5 Creepy Places To Visit In The East Of England When Lockdown Ends

With the third national coronavirus lockdown due to end, on April 12 the government will relax the 'stay local' message, which means that for the first time in months we can get out and visit some of our favourite creepy and fascinating haunted locations.

Like a lot of people, you might be hoping to make up for lost time and visit as many famous paranormal hotspots as you can this summer, so to help you out we've put together a list of five spooky places that are famous for their ghost stories in the East of England.

Where possible with tried to pick open air locations and tourist attractions that will be allowed to open under the relaxed guidelines.

Rendlesham Forest in Suffolk is the location of the UK's most famous UFO incident, which took place in 1980. The case involved three military personnel who reported seeing unexplained flashing lights and a triangular shaped object near RAF Woodbridge in Rendlesham Forest. They claimed the object was silent and had markings like hieroglyphics on the side.

The next night Lieutenant Colonel Charles Halt went to investigate the disturbance. According to Halt, three UFOs were seen in the sky, the brightest of these hovered for two to three hours and seemed to beam down a stream of light from time to time.

Also known as "The Demon Church," St. Botolph's had links to Satanic groups in the 1970s and 80s, and as it's now abandoned has become a popular location for paranormal investigators. More recently, in 2004, evidence was found that animal sacrifices had taken place in the church and new Satanic graffiti was found on the walls.

The paranormal reports include sightings of the ghost of a monk, unexplained lights, and the sound of an approaching storm outside during calm weather.

The 1950s nuclear bunker is spread over three floors and is accessible through a 100 meter long access tunnel from an ordinary looking cottage, on closer inspection it's clear the cottage is far from normal, built with thick concrete walls and windows protected by steel shutters.

Visitors to the bunker, which is now a museum, have reported experiencing poltergeist activity, hearing growls and footsteps coming from empty rooms, and even witnessed full apparitions.

During the bunkers construction under order of the Air Ministry in the 1950s, crews are said to have disturbed an ancient burial ground. A foreman also died during the works. His hard hat was found floating in wet concrete, it's thought he was buried alive in the bunker's three meter thick walls. There's also said to be the ghost of a construction worker who committed suicide in the main stairwell.

Gressenhall Farm & Workhouse is now a popular museum, but it opened as a house of industry in 1777. It housed the poor in exchange for labor on the farm. It was later converted into a workhouse and housed the poorest of the area's population until 1948. Following its closure it was used for a time as an old people's home, before coming the tourist attraction we see today.

The paranormal activity at the former workhouse ranges from unexplained noises throughout the building, especially in what was once the punishment cell, where Harriet Kettle is the best known former resident, as a young girl she spent a great deal of time locked inside in solitude and darkness.

Borley Rectory in Essex, was a large Gothic-style rectory, which for several decades held the title of the most haunted house in Great Britain, and perhaps it still would had it not burnt to the ground in 1939.

The remains were demolished in 1944 but Borley remains a legendary paranormal location thanks to the rectory's famous haunting case. Although you won't be able to visit the house, the local church is also said to be very haunted and has been investigated by famous paranormal researchers including Peter Underwood, and Ed and Lorraine Warren.