US Politics | I spent the night inside haunted orphanage that frightens professional ghost hunters – it was pure terror
IT'S midnight and I'm in an abandoned former orphanage and psychiatric asylum, praying my eyes are playing tricks on me. Nobody else seems to notice the lanky silhouette lurking behind our paranormal ghostbusters — until a ball appears from a dark corner and slowly rolls towards me. 
Dave NelsonSun Reporter, Nicola Aguis, went inside abandoned 19th century orphanage '/ ' 
Dave NelsonLast year an E4 TV crew took a group of famous faces to film Celebrity Ghost Trip at Newsham Park '/ ' Just days before Halloween, I was meeting researchers Helen Nicholson and Mandy Taylor at Newsham Park in Merseyside, one of the UK's most haunted buildings. The 19th-century Grade II listed property has stood derelict for 30 years. It has been described by former staff as "pure evil" and is believed to have once housed Moors murderer Ian Brady. With sightings of spirits, visitors being physically attacked and furniture moving on its own, even professional ghost hunters have been left traumatised by the building. READ MORE ON HALLOWEEN 2022 
FRIGHTFULLY GOOD I'm a mum-of-4 & my cheap hack makes floating Halloween ghosts in minutes Helen, who runs Newsham Park ghost hunts for events firm Haunted Happenings, told me: "I've only just started coming back here after what happened last time, it scared me so much. "We were giving a tour of the building a few months ago when I heard this scream in the basement. "It was so loud, I stopped the tour because I was convinced everyone must have heard it, but they hadn't. Distraught voice Most read in The US Sun 'LACK OF CARE' Veteran's family slams cops who 'let Master of Disguise boyfriend escape' CRUCIAL BREAKTHROUGH First pic of man arrested in connection with Delphi murders revealed KNIFE HORROR Tragic details emerge after dad and daughter killed in horror Kohl's stabbing PAT HITS BACK Wheel of Fortune's Pat corrects player after she shares controversial opinion NOT THEIR BEST Today fans cringe after guest acts 'irritated' with Hoda & Jenna on live TV FINAL SMILE Chilling final pics of husband with wife moments before he pushed her off cliff "It was a woman's voice, very high-pitched, and so distraught, saying, 'Sorry'. "It was as clear as anything and so unbelievably creepy. Even now, what I heard still affects me." Earlier this year, two Haunted Happenings customers were attacked while taking part in a vigil with Mandy. The man and woman, who did not know each other, both reported a burning sensation on their skin. When Mandy turned on the lights, the woman discovered a deep scratch across her cheek, while the man had several red claw marks on his neck. Mandy, 45, said: "This isn't something a woman would do to her face," then showed me photographs of the injuries. She added: "I have also seen a shelving unit move six feet across the floor by itself. 
Dave NelsonThe 19th-century Grade II listed property has stood derelict for 30 years '/ ' 
Dave NelsonLove Island's Callum Izzard was reduced to tears and admitted to the cameras that the abandoned orphanage was ...the scariest place I've ever been to'. '/ ' Many people have actually run out of our ghost hunts in floods of tears because there's just such a sad energy here. It's a dark, nasty place. Some of the things that happened here are horrid." Last year an E4 TV crew took a group of famous faces to film Celebrity Ghost Trip at Newsham Park. After just a couple of hours, the entire cast ran out of the building screaming, with Love Island's Callum Izzard reduced to tears. Previously a sceptic, he admitted to the cameras that the abandoned orphanage was "the scariest place I've ever been to". Mandy said "thousands of people" died at Newsham Park during its 75-year operation — many of them children. She added: "Child mortality was very high in the 1800s and a lot of the orphans were ill. ...Many also passed away when the site was used as a hospital." The first stop on our tour was one of the most haunted areas of the building, a hallway nicknamed the "Naughty Boys' Corridor". This is where children were taken for punishment when the building was an orphanage from 1874 to 1949. Helen's daughter, paranormal historian Emily Nicholson, 21, tells me children were locked in small cupboards that line the corridor for days or weeks at a time. One boy is believed to have been left in the cupboard until he went silent. When they finally opened the door he was dead. It wasn't long before I found out why the Naughty