A trip to the bank can be a nerve-wracking experience for those seeking out an auto or mortgage loan, or disputing a ghoulish checking account overdraft fee. But there are some banks that are all-out frightening for another reason: they’re haunted.
Go Banking Rates compiled a list of the world’s top “financial phantoms” lurking within haunted banks that turns banking into a supernatural adventure.
#1. Old Bank Building – Old Town Spring, Texas
Old Town Spring, which is located just north of Houston, is home to an old bank building that some people claim is haunted. In its heyday, the building was called the Spring State Bank and was the site of multiple armed robbery attempts in the 1930s.
The exterior of the bank remains intact, as are the bullet holes from violent robberies that took place at the bank, which allegedly included a stick up by the infamous Bonnie and Clyde. Many sightings have been reported of a ghostly figure that appears inside the bank’s walls, said to still be searching for his lost cash.
“To me, it looks as if he’s wearing a brown, 1930s-style hat,” shares an eyewitness from HollowHill.com. “Below the circle, I can see the outline of shoulders, a tall white collar, and it looks as if he’s wearing a brown suit jacket.”
This haunted figure may be accountable for the short-term stay of many shops that have tried to occupy the haunted bank, but never managed to stay for long. Today, The Steel Horse operates in the building and still houses the original 1930s bank safe inside. (Photo: hollowhill)
#2. Commerce Bank – Morristown, New Jersey
In a town situated just outside of New York City lives one of the grisliest stories of U.S. haunted banks.
In 1833, Judge Samuel Sayles, his wife and their servant, Phoebe, were murdered in their home by murderer Frenchman, Antoine Le Blanc. Le Blanc was tried and hung for his crime, but this chilling tale didn’t end there.
After being hung, LeBlanc’s corpse was experimented on using electroshock therapy and his skin was turned into mementos for the community in the form of wallets, book covers and lampshades.
The Sayles residence is currently the site of a Commerce Bank and is said to be haunted by Phoebe, who was not deemed important enough for Le Blanc to be charged with her murder during the trial.
#3. Mississippi Old Bank and Trust - Natchez, Mississippi
Southern gothic is alive and well in the historic Mississippi River town of Natchez. The Mississippi Old Bank and Trust is another one of the haunted banks on the list that has reported paranormal activity.
From 1790 to 1815, the location of the bank was used as a “territorial jail,” according the the owner of the property. Then, in the 1920s the building turned into a bank. Since that time, current reports claim that the property is haunted by a “shimmering golden man.”
Why he haunts the former bank is unclear, but sounds have been recorded in the basement (which served as a fallout shelter during World War II) by paranormal investigators. Additionally, investigators experienced phenomena such as the temperature dropping drastically to “about 42 degrees from 69 within only about 10 minutes,” according to the investigation report by the Southern Paranormal Researchers organization. (Photo: Nedward)
#4. Underground Bank – Seattle, Washington
Under the Pacific Northwest metropolis of Seattle are sections of streets that were paved over during the city’s early boom years.
At its height, the underground city thrived with a range of legitimate business, like banking institutions. However, it also faced its fair share of illicit activities.
On one of the streets of Seattle’s underground maze was the basement vault of a local bank, which is said to be haunted by a woman who was murdered there.
Despite being condemned by the city, today visitors can walk through the haunted bank’s basement vault via a guided tour. (Photo:nocureforgravity)
#5. Bank of Montreal - Montreal, Canada
Dorothy, a young woman who worked as a teller at the old Bank of Montreal (currently the Hockey Hall of Fame) was believed to have committed suicide after her then lover and bank manager ended the affair.
When the Bank of Montreal was still in operation and as it stands today as the Hockey Hall of Fame, sightings of Dorothy and reports of paranormal occurrences like lights going on and off, and doors locking themselves are still prevalent.
The story suggests that Dorothy took her life in the upstairs women’s washroom with the bank’s revolver. Female employees of the bank refused to use the restroom upstairs, saying they felt an uncomfortable energy inside. The distress mounted so much that the bank was forced to build another women’s restroom in the building’s basement. (Photo: Newfie Bullet)
#6. Coutts Bank - London, England
Coutts Bank, located in London, was plagued by unexplainable flickering lights and a headless ghost in the early 1990s. The bank called upon self-proclaimed psychic Eddie Burks to determine who the spirit was and to convince the ghost to leave.
During a séance, Burks claimed to have made a connection with the 4th Duke of Norfolk, Thomas Howard, who was executed in 1572 for treason against Queen Elizabeth I.
Burks recounted the Duke’s words. “I was beheaded on a summer’s day,” Howard told Burks. “I have held much bitterness and…I must let this go. In the name of God I ask your help…”
The psychic was able to broker the ghost’s graceful exit and the bank is now believed to be phantom-free. (Photo: Wikicommons)
#7. Bank of England - London, England
Pound for pound on Go Banking Rates’ list of haunted banks, England has the most famous ghosts of any country in the world, and the “Black Nun,” who is said to haunt the Bank of England’s Threadneedle Street location, is one of them.
According to rumors, in 1811 Philip Whitehead worker at the Bank of England was accused and charged with forgery; as a result, he was executed for his supposed crime. His sister, Sarah Whitehead, came looking for her brother after not hearing from him in quite some time.
When she learned of his death she lost her mind, and spent the next 25-30 years revisiting the bank daily, asking bank staff and patrons if they had seen her brother. Today, she continues to look for him in her black mourning attire, and is said to make ghostly appearances at the bank’s courtyard, where she’s buried. (Photo: lhongchou)
These are just a few of the thousands of haunted banks in existence today. Luckily, for those who are squeamish when it comes to the spooky tales and eerie apparitions can enlist with online banks instead to avoid crossing the threshold of the paranormal.
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