The UK's Most Haunted University

As Halloween approaches and people celebrate the spooky from death hoots to pirate spooks and even chilling skinwalker stare and howls, the folks at TheKnowledgeAcademy were curious to find out which universities are the most haunted in the UK.

The experts analyzed the number of cemeteries, gravestones, listed buildings (and how long they’ve been listed), as well as count of paranormal reports within 2 miles of each university campus. They applied a PERCENTRANK formula to calculate a final spooky score for each university. 

It turns out The University of Liverpool is the UK’s most haunted university! Meanwhile, The University of Exeter has the highest score for paranormal incidents -  59  reported.

At the same time, Liverpool John Moores University has the highest number of gravestones within a two mile radius - a whopping 346,080. 

 

University of Liverpool is UK's most haunted university

 

^{Eleanor Rathbone Building, University of Liverpool. Photo: Richard Cooke.}

The UK’s most haunted university is The University of Liverpool, with a terrifying spooky score of 8.73/10. Founded in 1884, the historic university also has a whopping 282,981 gravestones near it, scoring 9.65/10 in this regard.

In second position is The University of Bath, obtaining a final spooky score of 8.59/10. With frightening scores for multiple factors including the number of listed buildings (9.48/10) and gravestones (9.31/10), it’s no surprise it has been crowned as one of the UK’s most haunted.

Ranking third is The University of York. Achieving a final spooky score of 8.36/10, the university has the second highest number of paranormal reports (49) in the UK - merely 10 fewer than The University of Exeter.

The University of York also obtains the highest number of cemeteries, with 52 nearby, compared to fellow Yorkshire university, The University of Leeds, which has just 27. 

 

Top 10 most haunted universities in the UK 

 

Rank

 

 

 

 

 

University name

University age score (/10)

Number of listed buildings within two miles score (/10)

Average years since listed building designation score (/10)

Paranormal reports within two miles score (/10)

Sum of gravestones at cemeteries score (/10)

Cemeteries within two miles score(/10)

Final Spooky score (/10)

1

The University of Liverpool

9.83

8.44

7.93

7.75

9.65

8.79

8.73

2

The University of Bath

5.69

9.48

8.79

8.62

9.31

9.65

8.59

3

The University of York

7.25

9.13

8.27

9.82

5.68

10.00

8.36

4=

Liverpool John Moores University

4.49

8.27

6.89

7.41

10.00

9.48

7.76

4=

The University of Exeter

7.76

7.24

8.62

10.00

4.48

8.44

7.76

6

The University of Leeds

9.66

7.93

2.58

6.72

9.82

9.13

7.64

7

Oxford Brookes University

4.49

8.96

10.00

7.24

5.17

9.13

7.50

8

The University of Lincoln

4.49

5.51

9.31

8.10

9.13

7.75

7.38

9

The University of Kent

6.21

8.10

9.65

9.13

2.24

8.79

7.35

10

University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne

7.25

7.58

3.44

9.65

7.41

7.75

7.18

^{= symbol means a joint ranking}

 

Rounding off the top 20 most haunted universities in the UK 

 

Scottish neighbours Glasgow Caledonian University (5.95/10), The University of Dundee (5.89/10) and The University of Stirling (5.83/10) also rank within the top 20 for their spooky surroundings. 

Ranking in joint 15th position are The University of Glasgow and The University of Reading, both obtaining a final spooky score of 6.23/10. 

Rank

 

 

 

 

 

University name

University age score (/10)

Number of listed buildings within two miles score (/10)

Average years passed since listed building designation score (/10)

Paranormal reports within two miles score (/10)

Sum of gravestones at cemeteries score (/10)

Cemeteries within two miles score(/10)

Final Spooky score (/10)

15=

The University of Glasgow

10.00

10.00

4.48

8.44

3.62

0.86

6.23

15=

The University of Reading

8.45

6.20

7.06

3.10

5.86

6.72

6.23

17

Glasgow Caledonian University

2.25

9.82

4.65

8.96

7.58

2.41

5.95

18

The University of Dundee

9.66

8.79

2.75

5.00

6.72

2.41

5.89

19=

The University of Stirling

4.66

5.86

6.72

5.86

7.93

3.96

5.83

19=

De Montfort University

4.49

4.65

4.82

6.20

8.44

6.37

5.83

^{= symbol means a joint ranking}