I visited the Bank of England Museum on the Friday before Halloween to attend a spooky event, featuring the chance to explore the museum after dark, not to mention a ghost story.
It was fun to explore the museum without the crowds; even though I’d been there before, the experience was different this time round. I enjoyed talking to the museum staff about various Bank histories and legends.
The ghost story, telling the tale of Sarah Whitehead (the Bank Nun), was chilling and enjoyable. Cashier Paul Whitehead was arrested for forgery, convicted, and duly hanged in 1812. Friends tried to keep the tragedy a secret from his sister, Sarah, but one day when she visited the Bank to ask about her brother, another cashier blurted out the truth. The shock affected her mind, and from then on she would turn up at the Bank every day to ask about her brother, wearing a long black dress and a black crepe veil that gave her her nickname. Her ghost is said to still visit the bank, dressed in black, and still asking about her brother.