Haunted Brighton

Haunted Brighton gathers reported apparitions, legends and first- and second-hand accounts from the seaside city and its surrounding districts. Alan Murdie covers the Lanes, private homes, the Royal Pavilion, Theatre Royal, hotels, pubs and Preston Manor, setting local ghost lore alongside more recent testimony.

The cases include the screaming skull tradition, a phantom attributed to George IV at the Pavilion and a grey lady associated with Sarah Bernhardt at the Theatre Royal. Other reports concern Cary Grant at a Rottingdean hotel, unexplained lights in Shirley Street, poltergeist activity, haunted roads and railway tunnels, presenting Brighton’s supernatural reputation through a mixture of folklore and claimed encounters.