Unveiling the Spine-Tingling Secrets of the UK's Most Haunted City: A Pub Cellar Dissection and the Haunting of 'Room 29'!

WITH more than 2,000 reported ghost sightings and a history written in blood, it has often been dubbed the UK’s most haunted city.

From hosting ‘s last “hanging, drawing and quartering” in 1817 to creepy coffins and monster cages locked away in its centuries-old pubs, Derby boasts a sinister past of brutality and betrayal.

Sun reporter Sophie Warburton visited Derby’s renown haunted hotspotsCredit: Paul Tonge Josh Gadsby, manager of Ye Olde Dolphin Inne, poses beside an old coffin in the pub cellarCredit: Paul Tonge Ian and Diane Hamilton hold their vampire slaying kit at Dracula’s Bazaar: Alternative Market, part of the UK Ghost Story FestivalCredit: Paul Tonge The former Room 29 of the Old Bell Hotel, which is said to be haunted by maid MabelCredit: Paul Tonge

The East Midlands city even gave birth to the modern Dracula, hosting the first authorised stage adaptation in 1924.

But as I discovered during its inaugural Ghost Storytelling Festival, the real-life terrors lurking in the creaking boozers are far more unsettling than any cape-wearing vampire.

During my whistlestop tour of the local ‘haunts’, landlords told of seeing terrifying figures in the night – often found in creepy secret dungeons and attics, with names like the ‘Vault of Terror’.

My first stop was Derby Gaol, a place where the air feels heavy enough to choke you. Built in 1756, this subterranean hellhole operated during the height of the “Bloody Code”.

This was a period of British history where the legal system went through a state of blood-frenzy; the number of crimes punishable by death skyrocketed from 50 to over 200.

In the 18th century, you could find yourself standing on the “triple tree” gallows for “wrecking a fishpond,” “impersonating a Chelsea Pensioner,” or the simple theft of a “dark brown gelding” (a castrated horse).

Between 1756 and 1825, 58 people were killed in Derby Gaol.

The current owner and local historian Richard Felix, a man who has spent decades studying the paranormal and staring into the abyss, admits he is still frequently terrified of his own building.

He recalls a chilling afternoon when he was on the phone to a friend and watched a “grey, hazy shape” glide through the main corridor.

“I just stopped talking and watched this shape,” Richard says.

“When it reached the corner, it simply disappeared. It didn’t fade; it was just gone.

“I picked the phone back up and told my friend, ‘I’m not kidding, I’ve just seen a ghost.’ I asked him to stay on the line. I didn’t want to be alone in that corridor.”

Richard Felix is most famous as the historian for Living TV’s Most Haunted, appearing in 120 episodesCredit: Paul Tonge Richard showed us historical carvings made by prisoners on a cell door in Derby GaolCredit: Paul Tonge Sophie inside the condemned prisoners’ cell of the old jailCredit: Paul Tonge One sinister incident caught on CCTV saw a whiskey glass appear to slide off a table by itselfCredit: Richard Felix

Richard isn’t the only witness to the Gaol’s restless residents. He and volunteer Anthony Luckwell have both seen a consistent, disturbing apparition near the bar window in broad daylight.

Then there is the ghost of Glythe Simpson, a former jailer who worked the corridors for 37 years. According to Richard, Simpson “likes it here” and simply refuses to clock out.

His presence is so tangible that during “table tilting” sessions, an old-fashioned method of spirit communication, the jail’s heavy antique table is said to move under its own power, physically guiding terrified visitors toward the condemned cell where men spent their final nights.

“He’s possessive of the building,” Richard claims. “He once tried to ‘walk me out’ of the room, as if he were still the man in charge of the keys.”

Creepy incidents have also caught punters off guard too, Richard says.

A heavy original cell door once slammed shut on its own, trapping a builder inside who immediately reported feeling a wave of nausea and physical sickness.

During one Halloween event, a whiskey glass was filmed on CCTV sliding off the bar and smashing on the floor with no one near it.

Most disturbing of all is the report of a figure “slowly swinging” in a black shroud, believed to be one of the Jones brothers, John or Benjamin, who hanged themselves in their cell to avoid the humiliation of a public execution.

Josh Gadsby tells us people have often seen a ghost at the top of the stairsCredit: Paul Tonge The ghost, nicknamed Petal, is a little girl who makes your head ‘go fuzzy’ if you play musicCredit: Paul Tonge

A short walk away lies Ye Olde Dolphin Inn, Derby’s oldest pub. At first glance, it looks like a standard, cosy local with its timber frames and leaded windows.

But look closer and you’ll see a chalkboard that sets the tone: “Ghost Walk, Ask Staff for Details.”

Manager Josh Gadsby has been here ten years, but it took three years of quiet service before the spirits ‘introduced’ themselves.

While working alone in the cellar, he heard the heavy, metallic clanging of beer barrels being moved.

Thinking a colleague was playing a prank, he went to investigate, only to find the lights off and the room empty.

As he turned to leave, he felt a sudden, forceful tug on his shoulders, as if someone was trying to yank him back into the darkness of the lower vaults.

The pub’s most grisly legend is the 18th-century “Vault of Terror.” The story goes that a young doctor, desperate to practice dissection in an age where cadavers were hard to come by, secretly arranged for the body of a woman believed to be dead to be delivered to the pub’s cellar.

