York’s finest buildings…from beyond the grave

York is well known for its beautiful and historic properties. It is also infamously the most haunted city in the UK. This Halloween, many places of peace and tranquillity will be transformed into pits of horror and despair, for you to explore at your peril.

York Haunted House – York Mansion House, St Helen’s Square

This striking Georgian Mansion takes pride of place in St Helen’s Square, a grand and bustling hub, which is also home to the renowned Betty’s Tea Rooms. The Mansion House has been the residence of York’s Lord Mayors since 1732. A building with this much history must surely suffer from a ghoulish presence. Its day-to-day grisly offerings are a dead cat and an unsettling child’s shoe, placed within the house’s walls and believed to bring good luck.

Between the 19th and 31st October comes the chance to combat the Haunted House’s ghostly inhabitants. A spooky, immersive, puzzle based adventure awaits those who dare to explore the house’s nooks and crannies. For braver, and older (16+) souls, there is the chance to take on this challenge during the chills of Halloween night.

Halloween Ghost Hunt - Merchant Adventurers' Hall

Down by the River Foss stands Merchant Adventurers’ Hall, a truly unique building with 660 years of history, which is remarkably still used for its original purpose. With wooden beams throughout, The Great Hall, Undercroft and Chapel are all resplendent.

This Halloween though, expect to be positively perturbed. On the night of 25th October, York Paranormal Research are encouraging visitors to get hands on with a mix of traditional and hi-tech ghost hunting methods. Past ghostly goings-on at the Hall include the sound of footsteps, unexplained mists, sinister chanting and inexplicably appearing coins. One for sceptics and believers alike!

Ghost Cellar Tours - Treasurer's House

Tucked away behind York’s world-famous Minster, Treasurer’s House has 100s of years of history. The building’s current state is the result of restorations by Edwardian industrialist Frank Green, who ensured the house’s creepy credentials when he threatened to haunt the building if anyone moved his carefully positioned furniture.

It wasn’t Green that spooked Harry Martindale in 1953 however, but the spirits of marching Roman soldiers. This Halloween, the Nation Trust are giving you the chance to seek out these ancient apparitions in the cellar that sits above the buried Roman Road.

By Candlelight - Barley Hall

Hidden down on of York’s many snickelways is Barley Hall, a medieval townhouse dating from 1360, sandwiched between Stonegate and Swinegate. The house is made to look as it would have done in the late 15th century when it was inhabited by William Snawsell and his family.   

Enjoy Barley Hall by the flicker of candlelight, open after dark this Halloween on 30th and 31st October. While there’s no promise of ghostly appearances from the white faced woman or the lost boy of York, the area’s resident spirits, you can learn about real life witchcraft in their Magic and Mystery exhibition.

York: Home to UK’s Best Scream Park – York Maze Hallowscream

Hallowscream is returning to York Maze and is bigger than ever, with 2 brand new scare houses.

The Singularity is a brand new scare house for 2019. In his laboratories crazed inventor Joseph Clement is creating a new species that combines the best of man and machine, one true perfect being he calls ‘The Singularity’. But beware the process is not yet perfected and more human test subjects are needed for his warped experiments!

The famous clown themed scare house has been re-imagined and renamed Corny’s Cornevil, where demonic clowns and mind-bending illusions will have you questioning your sanity and begging for the exit! Will you lose your mind in the never-ending maze of mirrors and brave the monsters that lurk within the laser swamp!

Hallowscream is open to the public for 15 nights on 11th & 12th October, 17th, 18th, and 19th October, then every night from 24th October to 2nd November.

The Great York Ghost Search

If all this doesn’t satisfy your phantomic appetites, you can undertake The Great York Ghost Search. Between 11th October and 1st November, 26 Ghost Lamps will be hidden around the city, along with hundreds of mini ghosts for you to find and keep. Go to the Visit York Information Centre to pick up a map and find out more. Happy hunting.

The UK’s Most Haunted City

You can find out more about all the scary shindigs in the UK’s most haunted city by visiting our special Haunted York pages.