Although not what one would usually expect to find in a British city, along the Thames Embankment stands Cleopatra's Needle, a 3,500 year old original Egyptian obelisk. Of the many people who have drowned by throwing themselves into the Thames, a statistically greater number have done so by launching themselves from the Embankment close to the obelisk than anywhere else along the river. It's said that a phantom resides by the obelisk, protected by the two large bronze sphinxes that are positioned on either side, goading the depressed into ending their lives.
Runway One at Heathrow Airport
It isn't only alleyways and dark quarters that are haunted. Heathrow's premier runway is modern and its ghost appears during daylight.On 2nd March 1948 a Belgian DC2 aircraft crashed and caught fire. Following the crash, a man wearing a bowler hat inquiring of the whereabouts of his briefcase approached those working at the site. Had anybody found it? The man disappeared and as there were no survivors, nobody could explain who he might have been.The passenger still walks the runway and is sometimes picked up by radar even though officials looking for the person reported to be putting himself and others in danger are unable to located him.This was first documented in 1970 when an airport inspector received a message stating that radar units had detected someone walking on the runway. On closer inspection, the official saw nobody but the radar office were adamant that the person was still there. In fact, at one point they radioed saying that the team must surely have run over him.
The Bank of England
Famous for it vaults of gold bullion, the Bank of England is also home to two ghosts, one of which is the spirit of a worker who was buried in a courtyard within the bank's grounds. Being 7' 6" tall, it was feared that the corpse of William Jenkins, a former clerk at the bank, would be stolen by grave robbers either to be sold for experiments or to be brought back to life by revivalists if buried in a public graveyard. His ghost, easily recognizable by its height, is said to still roam the corridors of the bank today.Close to the Threadneedle Street entrance, Sarah Whitehead still mourns her brother Philip. A former employee, he was convicted of fraud in 1838 and hanged. Sarah refused to accept his death and for twenty five years she waited outside the bank asking employees about Philip's well being. She was eventually paid to keep away from the bank but it seems she no longer felt obliged to stick to the agreement following her death.