Store as much as you like for as long as you like
Store as much as you like for as long as you like
Want an extra scare this Halloween? Want to make sure that you have a good spooky story to tell the next time you go to your storage unit with a friend? Then settle on in, because we’ve got some tales to share with you that will get you well and truly in the Halloween spirit! Grab your blankets and torches, and let’s dive in.
This particular storage unit was built next to what used to be Paddington Green’s Children’s Hospital. Built in 1883, the hospital took care of seriously ill children who couldn’t wait for or wouldn’t survive until a GP appointment was available. It wasn’t a happy place, and lots of different wings were added on over the years. But just 10 years after it opened, there was a major outbreak of diphtheria in the hospital. In order to try to contain it, several of the extended buildings were demolished and eventually the hospital was moved to a new location. Now, the main building has been repurposed for business use, including a self-storage facility. But the ghosts of the past haven’t stayed quiet. Several staff and customers have reported seeing children walking the halls on their own, only to vanish a second later. There have also been sightings of children standing at the top of the stairs and staring into security cameras, but there was never anyone there when staff went to check.
Many self storage facilities are built on the remains of older sites, which is why a lot of paranormal activity tends to happen in them. In one storage facility in Sheffield, a storage facility was built on the remains of an old cinema. Over the years, various people have reported seeing Mr Porter, an old man who worked at that cinema, in the facility. He’s been seen going into bathrooms, sweeping floors and even operating a projector in the old projector room, despite the fact that the room had been empty for years.
The site of Bristol’s Ashton Gate storage facility was once a bonded warehouse famous for storing shipments of tobacco. 9 storeys high, with huge loading doors on every level, the Grade II listed building was the perfect place to start up a storage business. But it had a somewhat grisly past. Thanks to the low standards of health and safety in 1919, dozens of workers met their deaths by falling from the loading doors, or from cranes and hoists loading cargo. In modern times, customers have reported hearing the sounds of claxons and quitting bells echoing through the corridors. They tried following them to their source, but every time you get close, the source of the sound changes to somewhere else in the building.
On the historic site under the London Bridge arches, you can find a uniquely placed storage unit. Before the unit was installed, these arches used to be home to small dwellings and homeless camps, where diseases like tuberculosis were rife. The area was almost destroyed completely in the WWII bombings and was restored to the beautiful site you see today. But the past has brought back some pretty grizzly memories. The most chilling happened at the end of a shift, when a customer and manager were alone in the facility. The customer was closing up her unit and heard a woman crying from inside one of the locked units. Worried that someone had locked themselves inside, she fetched the manager, who heard the cries and ran to fetch some bolt cutters. When the broke the lock, the crying stopped, and the unit was completely empty.
At a flagship storage location in Romford, facility managers had been hearing complaints from customers about something running through the corridors, rattling padlocks and moving things. Staff had found torches placed on their desks while no one was in the building, and customers had been reporting people ‘messing around’, despite the fact that no one else was in the building. One day, a manager was working a closing shift and was locking the facility, when they heard a padlock rattling. When he turned around, nothing was there. Every time he turned his back, the padlock would rattle. Eventually, he asked out loud for the presence to rattle the lock while he watched. And the lock rattled and moved before his eyes. When he looked at the security camera, he could see a blurry figure standing next to him in the footage, despite no-one being there.
We hope you’re enjoyed our Spooktacular tour of the UK’s most haunted storage units! Our staff have their own favourite stories and superstitions, so if you’re looking for something more local, they’d love to share them with you. But they’re pretty good if you’re looking for some secure self-storage as well! Just get in touch with us today for a chat to find out more.