors. They realize what they saw was a ghost.
The Sick Bay
Something dark and sinister is said to lurk among the shadows of the bunker’s sick bay.
Dark apparitions have been witnessed walking among the beds of the medical facility.
And visitors claim, when they stand quietly in the room, they get the feeling that something evil is watching them closely and doesn’t want them there.
No one is sure who, or what, this malevolent entity is. But it’s best not to take it lightly.
The Bronze Age Ghoul
Revisiting the theory of a disturbed bronze age burial ground, brings us to our final ghost at the bunker.
The ghoulish figure of an unusually tall man in a grey robe has been witnessed gliding silently from room to room and down the halls of the bunker.
His appearance is said to be preceded by the awful stench of decaying flesh. And loud bangs are heard whenever he walks into a room.
The grey robed ghoul is thought to be an ancient bronze age warrior forced to wander the bunker after his grave was disturbed.
In 2009, the cast and crew of the wildly popular paranormal reality TV show Most Haunted investigated the bunker and came away with interesting results. Great British Ghosts has also visited Kelvedon Hatch.
Their investigation only adding to the stories of this reminder of a time of paranoia and international terror.Â
Have you investigated Kelvedon Hatch? Tell us about it in the comments section below!
In all my time using digital cameras, the only failure of a memory card that I’ve had was in the medical bay / morgue here. I recovered most of the pictures, courtesy of a photo printing shop, but it’s never happened again. I’ve been here several times and always felt quite uncomfortable.
Have used dowsing rods which were very active here.
Camera cards can be a real nuisance, and I’m always scared they’re going to fail, at anytime of the day or purpose 🙂 Glad you were able to recover your shots!
I’m part of a paranormal group who spent the night there, we saw a figure walk through the walls in the tunnel several times, and a white floating mist moving up and down the tunnel, along with a shadow walking the length of the same tunnel. We also had the fire doors slam near the toilets.