Myths And Legends: Haunted Bathrooms Around The World

You may recall Moaning Myrtle, a rather whiny ghost, who haunted one of the bathrooms at Hogwarts. But Myrtle was a fictional character, not one of the real ghosts that haunt toilets, loos, and lavatories all around the globe, effectively scaring the shit out of unsuspecting users. (Okay, you had to know that was coming.) 😊 Let’s take a peek inside a few of them.

“GHOST PANIC” IN BANGLADESH

A government primary school in the town of Pabna had to close down some years back following the death of a student, an eleven-year-old girl. She had fallen ill after using a particular toilet there and died the next day. Soon after, as many as ten more children became sick after using the same toilet. A “ghost panic” ensued, and residents insisted that the school should be shuttered until the malevolent spirit was driven out.

Frodsham St. loo in Chester, England.

At a press conference, a local official explained that an evil ghost had long been rumored to be living in a palm tree at the school. Now, that same spirit had re-established itself inside the bathroom and was responsible for making the kids sick. With the help of others in town he took part in a ritual that had its roots in voodoo. Apparently, it worked, and the students at the primary school had no other problems in the temporarily haunted toilet. The malevolent spirit must’ve returned to its tree.

A GHOST NAMED TOM

The ancient cathedral city of Chester in England is located near the Welsh border. There are public toilets, also quite old, along Frodsham Street, which are frequented by a famous—or perhaps infamous—ghost that the locals call “Tom.” The story goes that Tom, who is dressed in clothing from the 1950s-1960s, committed suicide in one of the toilets, which is why he appears quite suddenly in the corner of that room.

Tom, according to many locals, is Chester’s “most disturbing ghost.” He killed himself by slashing his wrists with a razor, a bloody scene that is re-enacted for terrified onlookers. Even after the city renovated the toilets over a decade ago, the sightings not only continued…they became more frequent. It is sad that Tom cannot move on and find some peace.

THE “GHOST RESTAURANT” OF CANADA

The Five Fishermen Restaurant, Halifax.

The Five Fishermen Restaurant in Halifax has an interesting—if not bizarre—history. The building, prior to becoming a restaurant in the ’70s, was a morgue, and at least 2,000 corpses passed through it. These included bodies from the Titanic in 2012 and a horrific cargo ship explosion a few years later. One can only imagine how many tormented spirits reside there.

With regard to hauntings inside toilets, it is the ladies’ room where numerous sightings have been reported. Foremost are an angry male ghost and a young girl, the latter apparently terrified over something that happened to her. Ghost experts believe that the child does not believe she is dead. Poor kid. I guess they can’t convince her to pass on. Restaurant patrons hear all manner of loud noises emanating from this bathroom. I suppose that makes for a unique dining experience.

OREGON’S ABANDONED RESTROOM

A little stone house in Portland is known by a number of names: the Trail House, the Witch’s House, even the Forest House, but guess what, most refer to it as…the Stone House. And it is not actually a house, but rather the ruins of a public restroom, built along a forest hiking trail nearly a century ago, and now abandoned. Seems that a terrible storm in the 1960s destroyed its water line.

The Stone House, abandoned public restroom.

Still, the forest area surrounding the Stone House is a magnet for ghost hunters. Ethereal figures holding something that produces blinking lights have been spotted passing amid the trees. Weird, disembodied voices have also been reported. Doesn’t sound like a place where you’d want to hang out on a dark and stormy night.

There are lots of haunted bathrooms in America, and even more all over the world. I’ll dig up others in future posts. No shit!