Underrated Ghost Stories And Mythical Creatures All Over The World

Marylebone, London is a fairly quiet neighborhood. It is known for its peaceful streets, Georgian squares, terraces, mews houses, Victorian mansion flats, and more.

It is also the home of Langham Hotel, one of the best traditional style hotels not only in Marylebone but in the whole of London. The 153-year-old establishment is said to be the home of many spirits that is why a lot of people want to go there to experience how creepy this hotel is.

The Langham Hotel photographed from the outside. (Link: https://www.tablethotels.com/en/london-hotels/the-langham-london)

The History of the Langham Hotel

The Langham Hotel was built from 1863 to 1865 and was designed by John Giles. Back in the day, it was the largest and most modern hotel in Marylebone, London as it had 36 bathrooms and the first ever hydraulic lifts in the whole of England.

The lobby of Langham Hotel. (Link: https://www.expedia.co.uk/London-Hotels-The-Langham.h22099.Hotel-Information)

Although the original owners of the Langham Hotel were not able to make great business judgments for the establishment, it became a hotspot for many prominent names when it was already under new management. Some of the famous people who visited and stayed at the Langham Hotel are Diana, the Princess of Wales, Winston Churchill, Wallis Simpson, Don Bradman, Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, and many more.

Princess Diana at the Langham Hotel. (Link: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/382313455858028946/)

During the World War II, the Langham Hotel no longer operated as a hotel but it was used by the Army. The hotel suffered from damages caused by bombs that the then-owners closed it. BBC later acquired it as an ancillary accommodation to Broadcasting House. By 1980, BBC applied for a permission to demolish the Langham Hotel but they were not permitted to do so.

Through the years, many attempted to manage the Langham Hotel until the present owner decided to refurbish the Langham Hotel from 1998 to 2000 and it is now almost restored to its original form. It is now a five star hotel and currently has 380 rooms, 15 function rooms, and a business center.

The Ghosts of Langham Hotel

Aside from the great architecture and being a five star hotel, the Langham Hotel is visited for other reasons – for the alleged paranormal activities taking place there.

There are said to be at least two regular ghosts at the Langham Hotel. The first has been described as a nobleman while others claim the ghost is that of a German prince. According to the stories, the prince or the nobleman died after he jumped to his death. He threw himself out of a window of one of the upper stories of the Langham Hotel. People who have seen his ghost or felt his presence claimed that whenever he was around, there was a drop in the temperature.

Langham Hotel is also known for its infamous Room 333. The room is where the other ghost is usually seen. When BBC used the Langham Hotel in the past, one of their newscasters stayed at the said room. The newscaster woke up to see a fluorescent ball of light. Later, the light turned into a human shape but when the newscaster looked closely, the newscasters saw that the figure hovered around two feet above the floor and had no legs. The ghost is a male and is believed to be from the Victorian era because of the extravagant Victorian evening wear it sports. Some claimed that the ghost belonged to a man, a doctor, who was honeymooning with his wife at the Langham Hotel and that he killed his wife then committed suicide.

One of the rooms at the Langham Hotel. (Link: http://www.langhamhotels.com/en/the-langham/london/rooms/)

The announcer reportedly asked the apparition what it wanted but the spirit slowly tried to get to the newscaster. The spirit reportedly had no eyes and its arms were outstretched. The newscaster then told the others about the apparition and when they went back to room 333, they still got the chance to see a part of the apparition but it slowly faded away.

Another BBC staff claimed of seeing the same apparition but details were not provided.

In 2014, the England cricket team was driven away from the Langham Hotel because of the same apparition. Reports started to surface during that time that some of the team members were having a difficult time to sleep. One of the team members named Stuart Broad said, “It was so hot in the room I just couldn’t sleep. All of a sudden the taps in the bathroom came on for no reason. I turned the lights on and the taps turned themselves off. Then when I turned the lights off again the taps came on. It was very weird.”

Stuart Broad in an undated photo. (Link: https://www.skysports.com/cricket/player/1861/stuart-broad)

The other ghosts found at the Langham Hotel are the man with a gaping wound on his face, the ghost of Emperor Napoleon III, who is seen at the basement, a ghost who loves to push hotel guests out of their bed while they sleep, and a butler.

A Thrill Seeker’s Room 333 Experience

One thrill seeker decided to see whether or not room 333 of the Langham Hotel is really worth the hype. This person walked up to the front desk of Langham Hotel and told the person in charged that a reservation was made for room 333. The person at the front desk then said, “My hands are starting to tremble. Do you mind if I collect myself for a moment?”

The door showing Room 333 of Langham Hotel. (Link: http://www.honestscope.co.uk/travel/hotels/the-langham-london/)

The thrill seeker asked, “I imagine a lot of people want to sleep in Room 333, right? You know, just for the fun of it?” The person at the front desk replied that people really try to avoid it and that he himself won’t even set foot into the third floor of the Langham Hotel because he believes in the things they have seen and heard and he does not want to “take the chance of bumping into anything.”