Newsham Asylum, Hospital and orphanage Review

Newsham Asylum, Hospital and Orphanage Ghost Hunt Review (Liverpool) – What We Experienced at Newsham Asylum

Super psyched for this event, gifted for my birthday, Newsham Asylum, Hospital and orphanage in Tuebrook, Liverpool. Reputedly one of the most haunted sites in the UK. A Grade 2 listed building with a colourful history, stemming from the good intentions of ship builders in the 1800s who wanted to help orphaned children abandoned by mothers due to destitution, a result of losing their husbands at sea.

At a Glance

This review covers what the night was like, which rooms we investigated, what equipment was used (K2, REM pod, cat balls, Etc..), and whether I’d recommend it.

Quick verdict

Arriving and first impressions

On arrival, we were informed that the event would be starting at 21:30 and not 21:00 as advertised. I was not too bothered by this – if you’re here till 03:00, what is an extra half hour! Plus, the infamous ‘witching hour’ starts at 03:00, eek. Approaching the building, you can not help but be enamoured by the huge and impressive gothic architecture of the site (The pinnacle of Victorian architecture). One of the main things you instantly notice, even after walking up a decent-sized flight of stairs to enter the building, is the sudden temperature drop. The chill is both in the air and the walls, and the oppressive atmosphere created by the peeling off-white paint on the walls and the long dark corridor with boarded-up windows really sets the perfect tone for the night. Additional side note; while you’re investigating take a moment to admire the ingenious old heating pipework. Snaking and twisting in every direction feeding the radiators.

The Haunted Happenings team kicked things off in a way that felt equal parts history lesson and eerie immersion. Firstly, like any tour of this nature, introductions and instructions commenced from the Haunted Happenings team. We then moved on to the initial room, the old laundry room, where we had a history lesson on the establishment, some myths busted and the asylum’s newfound use within pop culture – pointing out where Sean Bean had his office when filming on site and how the asylum was used for a The Batman movie. This was really informative and just about the right length. Being conducted in near-complete darkness gave a pleasant, softer introduction to how pitch black the asylum could actually get, and how this, in conjunction with the quirkiness of the building, could result in a paragola with old mannequins that could be mistaken for a spectre manifesting to do the washing.

We then took a quick break and moved into our groups. We and the rest of group D then made it to our first vigil in the Nurses’ quarter with a Ouija board and a stint in the gurney used to transport bodies from the hospital to the morgue. This promised to be exciting.

Haunted Vigil at Newsham Asylum: Nurses’ Quarter

The nurses’ quarter didn’t disappoint, while some members took part in the Ouija board; I had placed my own cat balls and my REM pod on the stairs, hoping to collaborate with any activity in the room/ through the board with technology. I must admit I did not focus on the activity of the board, being a sceptic of that particular method, so cant comment on the activity on the table, but I did witness EMF activity in the form of the K2 meter placed on the table spiking in response to questions and the cat balls going off on the stairs. Suggesting something intelligent was participating from the other side.

After the Ouija board came the medical gurney used to transport the bodies to the morgue, a literal metal box that resembles a coffin. This terrified me, so I did not participate- I am all for trying new methods, but the idea of putting my head on a plastic pillow used by dead people was a step too far 😣. Chris and a few of the other guys in the group, on the other hand, were more than brave and all too eager to jump in and give it a go, and good on them 👏. While they had their turns in the box, the rest of the group was not left standing idle. Placing their fingers on the gurney, a K2 was placed on top of the gurney while the individual in the box, also with a K2, reported any experiences they felt while we asked questions, such as: are you a child? Male or female? etc. Throughout the session, there were reports of scratching, noises heard coming from down the corridor and some action recorded on the K2 meter both inside and outside the gurney. This marked the end of the first vigil; the experiences would be deemed mild compared to other paranormal investigations we have taken part in like the Four Crosses Inn but was a great start to the night.

After a quick break of about 10 minutes, we moved on to the Nurses changing room, instantly, even before the group had settled the cat ball by the back door started going off. Which in itself is not a sign of the paranormal but the fact it was on a concrete floor made my internal paranormal radar go boop😂. It was great that the room leader from Haunted Happenings allowed us to ask critical questions to debunk, and even showed us the other side of the door where the cat ball was placed. This vigil’s investigations involved the Estes and ‘yes/no’ methods, which involved a member of our group, who, in our case, was first a gentleman and then a lady, placing on a blindfold and listening to headphones playing white noise while having 2 buttons in front of them, one representing ‘Yes’ and the other ‘No’. The individuals were asked questions in which they could either answer verbally or by pressing the buttons. The concept is that it is easier for spirits to respond because the Estes Method tries to reduce “contamination” from the room and from other people. With the blindfold on and the white noise in their ears, the participant can’t see facial reactions, body language, or hear the questions. which in theory makes it harder to subconsciously “play along” or be led by suggestion. Wish I could say something interesting happened but of all the rooms this was the quietest in terms of memorable events.

