Shepton Mallet Prison is closing as a tourist attraction from January 2024.

The news has upset paranormal investigators, who say it is one of the most haunted jails in the world.

HMP Shepton Mallet, also known as Cornhill, was built in 1610-1625 after King James I decreed that all counties should have their own jails. It was one of the oldest working jails in the country, remaining in almost continuous use until finally closing its doors in 2013.

If prisoners died in jail, they were usually taken out and buried in the unconsecrated ground outside the prison. There are still nine unmarked graves within the grounds of the prison, thought to be those of the executed. Many people were executed in Shepton Mallet prison, with some of the earliest being 12 local Shepton men. 

They were sympathisers in the Monmouth Rebellion in 1642 before being captured. They were Hanged, drawn and quartered with their insides burned and their heads placed upon spikes around the township as a lesson to others.

In WWII it was opened to the U.S.A. forces as a military prison. They executed 18 of their servicemen with 16 of them hanged and two shot against a 75ft wall by a firing squad. Many eerie things have been reported, both by staff, volunteers and visitors at the prison. Some report to have seen the supposed ghost of one of the executed servicemen who was executed for rape and murder. He refused to accept his fate and is still believed to wander the hallways today.

Other stories involve a lady dressed in white, thought to be a ghost of a woman who was either executed or died of a broken heart (stories vary) after being accused of having murdered her fiancé in 1680.

Others have reported apparitions, doors slamming on their own, people being touched, disembodied voices and footsteps.

Paranormal investigator Tony Ferguson has visited the prison on several occasions and says it's one of the most haunted locations he's been to.

"I have investigated many locations within the UK but I believe this to be the most haunted prison in the UK," he said. "I have never walked out of this location without unexplained things caught on camera."

"I first went to this location with fellow paranormal investigator Paul Cissell where we had the location to ourselves," he said. "While calling out in one of the wings we heard a clear female voice say hello. The prison reports that a lady haunts that wing. Later in the investigation fellow investigators started acting very strange. It got to the point where I had to get him out."

Tony was back a year later with a team called Lost Souls, and the investigation retook a dramatic turn.

"We were in the chapel area and team leader Adam Clark was doing a seance with the general public," he said. "The room became very heavy - a horrible feeling and I warned everybody in the seance to be careful. Within two minutes of saying this, team leader Adam collapsed to the ground in agony and he couldn't breathe.

"I then rushed over to get him out of the chapel area once we did he then felt a lot better. Whilst the camera was documenting this just before Adam collapses, a small Ghostly figure appears out of nowhere and just walks off."

Intrigued, Tony returned to the prison, this time with Ghost2Ghost Paranormal Investigations.

"We investigated the prison and heard many unexplained things - banging, voices saying 'get out' - all of which were caught on camera.

"We also investigated the chapel area and I always leave two or three locked-off cameras around to see what's happening around us. One of my cameras was launched across the room on this occasion."

Tony's most recent visit to the prison was a solo visit - meaning he was completely alone in the ancient building.

"I heard many voices and the camera also has documented banging noises and whistling. I encountered so many unexplained things in the space of two hours of being alone in this location. I also went into a wing where the Kray twins were mentioned. As soon as I called out if there was anyone here that knew the Kray twins I heard a response from an unseen force."

And so, does the prison deserve its moniker of the most haunted in the UK?

"I believe this to be the UK's most haunted prison by far," says Tony. "I have visited many prisons in the past and not one of them comes even close to Shepton. Mallet Prison."