10 Most Haunted Places in Glasgow

The Theatre Royal holds the prestigious title of being the oldest playhouse in Glasgow. It has a history that dates back all the way to the 1860s, along with a prime location down on lively Hope Street. But the years of age have also given rise to some spooky stories…

Reports of knocking doors and creaking floorboards abound. They are told by the actors who still take to the stage, who spin tales of trapped ghostly thespians and cleaners. There's also an awesome line-up of haunting performances to get stuck into. From Scottish ballet to opera, there's sure to be something to set the spine a-tingling.

Pollok House is run and managed by the National Trust for Scotland. It sits in sprawling grounds near the area of Shawlands on the south side of the River Clyde. Once the home of the powerful Stirling-Maxwell family, it's now open to the public for visits and guided tours.

Guests can come to see the vintage decoration and paintings by the likes Goya. But they can also delve into the chilling tale of the so-called Witches of Pollock. Back in the 1600s, when a phobia of the dark arts spread across the country, several women accused of black magic were burned on this very site. Will you see their spectres?

The Scotland Street School is up there with the finest architectural wonders of Glasgow. Designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, it sports its handsome Scottish Baronial style just a few steps away from the Shields Road underground station. That makes it a particularly accessible spooky spot on the southern edge of the Clyde.

These days, the building hosts a museum that chronicles life in a Victorian-era schoolhouse. But it's not without its ghouls, because staff have spoken of artefacts shifting on their own, of inexplicable laughter echoing on the upper floors, and footsteps moving in empty hallways. Visit at your own risk.

The very looks of the Tron Theatre should be enough to show that this is one of Glasgow's most haunted spots. Looming above the Trongate Road near Saltmarket, it's a church-style steeple with Gothic carvings that are all stained with age.

Inside, award-winning panto and dramatic productions regularly take place on the stage. But that's not all. Mediums and experts in the supernatural have also been drawn to the auditorium. They come to investigate reports of apparitions that centre on the old Vic Bar and the main playhouse. They've been described as "threatening" presences that’ll send a chill down the spine.

The Cathedral House Hotel on charming Cathedral Square of north-east Glasgow might be a stylish boutique accommodation option these days, but that wasn't always the case. Back in the late 1800s, it was a halfway house for prisoners recently released from the notorious Duke Street Prison. That was arguably Scotland's hardest jail, with reports of awful living conditions and many executions.

Rumour has it that the spectres of the old inmates can still be felt in the hotel. Some talk of a paranormal presence that causes the sensation of being touched on the arm. Others have reported hearing the cries of children playing in the attic rooms.

The Glasgow Royal Infirmary is still a working university hospital. It serves the city from its sprawling campus grounds just off the junctions of the M8 motorway to the north-east side of the centre. It was first built in the 1700s, but has had countless additions and extensions since.

With more than 2 centuries of history, there's been plenty of time for sightings of the supernatural in the building. They've been varied and strange. Some talk of the whisperer in Ward 27, who's said to converse with sick patients. There's also a reported apparition of a lady wearing grey, and the legend of a spectral nurse who floats through the corridors.

Capping off the lovely green spaces of vibrant Woodlands on the west side of Glasgow is the multi-purpose events and recreation venue of Kelvin Hall. Everyone, from students to families, is a regular, thanks to the mix of heritage collections and sports facilities that are now on offer at the complex.

Kelvin Hall was once the home of the town's transport museum before it was moved to the Riverside Museum closer to the Clyde. During that time, curators and visitors alike would talk of spooky happenings on the recreated Victorian cobbled street within. And they told of children's laughter echoing from the exhibition spaces when the museum was shut at night.  

No list of Glasgow's spookiest spots could overlook the great Glasgow Necropolis. It rolls down a hillside between the Neo-Gothic towers of the Glasgow Royal Infirmary and Duke Street, forming a sea of tombstones and sepulchres that's surely rife with paranormal activity.

One of the most prominent tales is that of the Glasgow Necropolis vampire. Back in 1954, children were spotted stalking the gravestones with stakes at the ready. When asked, they said they were hunting a sharp-toothed bloodsucker who's now a central part of local legend. Today, you can join regular walking tours of the site to tread in their footsteps.

Behind the half-timbered façade of The Scotia on Stockwell St, patrons can sip potent Scotch whisky and frothy beers in one of the most historic pubs in the city. Low-rise ceilings ribbed with authentic beams mingle with a mahogany bar and flapping Saltire flags. It's just about as Glaswegian as you can get.

The Scotia also offers a side of the supernatural to boot. A 2007 investigation by a team of mediums concluded that there were ghostly presences in the cellar of the bar. Meanwhile, the landlord has reported sightings of the so-called Green Lady, who's said to pace the pub at unearthly hours.

Okay, so you might need to drive north on the A82 for around 2 hours to reach Glencoe from Glasgow, but it's a trip any true ghost hunter should be sure to make. More than that, it's one of the most stunning drives in Scotland, passing the wild lochs and Munro mountains of the Trossachs National Park.

But back to the ghosts… Glencoe is famed around the country as the site of a great massacre. It occurred back in 1692, when Clan Macdonald was betrayed in their offer of hospitality to Clan Campbell, who went on to slaughter up to 38 of their hosts. Today, hikers sometimes still claim to hear the cries of the murdered clansmen echoing through the glens.