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What fortune awaited sweet, timid Percy Parker at Athens Academy? Considering how few of Queen Victoria’s Londoners knew of it, the great Romanesque fortress was dreadfully imposing, and little could Percy guess what lay inside. She had never met the powerful and mysterious Professor Alexi Rychman, knew nothing of the growing shadow, the Ripper and other supernatural terrors against which his coterie stood guard. She knew simply that she was different, haunted, with her snow-white hair, pearlescent skin and uncanny gifts. But this arched stone doorway offered a portal to a new life, an education far from the convent—and an invitation to an intimate yet dangerous dance at the threshold of life and death…”
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Welcome to the Strangely Beautiful HAUNTED LONDON BLOG TOUR! DAY 1!
I’m kicking the Tour off here today with the fabulous Bradford Bunch – who always know how to throw a party - thank you so much for letting me join you!
To celebrate the August 25th release of my Gothic Victorian fantasy debut, The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker, first in the Strangely Beautiful series, my Haunted London Blog Tour will introduce you to some of the real, documented London haunts who “ghost-star” in the book.
I’ve had a life-long love for the 19th century, England and ghosts. When I first set foot in London, I felt history sweep over me like a strong wind. Secondly, I felt sure the city was alive not only with the pulsing energy of the living but the restless energy of the dead. When the character of Professor Alexi Rychman and his Guard of spectral police make their rounds, it is to any number of familiar London phantasms. Since these characters are familiar to The Guard, I don’t get the opportunity to tell their full story in the book. But these tales are too good not to tell in their full, spooky splendor…
Let’s meet our inaugural haunt:
1. Bloody Bones -50 Berkley Square “The Most Haunted House in London!”
The Georgian façade of 50 Berkley Square is plain. But inside, it’s been mayhem, perhaps since its foundations were laid in the 1700s. In the 19th century this address was considered by Charles Harper, in his 1907 publication Haunted Houses to be “the Most Haunted House in London!”

50 Berkeley Square
“…it seems that a Something or Other, very terrible indeed, haunts or did haunt a particular room. This unnamed Raw Head and Bloody Bones, or whatever it is, has been sufficiently awful to have cause d the death, in convulsions, of at least two fool-hardy persons who have dared to sleep in that chamber…”
There are several theories as to why the very bricks of this Georgian-style building can cause a palpable shock to the psychically adept, the most chilling is that the lunatic brother of a Mr. Du Pré was once locked up and fed through a hole in a door due to his extremely violent tendencies and his ghost remains therein. Two deaths have been attributed to the premises. A nobleman died of shock to his system soon after seeing something he couldn’t even speak to describe. Due to the reputation of a hideous entity residing within, the building could not keep tenants. Strange lights were seen in windows, disembodied screams as well as the sound of a heavy body dragged down the staircase could be heard at night. The second death occurred when two trespassing sailors awoke to heavy footsteps. The door of the haunted room flew open and a horrific, formless mass began to overtake them. One sailor escaped and returned with a policeman, only to find his friend’s corpse impaled on the railings outside, terror on his face.
… Here’s how Berkeley Square makes its “Ghost-appearance” in the The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker:
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Entering the dank shadow of a nearby alley, Rebecca sighed. “Fifty Berkeley Square is causing trouble again,” she remarked. As was often the case, she was the first to feel the burning in her veins.
“The usual? Noises?”
“Yes, and moving lights. Books ejected from second-story windows, blood dripping from their bindings. It will be rather a mess.”
Alexi sighed. “Shall we clean it up, then?”
She shook her head. “Let me handle it.”
“Rebecca, Bloody Bones is a trial. It’s not a task for you alone.”
“Alexi, please. You’ve enough to worry about,” she assured him. When he raised an eyebrow, she asked, “You truly think I cannot arraign the subject myself?”
Alexi was silent.
“Shall we bet on the matter?”
Alexi’s lips curved. “Why, Headmistress, you surprise me. I didn’t think you a wagering woman.”
“You press me to strange deeds, Professor.”
“Indeed. Well, then: a bottle of my favourite sherry. It shall await me at La Belle et La Bête upon your failure. I do believe Josephine keeps several in stock—perhaps for just such an occasion.”
Rebecca grimaced. “While I have every faith in my success, I do wish your tastes were less expensive. But, a bottle of sherry it is. And now we’d best get back to Athens.”
“Should we?” he asked.
“It is the first day of class, Professor, and you have students to terrify.”
“Ah yes, so I do.”
—- (End of Excerpt)
My research relies heavily upon Richard Jones, one of the founders of the fabulous London Walks and author of the fantastic compendium “Haunted London” published by Barnes & Noble Books, visit him at www.haunted-london.com. Come visit me at www.leannareneehieber.com to find out more about The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker and follow along on the rest of the tour! There’s a Contest too, so stop by and check out the details. And of course, I hope you’ll pick up The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker at a bookstore near you and that you’ll love it as much as I loved writing it.
Be sure to leave a comment to be entered to win a signed copy! One entry will be drawn randomly at Midnight 8/22 ! (US mail only, please)
Blessings!
Leanna Renee Hieber
www.leannareneehieber.com
www.twitter.com/leannarenee