Halloween: The Most Haunted Power Stations in the World

The Ironbridge Power Station, Buildwas, Shropshire, UK

Perhaps the most well-known haunted power station in the UK is the Ironbridge Power Station in Buildwas, Shropshire.

The power station was constructed in the 1920s on the banks of the River Severn and it had tales of the supernatural right up to its decommissioning and eventual demolition in 2019. Workers tell of hearing strange sounds and seeing spine-tingling shadows moving through the dark.

The most infamous tale from the station involved a worker who was loading his digger with coal when in the space left by the bucket, he noticed the shape of what he thought was a woman.

Shocked, he leapt down from his digger, his nerves on edge as he thought that he’d uncovered the victim of a murder. However, before he even reached the bottom of the digger the figure was said to have floated towards him before vanishing just a few feet in front of him.

Needless to say, the incident spooked the worker, and the story goes that he fled as fast his legs could carry him. Other workers reported similar sightings of a phantom woman wandering the grounds.

The ghost of a monk has also been sighted with some believing that he walks the night because the station’s old coal pit had been partly built on the ruins of the old Cistercian Abbey that once stood there.

Some believe the monk to be one Thomas Tong, a monk who murdered his abbot in 1342, and who evaded arrest before petitioning to be allowed to return to the Cistercian order.

The power station no longer stands but there are plans to make the old site into space for over 1,000 homes, shops, and other buildings.  Will these new buildings likewise experience ghostly activity in the future? 

Deptford Power Station

Deptford West power station was constructed in the 1920s after ten electricity companies joined together to form the London Power Company.

The coal power station was made up of a turbine house that had a basement built into a former dry dock. In the 1930s it was expanded to include an extra four turbines, a second chimney and extra boilers.

It was in the basement of the turbine house where staff experienced terrifying ghostly encounters.

Employees claimed that the area was haunted by the ghosts of those who had died whilst imprisoned in gibbets along the dry dock. Their grisly apparitions would manifest in their cages complete with rattling chains.

According to some historians, the site was once used as a dry dock by Henry VIII for the fledging Royal Navy.

Whether it was a victim of the times or because of the ghosts in the basement, Deptford West was closed in 1972. 

Wylfa Nuclear Power Station

A Lady in White is reported to haunt the area where Wylfa Nuclear Power Station was built.

In 1964 during construction, Irish workers digging a tunnel were left terrified after they encountered a ghostly woman in the darkness. Unfortunately for the work crew, no one believed them (at first) with cynics saying that the sighting was down to locals playing pranks on the workers.

This theory was soon blown out of the water, however, as just a few weeks later a separate work crew saw the same ghostly apparition. This time the woman was seen standing on the cliff edge, wearing a white gown. She was reportedly humming a mournful melody and when the workmen called out to her to warn her of the danger of the cliff she continued walking to the edge before fading into nothing.

The woman in white or called ‘The Wylfa Ghost’ has been seen numerous times over the years. One incident saw a contractor sat having a tea break in the early hours of the morning. He paused from drinking his tea to look out of the window at a newly built road and there saw the woman walking past the cabin. He described her as ‘drifting’ and wearing a long white dress.

Some researchers believe the ghost to be that of a Rosina Buckman a famous New Zealand opera singer who came to England in the early 1900s.

In 2012, Reactor 2 was shut down. Three years later, Reactor 1 was switched off on 30 December 2015 ending 44 years of operation at the site. The Lady in White still haunts the area today.



Stave Falls, Vancouver

The Stave Falls Dam and Powerhouse was constructed over 100 years ago and supplied electricity for nearly 90 years before it was decommissioned in the late 1990s due to costs. The original powerhouse is now a National Historic Site of Canada.

The station’s turbines may no longer be active but the spirits within certainly are. The Stave Falls Powerhouse is regarded as the most haunted place in British Columbia.

There have been many ghostly stories told about the place but perhaps one of the spookiest involves a new tour guide who began working at the powerhouse in 2003. She had heard of the rumours that the place was haunted, but little did she realise that she would have an experience on her very first shift.

She was walking backwards along the powerhouse’s main floor when she bumped into what felt like a person. Turning around she was stunned to see nothing there! Other tour guides have reported similar incidents and one claims to have seen an apparition of a man. They claim that when they were walking through the powerhouse and flicking on a light, she looked in a nearby window and saw the reflection of a man with dark hair stood right behind her.

Other incidents at the site include numerous visitors hearing the barking of a dog that is said to haunt the atrium. Some folks have heard voices, footsteps, seen shadows and experienced cold spots. 

South Fremantle Power station, Australia

Heading to the land down under, the South Fremantle coal power station was built in 1946 and officially opened in 1951. At its height, the station had over 250 employees, but it was closed in 1985.

The ghostly tales of this power station emerged after its closure. The site was fenced off but that didn’t stop trespassers from breaking in. Over the years it has been the location of many suicides and there are rumours of murders taking place in the building, including the office.

The site also has a sinister reputation with rumours that it is used for occult practices.

Several teams of Ghosthunters have investigated the site over the years and have reported ghostly footsteps and whispering.

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