The Most Haunted Pub in London – The Ten Bells

A great number of pubs in London are hundreds of years old and have witnessed the city being changed over the centuries. Some of the most hair-rising historical events happened or started within the walls of those pubs.

One of those pubs is The Ten Bells, which is often get connected with one of the most mysterious murderers, Jack the Ripper.

The Ten Bells

The Ten Bells - Haunted Pub

The Ten Bells Pub

Photo: Urban Adventurer

 

The Ten Bells is standing on the corner of Commercial Street and Fournier Street, and believe it or not, has not much changed since it opened in 1752.

Due to the pub’s supposed connection to Jack the Ripper, in 1976 the landlord changed its name to ‘The Jack the Ripper’, with the hope of increasing the pub’s popularity and profit. After 12 years, however, the pub got back its original name and been operating under the name of ‘The Ten Bells’ since then.

 

Jack the Ripper and The Ten Bells

One of the most notorious cases in London’s criminal history is Jack the Ripper’s. Although, the mystery around him has never been solved, he is believed to have waited for his drunken victims in The Ten Bells.

Mary Kelly

Crime Scene - Mary KellyCrime Scene - Mary Kelly

Murder Site of Mary Kelly’s. Miller’s Court

Image source

 

During the night on 9th November 1888, a 25-year-old attractive woman with fair complexion and light hair left the pub. Her name was Mary Kelly. The next morning her landlord sent his assistant, Thomas Bowyer to collect the rent overdue from Miss Kelly.

Bowyer banged the door but received no answer. There was no doubt, however, that Mary Kelly was in the room. Bowyer went around to investigate the room through one of the broken windows only to discover Miss Kelly’s mutilated body lying on the bed.

Mary Kelly is believed to have met her murderer, Jack the Ripper, at Christ Church Spitalfields, just one-minute walk from The Ten Bells.

Annie Chapman

Murder Site of Annie Chapman

Murder Site of Annie Chapman. 29 Hanbury Street

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Just one day before, on 8th November 1888, Annie Chapman’s lifeless body was found at 29 Hanbury Street, just behind The Ten Bells.

Hanbury Street

Hanbury Street Today

Photo: Urban Adventurer

Chapman was a 47-year-old, short, pump woman, with dark curly hair and blue eyes. She was Jack the Ripper’s second victim after Mary Ann Nichols.

Nichols’ severely mutilated body was discovered in Buck’s Row, a 14-minue walk from The Ten Bells.

 

Ghost Haunting

Jack the Ripper’s story was not the only eerie story happened within the walls of The Ten Bells over the centuries.

During the 1990s the staff living in the building, regularly witnessed the ghost of a Victorian-dressed man appearing and disappearing.

Even today, customers regularly report about seeing the above ghost in the pub. Annie Chapman’s ghost is also believed to haunt within the building. Gusts of winds and moving objects have been reported by the staff, customers and landlords.

 

Jack the Ripper Museum

Jack the Ripper Museum

Photo: Urban Adventurer

 

Jack the Ripper Museum is a 15-minute-walk from The Ten Bells, and is located at the exact location where the Ripper murdered his third victim, Elizabeth Stride.

Elizabeth Stride - Victim of Jack the Ripper

Photo: Urban Adventurer

 

The six-floor museum recreates the crimes and the crime scenes.

On exploring the museum, you will learn everything we know about the crime scenes, the victims, the main suspects, the police investigation and the everyday life in the east end of London in 1888.

Tickets

You can either book your ticket online or purchase it at the door.

The museum offers guided walks to visit the real crime locations around Whitechapel.

 

Ready for your next adventure? Why not go for an eerie adventure and discover London’s most notorious execution sites?