Sitting Alone in the Dark on The Ward

The best room by far and most innovative investigation in our humble opinion took place on The Ward, where a new investigation method was implemented, which we hope is rolled out to other sites within Haunted Happenings catalogue of venues. 4 remote cameras were set up, which the group was able to view via a live feed from the ward’s dayroom via a projection on the wall. The 4 cameras faced individual chairs at either end of the ward, where group members were left for an allotted time to sit in the dark and speak to the spirits. I should mention there was the ability to converse with the dayroom, which helped with asking questions in the dark ward; the full effect of feeling alone was thoroughly achieved as they were still located down an unlit corridor. Won’t lie I was a little scared at the thought of being alone with a spirit, but Haunted Happenings seemed one step ahead on that front as they had prepped for eager to experience wimps like me. 2 of the chairs on one of the wards were only separated by a cubical partition, so to Chris’s disappointment, he was wrangled to this side of The Ward. During our time alone on The Ward, we experienced a few oddities. The Dead Man’s Bell rang on a few occasions in response to questions, and Chris had a few flickers on the K2. But when we were about to leave the ward, one of the motion sensors by the door went off before we had walked into its line of sight. Otherworldly or coincidence?

Haunted Highlight: Naughty Boys Corridor

Our last room and small group vigil before the all-important free time, the Naughty Boys Corridor. This investigation was again completely different from anything we had done previously. First, we remotely viewed the corridor via a side room. This was fascinating; a phone was set up on a chair at the end of the corridor in which the spirits could communicate with us in real time. Potentially, we caught an EVP, but I cannot be 100% confident, as we did experience some reverb from the speakers. Here we witnessed a Spirit-bot moving up and down the corridor- turning before hitting walls as well as 4 cat balls all going off at the same time while no one was present. We also saw our first black orb, which looked like a floating fetus (which I will defend until I am blue in the face, was not a dead pixel) – none of it we could explain.

The second part of this vigil involved getting into the naughty boy cupboards, either as individuals or in pairs. I seemed to have grown a pair of balls here as I jumped in all on my lonesome, and to say that the experience was harrowing, knowing that young children had been subjected to this sort of punishment is an understatement. The cupboards were small; you had no choice but to crouch, and they were dark and small. It’s hard to imagine anyone spending more than 10 minutes in that environment. There is one door that people are not allowed to open out of respect for the little orphan boy who accidentally passed away inside when he was left in there for too long. He is said to be one of the spirits, along with the headmaster and a matron who is said to haunt the naughty boys’ corridor.

Exploring Newsham Asylum During Free Time

Free time was over way too quickly for any serious additional ghost hunting, but accidentally getting lost trying to get back to the nurses’ quarter was hilarious and fun-scary all at the same time, opening doors you think are right, only to find out you have entered the Naughty Boys’ Corridor. One major boon to this tour is that they do allow you to go and explore such large premises; it’s just a shame about the time limitations, but as the saying goes, ‘Time waits for no man’. I must raise one point of criticism here: although the Haunted Happenings team had a large amount of eclectic technology in terms of K2s, cat balls, etc, these were not provided to individuals during free time. This, for us, was a little disheartening for newer people to the hobby; there is nothing more exciting than the initial buzz from getting your first response on a K2 meter held in your own hand, or being able to place the ball yourself rather than going into where all the kit was pre-set up in the room not for a moment did I think it was fake personally, but let’s say it was a hardcore sceptic like some people we all know, that this would most certainly raise a few eyebrows

The Great Hall Finale

The final destination was the Great Hall, where we came back from our small groups into one big unit. Upon entering, you notice how grand it must have been, even in the dark, with its high windows. In the hall was a copious amount of spirit toys for the ghosts of children to interact with while we stood in a circle watching the action. Apart from the occasional flashlight flickering, this amounted to nothing significant in comparison to the rest of the night. This ended our evening at Newsham Asylum.

equipment

What equipment we saw/used across the night:

Final verdict

The morgue and tunnel system can no longer be accessed due to the roof caving in during Covid – won’t lie, a little disappointed after psyching myself up to face the supposed dark entity in the basement. Still, the place and event overall didn’t disappoint for my first ever asylum, and I would recommend going at least once, so you can add it to your repertoire. The tour provider, Haunted Happenings, cannot be knocked for the variety of investigation techniques; one of our tour guides was hilarious. Being January, the venue was rather chilly, with its boarded-up windows and being an old Victorian hospital. So, a tip if you are brave enough to venture to Newsham Asylum is to make sure you dress warmly and wear sensible shoes and prepare for stairs 😂

Overall Experience rating for site and Tour Operator – 8/10

What could be better

• Toilets – Door locks and nice toilet seats do not ruin aesthetics; this would be a nice, quick win for points. (nod to the property owner)
• No equipment provided during free time for guests to ghost hunt
• Time keeping – Less time in each area to experience and explore due to poor time keeping.
• The history lesson at the start lasted wayyy too long and should have been saved for when we explored those areas is Chris’s opinion, but personally I liked the fact they got it out of the way at the start, and there were additional tit-bits of info added in each section.

Till next time,
Gemma & Chris – The Unknown Quest

Want to check out more, watch our full investigation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQnu6lv2ogk
Location Page: Newsham Park Hospital & Orphanage – England
Gear Up: Ghost Stop