Customers Sam Smith and Joe Alsbury are sceptics but admit they ‘hate’ scary thingsCredit: Paul Tonge Inside this dog kennel a little boy was apparently mauled to deathCredit: Paul Tonge The little ghost boy continues to haunt the Tudor Bar, allegedlyCredit: Paul Tonge

In a scene straight out of a Victorian penny dreadful, he began cutting into her abdomen to remove her entrails.

But the woman wasn’t dead; she was in a deep, catatonic coma. As the cold steel sank in, her eyes snapped open.

She sat up screaming, desperately clutching her open wound as she tried to flee the room.

She died shortly after from the sheer shock and trauma of the “operation.” Her official cause of death in the local records? “Death by rude awakening.”

“Staff and regulars still claim her anguished screams can be heard from the cellar late at night,” Josh says. But she isn’t alone.

The Dolphin is allegedly home to at least four , including “The Flying Scotsman” and “The Blue Lady.” Then there is “Petal,” a ghost child often seen sitting quietly on the stairs.

Sean Brough (left), manager of the Old Bell Hotel and barman Rory Gorman admit they don’t like being alone in the pub’s haunted hotspotsCredit: Paul Tonge Mabel is said to be a friendly ghost, but the room left Sophie frozen with fearCredit: Paul Tonge

At The Old Bell, the atmosphere takes a darker turn. Manager Sean Brough leads me to a derelict floor that feels like a time capsule.

This is the home of ‘Room 29’, where a 19th-century linen maid named Mabel reportedly hanged herself after her lover was killed in the war, leaving her pregnant and alone.

“We had a Live with our maintenance and security team,” Sean says. “The building was very disturbed because of the renovation work.

“They lasted maybe half an hour before they fled. They were hearing things being knocked over and seeing movement in the corners of their eyes. They literally cowered and got out of there.”

But the true nightmare is higher up. Through a disabled toilet and up a ladder hatch lies a loft containing wooden cages.

In the 1700s, before a formal police force existed, these cages held “hybrid monsters”, a terrifying cross-breed of wolves, bears, and dogs used to protect horses and coaches from highwaymen.

Legend says a young stable boy, known for being a prankster, was locked in one of these cages for a night as punishment by his frustrated master.

“When he came back the next morning, it was absolute carnage,” Sean says solemnly. “There wasn’t much left of him.”

The boy is now said to haunt the Tudor Bar directly below the cages. Punters report being shoved, hearing giggling, and seeing glasses fly off shelves.

“About six months ago, a bottle of Jägermeister just exploded on the bar for no reason,” Sean adds.

“I’m a healthy cynic, but I wouldn’t be up here on my own late at night. Not a chance.”

Dr Thomas Charles Craig often holds seances at The Georgian House HotelCredit: Paul Tonge The interior of at The Georgian House Hotel – said to be home to many a ghostly visitCredit: Paul Tonge The corridor outside Room 7, which has seen supernatural occurrencesCredit: Paul Tonge The hotel is often used as the starting point for ghost walks and toursCredit: Paul Tonge

The haunting isn’t confined to the pubs. At The Georgian House Hotel, the décor is a surreal mix of taxidermy and antiques.

Manager Kaz Woolley says guests frequently flee in the middle of the night, leaving their luggage behind.

One regular and seance holder, Thomas Craig Charles, says the energy is physical.

He claims: “There are three rooms I cannot go in. It’s like a physical but invisible barrier. I’ve had to get out. There is something here that I wouldn’t want to encounter.”

The hotel is supposedly overseen by its former owner, Mr Grundy, who apparently isn’t a fan of the building’s transition into a noisy pub.

“I always talk to him,” Kaz says. “When paintings fall over or doors bang, I know it’s him. I tell him, ‘You need to let people be in your house!’ People think I’m crazy, but I’ve never felt uncomfortable about it.”

Kaz recalls a particularly draining experience while cleaning a guest room.

“I went in and suddenly had no energy whatsoever. I felt completely drained. It took me ages to finish, and the moment I stepped out of the room, my energy was suddenly replenished.”

Laura Vial, of The Seven Stars, says the hoover randomly cuts out even when it’s plugged inCredit: Paul Tonge Customer Cameron Atterson has felt ‘something’ brush past him despite no one being thereCredit: Paul Tonge

My journey ends at the Seven Stars, ‘home’ to a ghost named George.

George is apparently a classic poltergeist who likes to turn off beer taps mid-pour and whisper in the attic. But his most famous calling card is the “breath print”.

Staff member Laura Vial and regular Cameron Atterson have both watched as a singular window pane steams up in a perfect circle, as if someone is standing inches away, breathing on the glass.

One local, who spent years mocking the “ghost nonsense,” shared a terrifying encounter that changed his life.

“I was talking about the ghost as if it didn’t exist,” they said. “Suddenly, the wooden shutters across the windows began to flap violently.

“There was a big bang at the bar, and the lights flickered, all at the same time.

“Then, a massive banging started coming from the cellar. I don’t mock him anymore. Now, I respect the ghost.”

As the sun sets over Derby, the city’s dark past seems to seep out of the very brickwork.

From the “reaper” figures seen by staff at the Old Bell to the ghost children playing tricks on the living, one thing is certain: you don’t want to go walking alone at night.

The Smokeroom in the Seven Stars is the ‘most active’ spotCredit: Paul Tonge The Seven Stars is haunted by a resident ghost nicknamed ‘George’Credit: Paul Tonge