Psychologist and writer Dr Steph Lay is uncovering Milton Keynes’ hidden haunted history through first-hand ghost stories shared on her blog City of Secrets
When people think of haunted places in Milton Keynes, many assume there are none. The town, built in the late 20th century, is famous for its shopping centre, concrete cows and roundabouts — not spooky legends.
Yet Milton Keynes has its own hidden side, filled with eerie tales and unexplained experiences.
Writer and psychologist Dr Steph Lay is uncovering them through her project City of Secrets. Since April 2025, she has been collecting first-hand accounts of the paranormal from local people — proving that even the newest towns can have chilling histories and ghostly encounters.
Steph is not a paranormal investigator. She doesn’t lead ghost hunts or chase spirits with equipment.
Instead, she is a story-collector — recording the ghost stories of Milton Keynes that might otherwise be lost.
How grief led to ghost stories
Her journey began in 2023, after the death of her husband Jef. The couple had often joked that whichever of them died first would send a sign from beyond.
No sign ever came.
“At first this saddened me, then it made me cross, and then it made me curious,” Steph recalls.
A psychologist by training, she decided to study Ciarán O’Keeffe’s diploma in parapsychology to explore why so many people report signs from loved ones, while she had none.
That personal search for answers soon widened into something much bigger — a mission to collect stories of hauntings and unexplained experiences in Milton Keynes.
Finding a paranormal community
Steph first connected with the paranormal community online, through Uncanny and Into the Fog. She even helped gather thousands of ghost stories shared in YouTube comments.
After logging over 30,000 comments and 400 detailed accounts, she realised something: Milton Keynes was being overlooked.
“Milton Keynes was written off as too new and bland to be haunted,” she says. “So if I wanted to hear the stories, I’d need to collect them myself.”
That was the beginning of City of Secrets — a blog now filled with ghost stories in Milton Keynes, from haunted shops to strange happenings under bridges.
Haunted stories from Milton Keynes
Some of Steph’s favourite accounts include the tale of a haunted bike shop in Stony Stratford, which she wrote about in A Playful Inversion.
Another eerie location is featured in her blog Continuing the Collection of Compelling Tags Under Another Bridge, showing how even ordinary spots in Milton Keynes can harbour unsettling stories.
What surprised Steph most is that not all hauntings are frightening.
Many locals describe experiences that bring comfort rather than fear — gentle signs, rather than sinister presences.
Belief shaped by stories
Although she has never had a paranormal encounter herself, Steph’s perspective has changed through listening to others.
“There’s just so much there that there’s no way I could be sceptical,” she says.
She doesn’t settle on one definition. Sometimes she calls them ghosts, sometimes spirits, sometimes energies — often echoing the language her storytellers use.
“Some feel like echoes of people who were here before, some like energies without a purpose, and some stranger still.”
Halloween in Milton Keynes
With growing interest in the project, Steph has even been invited to lead a ghost walk for Halloween in Milton Keynes.
It’s a chance to share her collection of local hauntings in person, adding new layers to the town’s reputation.
She has also booked a writing retreat at Oxford’s former prison-turned-hotel, one of the UK’s most famously spooky stays — a sign that her passion for hauntings is expanding beyond Milton Keynes.
Why these ghost stories matter
For Steph, the most rewarding part is not the spookiness, but the trust people place in her.
“The incredible privilege of being trusted with a story that someone has never told before, and getting to share that with the world. It really is an honour, and one I take very seriously.”
By documenting local tales, she is reshaping how people see Milton Keynes — not just as a modern town, but as a place with layers of memory, mystery and hauntings that rival anywhere else in the UK.
Follow Steph’s work
Steph continues to collect and share ghost stories in Milton Keynes through her blog City of Secrets.
You can also find her on:
X: @StephanieLay
BlueSky: @stephlay.bsky.social
Instagram: @stephanie.lay
Have you experienced something spooky in Milton Keynes? Share your ghost stories with us in the comments!
