Inside the West Midlands most haunted house - packed with ghosty features and spooky tales

It is the timbered, manor house, dating back to the 13th century, crammed with so many spooks they are in danger of not just going bump in the night, but bumping into each other. 

This is Bromwich Hall – now The Manor House Museum in West Bromwich – which is said to be the most haunted building in the West Midlands. Nearly every room is a room with a whooo. For starters, there’s a monk, knight in full armour and clumsy spectre whose heavy footsteps ring out in corridors. 

And visitors have also spotted the ghostly features of an elderly, bearded man and two young girls. They prefer the kitchen: apparently apparitions with an appetite. 

Once a pub, glasses have been reported to mysteriously fly through the air and there’s even a phantom cat. Throw in a monk, and you have a positive hostel for ghosts. 

There are two ghouls – Bertrum and Nicholas - with a particular axe to grind. The former murdered the latter. Sandwell Council states: “Murder, grave robbing and insanity are all part of the story of this fascinating and unique building.” 

The original house, built in the 1270s by Richard de Marnham, certainly has the kind of chequered, turbulent past that lends itself to hauntings. Following the death of owner John Shelton in 1665, his son, a child also named John, was declared lord of the manor. He could do nothing to stop his stepfather plundering the estate and throwing John Jnr and his family into poverty. 

London merchant Sir Samuel Clarke purchased the manor house in 1720, but later succumbed to insanity. Not surprisingly, the museum has proved a popular haunt for paranormal investigators. In 2012 Michaela Strachan visited to film an episode of Great British Ghosts. 

Eight years before that the house and its undead residents gave Yvette Fielding and Derek Acorah kittens while filming an episode of Most Haunted.   They detected a little girl called Emily and her grandmother who died in a fire. Emily spent the night tugging crew members’ clothes. At one point Yvette shrieked: “Something spat at you!” The culprit turned out to be a wall mounted air freshener. 

Most recently, Shropshire based Paranormal Friends descended on the chilling venue. “One member of the team has reported being grabbed by a spirit and having seen this as a dark shadow,” said a spokesperson. 

West Midlands Ghost Club have made numerous visits. In 2004, the band hit paydirt, with one member encountering something from the other side. A ghost club report states: “It appeared to be stooping forward, as if walking against a strong wind, and he had the impression that it had its hands held in front of its stomach, much like when you see monks with their hands tucked into their sleeves. Its movement was described as gliding, with no discernible leg movement.” The property may have ceased being a public house years ago. The spirits appear to still remain.