One of the largest plague pits in the City was dug beneath where Samson and Hercules House now stands. The Samson first became a dance hall many years ago and has survived as a nightclub under various names ever since.

Samson & Hercules House, Tombland.

Many people dancing there will have been aware of the fact that an old swimming pool still stands immediately below the dance floor. But how many knew that they were dancing above an old plague pit containing the dead bodies of around 5000 victims of the various plagues to the City? Does the phrase "dancing on somebody's grave" spring to mind?

We've already covered the visit to the Samson by the Lady in Grey but other ghosts are also reputed to haunt the building. Because of the close proximity of the pit to the Cathedral many monks are believed to be buried under the dance hall. Monks are a regular feature of life at Samson and Hercules House, and not just on fancy dress nights either.

Some years ago a young female professor from Belgium conducted a lecture in one of the back rooms of the house. At the end of the lecture, she was interested to know who the four monks were who had been sitting so attentively in the back row. Surprisingly, nobody else had noticed them.

Years before it became a dance hall the house was home to the YWCA and even then life was not as simple as might have been hoped. An increasing number of people began to complain of having a nightmare when sleeping in the back bedroom on the top floor. The nightmare was always the same, the occupant would be buried alive in a great pit with hundreds of other dead bodies. Knowing what lies beneath the house perhaps we shouldn't be too surprised at this.

However, when the YWCA moved out the bedroom was found to have been sealed off and was no longer being used. Just how many people must have had that same nightmare for the YWCA to sacrifice a bedroom?

The Louis Marchesi .

To the left of the house stands another building with a tale to tell. The Louis Marchesi public house has it's own ghost downstairs. Staff regularly claim to see the shadowy figure of a man appearing through the wall to the old crypt downstairs which joins onto Samson and Hercules House.

Not one of our more interesting ghosts he tends to come through the wall, stand and stare for a few moments and then fades back through the wall again. No doubt he is missing the company of his 5000 bedfellows!

LOCATION

This ghostly tale has kindly been provided by Ghostly Dave - visit his Norwich Ghost Walk website here.