The Story Behind The Haunted Plague Cottage In York

The Story Behind The Haunted Plague Cottage In York

The Haunted York Cottage With A Dark, Plague-Stricken Past

You may have visited York Minster before, but did you ever notice the beautiful cottage located along College Street, just next-door? Despite the beautiful architecture and old-English elegance, this building in particular comes with a rather grim story.

The Plague Cottage in York

During the times of the bubonic plague, there apparently lived a small family at No.5 on College Street.

College Street Hauntings in York

Some rumours say that the daughter of the family contracted the deadly disease, sparking fear and panic of her parents. They made the quick decision to lock the poor, sickly little girl away in the cottage, marking her door with a large red ‘X’ to warn potential visitors to the house not to enter. Almost immediately after, the couple left the house, abandoning their daughter for fear of contracting the plague themselves, leaving her all alone. The terrified little girl died in the room shortly after from the disease.

Others believe that the parents had also contracted the disease and died before their daughter, leaving her in a house of dead bodies, lonesome and terrified. Eventually, of course, she contracted this heavily contagious disease and died alone, still terrified and traumatised by what she had witnessed.

Either way, her spirit still remains in the building, with many witness accounts to support the story.

A 1950’s Seance at College Street, York

 

With further research, I also discovered stories of a family who lived within the property during the 1950’s, who were continuously disturbed by the sound of a child crying inside the house, despite their own children being asleep at the time. One of the children living there apparently claimed to have seen the pale ghost of a small girl, so the family called a medium as a result. In conversation with the medium, the ghostly girl recited the story of her abandonment during the time of the bubonic plague, confirming this tragic story.

Many passers-by have claimed to see a small girl in the window of the building crying out for help. Some would even knock on the door of the house to check that everything is ok. However, residents who answer the door claim that there is no young girl living within the property.

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