Jonathan Ross Recalls 'Hanging Body' In Unexplained Hotel Room Encounter
December 20, 2024 1:00 AM ‐ Paranormal • Television
Jonathan Ross recalls an unsettling hotel room experience that left a lasting impression, as he returns to his childhood haunts in East London for his new series, 'Jonathan Ross: Haunted Homecoming', airing tonight on Really and Discovery+.
Tonight at 9pm, 'Jonathan Ross: Haunted Homecoming' premieres on Really, with a second episode following at 10pm. The series, also available to stream on discovery+, takes Jonathan Ross back to his childhood haunts in East London, where he is joined by psychic medium Ian Lawman and paranormal investigator Dr Kate Cherrell to uncover eerie stories and explore the paranormal.
Jonathan's interest in the supernatural started early. Growing up in Leytonstone in the 1960s and 70s, he recalls the area as both isolated and unsettling. "It was a nice place but even though we were 'London', you didn't feel like you were part of London, because it was so far from the West End, the city, the shops," he explains. "It did certainly have an interesting atmosphere - it was empty and quiet and dark most of the time, so it did feel like it was sort of spooky."
The scars of the Second World War added to this eerie backdrop. "There must have been about 15 or 20 houses within walking distance of my house that had been bombed out," he recalls. As children, they played on these bomb sites without giving much thought to their grim history.
Jonathan's love of horror and ghost stories also took root during these years. "As a kid, I was always very, very keen on the idea of there being 'other things'... Maybe it was because life was quite mundane," he reflects. "The idea that there were spooky presences, that there were powers that we didn't understand, or abilities that one day you might have access to... that was all very attractive to me."
This fascination carried into adulthood, and Jonathan shares one particularly vivid experience that left a lasting impression. During a mini break in Bath in the late 1980s, he and his wife stayed in a small hotel where they were the only guests. One night, he woke to an unforgettable sight. "I swear I looked up and saw a body hanging from the ceiling," he says. "It was such a vivid thing - I really felt 100% that I saw it and couldn't explain it. It was moving slightly, not like it was still alive, but just swaying slightly... and then after a while when the light bled in it just sort of went." Despite questioning the staff the next day, no one else had reported anything similar.
These experiences set the stage for 'Haunted Homecoming,' where Jonathan explores haunted locations in the East End. A highlight of the series is his visit to Epping Forest, widely regarded as one of the UK's most haunted locations. At a lake associated with numerous suicides, he describes an overwhelming sense of melancholy. "There's certainly a very strong sense of melancholy hanging over the whole place," he says. "It's hard to pin down whether that's in your head or just generally in the atmosphere, but it feels very much like it's there."
The Green Man pub, now an O'Neills, also featured in the series. Jonathan explained how its reputation as a haunted hotspot was well-known even in his youth. Beneath the pub, the manager shared stories of a spirit named Mary. "When she goes down there at night, they name the spirit presence 'Mary' and call out, 'Not tonight, Mary,' or 'Leave it out, Mary,'" Jonathan said. "It made it less of a threat - you didn't feel in danger, just like something's hanging around that maybe shouldn't be."
Kate, a paranormal investigator, is along for the ride to help Jonathan uncover the history and darker secrets of the locations, while psychic medium Ian attempts to connect with the spirits said to linger there. One of Ian's most notable contributions comes during a séance at the Sir Alfred Hitchcock Hotel.
At the hotel, Jonathan meets Oska, a resident who has experienced unexplained activity. Jonathan conducts the séance with Ian's help, though he himself doesn't feel a personal connection to the room's supposed paranormal energy. Still, he remains open-minded about the experience, saying, "Sometimes, you can tune into things that you can't explain in any other way."
For Jonathan, the journey was as much about discovery as it was about revisiting his past. "When you're looking for a connection, you do have to investigate some really truly tragic stories - normally events where people's lives have ended when they shouldn't have ended," he reflected. "So you do go in there with a certain amount of trepidation."
'Jonathan Ross: Haunted Homecoming' airs tonight on the Really channel, with two episodes back-to-back from 9pm. Whether you're into ghost stories, curious about East London's history, or just a fan of Jonathan Ross, it promises to be a fascinating watch that dives into his past and some truly spooky locations.
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