6 haunted places in south Essex and the stories behind them

Essex has 507 paranormal activities recorded so far, with countless ghost stories that accompany the many historic buildings in the region.

Whether you believe in the ghosts or not, it’s fun alternative to the traditional trick or treating which has fallen out of vogue in recent years.

We’ve put together a dozen places in South Essex that people have claimed to have seen night terrors and the paranormal.

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Palace Theatre – Southend

The next time you visit the palace theatre if you start to smell the peculiar stench of tobacco followed by the feeling of a cold hand pressed on your shoulder, you may have been visited by the old theatre manager.

He allegedly took his own life on the fly floor, when he realised he couldn’t afford to keep the theatre open.

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Southend Pier, Southend

A Victorian woman dressed in black has been spotted gazing across the pier, one builder was so terrified at seeing her she bolted home.

It’s unsure what she is looking for, it could be a ghost waiting for a lover who was lost out to see, or just a dramatic goth lady going for a midnight stroll.

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Billericay Police Station - Billericay 

When walking down the stairs of Billericay police station, some have heard footsteps coming up only to be met with nothing when turning the corner.

An airlock door creaked open and slammed shut with a jarring thud, and on one occasion a set of vehicle keys jumped off the hook when no-one noticing.

Some blame the ghostly goings-on on a former inspector, who died back in 1976.

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Hadleigh Castle – Benfleet

In the 19th century Hadleigh castle was used as a hideout for smugglers, they often reported seeing a pale woman in white roaming the grounds, some say she is still roaming the grounds looking for something or someone.

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The Sarah Moore Pub - Leigh

The Sarah Moore pub was named after a ‘bent and bitter old’ witch who made her living by the estuary telling fortunes and selling sailors ‘a good wind’ for a penny.

She would tie a piece of string or ribbon and somehow tie wind into it and put it up for sail.

A foreign captain forbade his crew from talking to her and she summoned the great storm of estuary to destroy them.

The captain survived and chopped the mast down with three blows, when they returned, they found Sarah’s dead body with three axe wounds.

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Prittlewell Priory - Prittlewell

This Southend Museum was built in the 12th century and was almost obliterated on the orders of King Henry VII during the reformation in the 16th century.

Founded in 1110 by Robert FitzSuen, the original “Preterwelle priory” of St Mary was home to 18 monks, who followed the rule of St Benedict.

An archaeological dig found the skeleton of monk who had been beheaded and buried faced down, suggesting a soul bound to hell.

You might glace upon a monk gliding up the path leading to the old cloisters and by the former minstrel’s gallery.