39 De Grey Street

On an otherwise ordinary residential street in Hull stands a Victorian property that has become one of the most controversial alleged hauntings in modern British paranormal history. 39 De Grey Street, frequently advertised as The Hostel or The Hostel of the Dead, has attracted paranormal investigators, television crews and curious visitors through accounts of extraordinary supernatural activity. The reported phenomena are particularly disturbing. Witnesses have described children appearing inside empty rooms, unexplained footsteps, disembodied voices, shadow figures and objects apparently moving without human intervention. Some visitors claim to have been scratched, pushed or physically restrained by an unseen force. Others describe growling sounds, sudden feelings of sickness and an oppressive atmosphere. One of the property's most frequently repeated accounts concerns a young girl allegedly seen standing at the foot of a bed. Owner Andy Yates has publicly described experiences that convinced him the building was haunted, including sightings of a childlike apparition and inexplicable movement of objects. Stories also circulate about an aggressive male presence, supposedly responsible for the more violent disturbances. As the property's reputation spread, an increasingly sinister history became attached to it. It was claimed that the building had once operated as a mortuary, funeral parlour, coffin-making business, orphanage or hostel. Other accounts alleged that children had been mistreated there, while some stories referred to murders, suicides and violent deaths. These supposed historical tragedies were frequently presented as explanations for the alleged haunting. However, a detailed investigation by Hull historian @[Mike Covell](400f1588-0fb1-40fc-a943-7dc6ed38639a) fundamentally challenged these claims. Beginning his research in November 2015, Covell examined historical trade directories, electoral rolls, census information, newspapers, property records and other archival material. His findings painted a very different picture. The earliest identified trade-directory entry, from 1888, recorded an organ builder named Lee James at the address. Later records connected the property with the Hardaker family, who operated a furniture-removal business, followed by other residential occupants. Covell found no historical evidence supporting claims that the building had operated as a funeral parlour, mortuary or orphanage. Nor did his extensive research uncover evidence of the murders, suicides or other violent deaths supposedly responsible for its supernatural reputation. He also traced former residents, several of whom reported experiencing nothing paranormal during their time at the property. These findings raised serious questions about how the house acquired its frightening backstory. The controversy became especially relevant as 39 De Grey Street attracted increasing television and documentary attention. In 2018, the property featured in @[Dale](215ea58b-225b-49fd-9c48-02347e4383ba) Makin's paranormal documentary series Ouija: Dicing with Death? The documentary explored alleged paranormal activity and the use of Ouija boards at locations across Britain, with 39 De Grey Street featuring in its opening episode. @[Mike Covell](400f1588-0fb1-40fc-a943-7dc6ed38639a) also contributed to the documentary, bringing his historical research into direct contact with the property's supernatural claims. The house subsequently appeared in other paranormal productions, including Help! My House Is Haunted, while independent investigation teams continued visiting the building. And this is where the case becomes particularly interesting. Discrediting a property's alleged history is not the same as disproving every paranormal experience reported within it. The absence of evidence for a former orphanage does not establish that witnesses never saw apparitions. Nor does disproving a supposed funeral parlour explain every reported noise, movement or physical sensation. However, the experiences themselves must still be examined critically. A modern investigation published in 2024 described unexplained knocks, equipment activations, table movement and apparent communication through a Ouija board. Yet the investigators also acknowledged that much of the evening was remarkably quiet, falling far short of the extreme activity they had anticipated. Other visitors and former occupants have similarly reported little or nothing unusual. The result is a deeply divided case. Some investigators remain convinced that unexplained phenomena occur within the building. Others argue that its reputation has been sustained by sensational stories, commercial ghost-hunting events and historical claims that do not withstand scrutiny. 39 De Grey Street presents an uncomfortable but fascinating question: can a building acquire a fabricated supernatural history and still be genuinely haunted? Its alleged past may have been substantially dismantled. But the reports have not stopped. Type of Phenomena: Apparitions / Poltergeist Activity / Disembodied Voices / Shadow Figures / Alleged Physical Contact Haunting Classification: Contested Residential Haunting / Modern Poltergeist Claims Reported Phenomena: → Apparitions of children, including a young girl → A reportedly aggressive male presence → Shadow figures and unexplained movement → Objects allegedly moving or being thrown → Doors opening and closing unexpectedly → Disembodied voices, growling and footsteps → Reports of scratching, pushing and choking sensations → Sudden sickness, dizziness and oppressive feelings → Alleged Ouija board communications → Table movement and paranormal equipment activations → Investigations producing little or no unusual activity → Historical claims challenged by archival research