North London Food & Culture

Know anything about the haunted house on Highgate Road?

Karen Hillier grew up in the house next to the Forum - but they left after a series of terrifying incidents. Can anyone help?

7 Highgate Road
‘After my cousin felt “chased” down the stairs and suffered a horrendous injury, my aunt boarded it up’. Pic: Google Maps

Back in the late 1970s, I grew up at 7 Highgate Road NW5, next door to The Forum.

We were blessed as we had a back yard to play in, and within that yard was what we called the “old school house”, a two-story building, both floors open with a little spiral staircase to the right as you walked in.

My granddad, now deceased, had told us that this was once a Victorian private boarding school for girls, whose teachers lived in what was then our home. It closed after it suffered (he said) from a mysterious plague – which is why both places were haunted.

And it was, in fact, extremely haunted: we heard noises, walking noises, step and drag. And we were horrified to discover that a large cupboard would be in a different position to the day before. In fact, furniture moved around on a daily basis.


LOCAL ADVERTISING


The back bedrooms of the property were always freezing, too. That is, according to my aunt, but I didn’t have access, as my parents fostered and the rooms weren’t ours to snoop about in.

After my cousin felt “chased” down the stairs and suffered a horrendous injury, my aunt boarded the place up. He had landed on a piece of wood with nails sticking out on the stairs, which went through his knee. As the only people with keys, there was no explanation as to that bit of wood.

When I finally returned a couple of years ago, it seemed that everything – our yard, playground, dad’s shed, entrance and schoolhouse – was enclosed. I couldn’t get access to the yard – which used to be via steps to the basement.

I know that for much of the 20th century the building served as the Foresters’ Hall, home to the local court of the Ancient Order of Foresters – but I’d love to know more detail about its earlier incarnation. Can anyone shed some more light on its history?


Leave a Comment

Leave a Comment

About Kentishtowner

The award-winning print and online title Kentishtowner was founded in 2010 and is part of London Belongs To Me, a citywide network of travel guides for locals. For more info on what we write about and why, see our About section.