Boys' Corridor has such a frightening reputation. As soon as I opened the hallway door, I heard a table squeaking as it aggressively rocked back and forth at the far end of the corridor. But when I ran over to join the paranormal researchers, the movement stopped and I asked if it had been a hoax. I was about to walk away after giving our photographer an unimpressed look, when a toy car that had been placed on the table to communicate with spirits started to roll by itself and fell to the floor. I scanned the corridor, looking for an open window so I could blame the breeze, but instead I spotted a creepy china doll on the floor looking up at us. "Don't feel scared," Emily tried — and failed — to reassure me. "Remember, we're here because we want to find out more. We would rather run to something than run away." I took a rain check and left the Naughty Boys' Corridor, pronto. Next, I reunited with Helen as she returned to face her fears in the basement. Tall shadow of man When she pulled out a ouija board, I said I would not be taking part and simply observed instead. As the planchette, or pointer, began to move, I felt an overwhelming sensation that we were being watched. That's when I spotted the tall shadow in my peripheral vision. Although the room was dark, I was convinced I could see a tall man with a slightly hunched back standing in the corner staring at us. Freaked out, I abruptly interrupted the seance to ask if anyone else could see him. Helen quickly pulled out her torch — nothing was there. But mere seconds after she turned the light back off, a ball lit up the room as it rolled out from the same corner. The toy ball, which glows when its motion sensor is activated, had been left in the corner of the room by the investigators so spirits could make contact. I screamed, and our photographer rushed over, insisting there had to be a rational explanation. Perhaps there was, but I swiftly said my goodbyes . . . just in case. Grim twist in the tail NEWSHAM Park's Seaman's Orphanage was built to house around 400 children when it opened in the 1870s. But by the end of World War One, so many Liverpool children were left parentless that it was squeezing in up to 1,000 orphans. 
AlamyThe psychiatric hospital closed for good in 1992 and remains boarded up '/ ' The cramped conditions and reported abuse by staff were compared to Oliver Twist by those who lived there. Siblings were separated on arrival, and only allowed to see each other for a few hours a week. One inmate, Frederick Fleet, was later the lookout on the Titanic, and the first to spot the iceberg that sank it in 1912. He later suffered severe depression and went on to take his own life. In World War Two Newsham Park was heavily bombed, and a lack of funding led to the orphanage's closure in 1949. After reopening as a psychiatric hospital, it closed for good in 1992 and remains boarded up. Our horror-ful history REPORTS of ghosts date back thousands of years. Here we take a look at some of the spookiest . . . The Enfield Poltergeist – More than 30 people, including a police officer, are said to have witnessed furniture moving on its own, inexplicable loud noises, objects hurled across the room and children levitating at the North London home of the Hodgson family over 18 months in the 1970s. Hampton Court – In 2003 a skeletal figure in what appears to be Tudor clothing was seen on CCTV flinging open a sturdy fire exit door in the South London royal palace. Birmingham Poltergeist – Incidents of stones falling from the sky and smashing house windows in Thornton Road lasted for three years in the 1980s. Police failed to find the cause. Freddy Jackson – RAF commander Victor Goddard took a photo of his old World War One squadron in 1919 which also showed mechanic Freddy – who had died two days earlier. Anneliese Michel, Germany – The 23-year-old claimed to be possessed by six demons, and for two days in 1976 she ate insects, bit the head off a dead bird and barked like a dog. She received 67 exorcisms before she finally died from malnutrition. 50 Berkeley Square – Dubbed "the most haunted house in London", it is said to have driven people mad, such as a maid in the 1870s who spent the rest of her life in an asylum. Roland Doe, USA – In 1949 priests exorcised a boy of 14. Read More on The Sun 
SPIN OFF I'm a laundry pro – one item to add to your washing so clothes never smell damp Witnesses said he could speak in ancient languages, levitated his mattress and had supernatural strength. The events inspired the 1971 novel The Exorcist.
