Chester:
England's Most Haunted City
A Negative
Spectre?
 Chester's
picturesque Stanley Palace is one
of the most atmospheric and haunted buildings within
the city walls.
The ancient half-timbered, black-and-white, haunted
mansion on Watergate Street was once the town house
of James Stanley, the 7th Earl of Derby. Following
the Parliamentarian's resounding victory in the
English Civil War, the outspoken Earl foolishly
voiced his Royalist opinions once too often - openly
supporting the exiled King Charles II. Predictably,
the Earl was arrested in 1651, tried, and convicted
of treason. Surrounded by Roundhead troopers, he
was then kept under strict house arrest in Stanley
Palace before being escorted to Bolton for execution.
His last days were undoubtedly traumatic as he
said a final goodbye to his family and friends.
Today, his ghost still wanders wearily through the
ground floor rooms, dressed forever in his smartest
court finery.
Strangest of all, however, is the fact that he
appears as if in a photographic negative - with
a dark face, black shirt, and white jacket. But
quite why that is, no one can explain.
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