Dave NelsonSun Reporter, Nicola Aguis, went inside abandoned 19th century orphanage '/ ' Dave NelsonLast year an E4 TV crew took a group of famous faces to film Celebrity Ghost Trip at Newsham Park '/ ' Just days before Halloween, I was meeting researchers Helen Nicholson and Mandy Taylor at Newsham Park in Merseyside, one of the UK's most haunted buildings. The 19th-century Grade II listed property has stood derelict for 30 years. It has been described by former staff as "pure evil" and is believed to have once housed Moors murderer Ian Brady. With sightings of spirits, visitors being physically attacked and furniture moving on its own, even professional ghost hunters have been left traumatised by the building. READ MORE ON HALLOWEEN 2022 FRIGHTFULLY GOOD I'm a mum-of-4 & my cheap hack makes floating Halloween ghosts in minutes Helen, who runs Newsham Park ghost hunts for events firm Haunted Happenings, told me: "I've only just started coming back here after what happened last time, it scared me so much. "We were giving a tour of the building a few months ago when I heard this scream in the basement. "It was so loud, I stopped the tour because I was convinced everyone must have heard it, but they hadn't. Distraught voice Most read in The US Sun 'LACK OF CARE' Veteran's family slams cops who 'let Master of Disguise boyfriend escape' CRUCIAL BREAKTHROUGH First pic of man arrested in connection with Delphi murders revealed KNIFE HORROR Tragic details emerge after dad and daughter killed in horror Kohl's stabbing PAT HITS BACK Wheel of Fortune's Pat corrects player after she shares controversial opinion NOT THEIR BEST Today fans cringe after guest acts 'irritated' with Hoda & Jenna on live TV FINAL SMILE Chilling final pics of husband with wife moments before he pushed her off cliff "It was a woman's voice, very high-pitched, and so distraught, saying, 'Sorry'. "It was as clear as anything and so unbelievably creepy. Even now, what I heard still affects me." Earlier this year, two Haunted Happenings customers were attacked while taking part in a vigil with Mandy. The man and woman, who did not know each other, both reported a burning sensation on their skin. When Mandy turned on the lights, the woman discovered a deep scratch across her cheek, while the man had several red claw marks on his neck. Mandy, 45, said: "This isn't something a woman would do to her face," then showed me photographs of the injuries. She added: "I have also seen a shelving unit move six feet across the floor by itself. Dave NelsonThe 19th-century Grade II listed property has stood derelict for 30 years '/ ' Dave NelsonLove Island's Callum Izzard was reduced to tears and admitted to the cameras that the abandoned orphanage was ...the scariest place I've ever been to'. '/ ' Many people have actually run out of our ghost hunts in floods of tears because there's just such a sad energy here. It's a dark, nasty place. Some of the things that happened here are horrid." Last year an E4 TV crew took a group of famous faces to film Celebrity Ghost Trip at Newsham Park. After just a couple of hours, the entire cast ran out of the building screaming, with Love Island's Callum Izzard reduced to tears. Previously a sceptic, he admitted to the cameras that the abandoned orphanage was "the scariest place I've ever been to". Mandy said "thousands of people" died at Newsham Park during its 75-year operation — many of them children. She added: "Child mortality was very high in the 1800s and a lot of the orphans were ill. ...Many also passed away when the site was used as a hospital." The first stop on our tour was one of the most haunted areas of the building, a hallway nicknamed the "Naughty Boys' Corridor". This is where children were taken for punishment when the building was an orphanage from 1874 to 1949. Helen's daughter, paranormal historian Emily Nicholson, 21, tells me children were locked in small cupboards that line the corridor for days or weeks at a time. One boy is believed to have been left in the cupboard until he went silent. When they finally opened the door he was dead. It wasn't long before I found out why the Naughty Boys' Corridor has such a frightening reputation. As soon as I opened the hallway door, I heard a table squeaking as it aggressively rocked back and forth at the far end of the corridor. But when I ran over to join the paranormal researchers, the movement stopped and I asked if it had been a hoax. I was about to walk away after giving our photographer an unimpressed look, when a toy car that had been placed on the table to communicate with spirits started to roll by itself and fell to the floor. I scanned the corridor, looking for an open window so I could blame the breeze, but instead I spotted a creepy china doll on the floor looking up at us. "Don't feel scared," Emily tried — and failed — to reassure me. "Remember, we're here because we want to find out more. We would rather run to something than run away." I took a rain check and left the Naughty Boys' Corridor, pronto. Next, I reunited with Helen as she returned to face her fears in the basement. Tall shadow of man When she pulled out a ouija board, I said I would not be taking part and simply observed instead. As the planchette, or pointer, began to move, I felt an overwhelming sensation that we were being watched. That's when I spotted the tall shadow in my peripheral vision. Although the room was dark, I was convinced I could see a tall man with a slightly hunched back standing in the corner staring at us. Freaked out, I abruptly interrupted the seance to ask if anyone else could see him. Helen quickly pulled out her torch — nothing was there. But mere seconds after she turned the light back off, a ball lit up the room as it rolled out from the same corner. The toy ball, which glows when its motion sensor is activated, had been left in the corner of the room by the investigators so spirits could make contact. I screamed, and our photographer rushed over, insisting there had to be a rational explanation. Perhaps there was, but I swiftly said my goodbyes . . . just in case. Grim twist in the tail NEWSHAM Park's Seaman's Orphanage was built to house around 400 children when it opened in the 1870s. But by the end of World War One, so many Liverpool children were left parentless that it was squeezing in up to 1,000 orphans. AlamyThe psychiatric hospital closed for good in 1992 and remains boarded up '/ ' The cramped conditions and reported abuse by staff were compared to Oliver Twist by those who lived there. Siblings were separated on arrival, and only allowed to see each other for a few hours a week. One inmate, Frederick Fleet, was later the lookout on the Titanic, and the first to spot the iceberg that sank it in 1912. He later suffered severe depression and went on to take his own life. In World War Two Newsham Park was heavily bombed, and a lack of funding led to the orphanage's closure in 1949. After reopening as a psychiatric hospital, it closed for good in 1992 and remains boarded up. Our horror-ful history REPORTS of ghosts date back thousands of years. Here we take a look at some of the spookiest . . . The Enfield Poltergeist – More than 30 people, including a police officer, are said to have witnessed furniture moving on its own, inexplicable loud noises, objects hurled across the room and children levitating at the North London home of the Hodgson family over 18 months in the 1970s. Hampton Court – In 2003 a skeletal figure in what appears to be Tudor clothing was seen on CCTV flinging open a sturdy fire exit door in the South London royal palace. Birmingham Poltergeist – Incidents of stones falling from the sky and smashing house windows in Thornton Road lasted for three years in the 1980s. Police failed to find the cause. Freddy Jackson – RAF commander Victor Goddard took a photo of his old World War One squadron in 1919 which also showed mechanic Freddy – who had died two days earlier. Anneliese Michel, Germany – The 23-year-old claimed to be possessed by six demons, and for two days in 1976 she ate insects, bit the head off a dead bird and barked like a dog. She received 67 exorcisms before she finally died from malnutrition. 50 Berkeley Square – Dubbed "the most haunted house in London", it is said to have driven people mad, such as a maid in the 1870s who spent the rest of her life in an asylum. Roland Doe, USA – In 1949 priests exorcised a boy of 14. Read More on The Sun SPIN OFF I'm a laundry pro – one item to add to your washing so clothes never smell damp Witnesses said he could speak in ancient languages, levitated his mattress and had supernatural strength. The events inspired the 1971 novel The Exorcist.
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