Details of the stories surrounding the house can be found at the following sites:
http://haunted-london.com/50-berkeley-square
https://marlenepardopellicer.substack.com/p/the-nameless-thing-of-berkeley-square?s=r
50 Berkeley Square, London, England was for many years renowned for being visited by some sort of creature and terrifying any guests, some fatally, who dared spend the night there in a specific room. Descriptions of the creature vary but the common features seem to be some sort of Octopus type creature in nature.
But what’s the most rational explanation for this incident? By rational we mean, can the explanation be proved to be a plausible one?
Just look at the list below of explanations. Remember, whichever one(s) you pick as being likely ask yourself if you can prove them to be possible:
- A real monster.
- A spectre or ghost.
- Some sort of a demon or creature from mythology.
- A real octopus type creature that was able to find its way up from the sewers to that room.
- A lie or fabrication to cover something up.
- A lie or fabrication to benefit someone in some way.
NAMELESS THING OF BERKELEY SQUARE: (ENGLAND)
https://www.cryptopia.us/site/2010/01/nameless-thing-of-berkeley-square-england/
When we get mysteries like this it’s easy to point to the paranormal as an explanation, just for the sake of having an answer. But is this really a proper explanation or an acceptable one? It gives an answer but an answer in itself is not really answering the mystery. It’s an answer that tries to explain the unexplained but doesn’t really answer anything. It’s like a label for something someone doesn’t understand. Because in order to understand it it would mean delving deep into examining every aspect and looking into likely and rational explanations; many just don’t seem to one to do this.
The webpage relates the following:
“This description has led some researchers to speculate that the Thing may actually be some kind of mutated FRESHWATER OCTOPI or an unknown, amphibious, marine animal that managed to migrate from the Thames into London’s vast subterranean sewer system, where it was able to infiltrate the Berkeley Square home via the plumbing. It can also be speculated that this beast was looking to feed on the ample rat population that dwelt in the house, when it accidentally stumbled across the more “substantial” prey of the drunken sailors.”
OK so we have one possible explanation here in the form of an Octopus or similar marine animal. But how likely is this? Could such a creature really infiltrate Berkeley Square via the plumbing? And if so, is such a creature really likely to attack or prey on humans?
A bit of research here is necessary.
https://animalanswerguide.com/what-do-octopuses-eat-octopus-diet/
According to the above site: “Octopuses do eat humans and can easily attack a human of average size if they choose to. However, octopuses generally avoid humans unless they are being provoked in the ocean.”
Then we have another site:
https://marinepatch.com/do-octopus-attack-humans/
“Do Octopuses attack humans? No, hardly ever. It’s incredibly rare to be attacked by an Octopus, and if you are it’s likely that you have invaded its personal space.“
“Most Octopuses are shy and can even be friendly towards humans. However, if you do find yourself being attacked then try to remove their tentacles from yourself one by one and then get out of there as soon as possible.”
“This is an incredibly rare scenario that almost never happens, but as more and more people are keeping Octopuses as pets nowadays, you should be aware of how to escape the grip of an Octopus.”
So we have two sites with conflicting information. Perhaps the marine biologists out there may have the answer?
More from this site https://www.cryptopia.us/site/2010/01/nameless-thing-of-berkeley-square-england/
“A gentleman, a disbeliever in ghosts, dared to sleep in number 50 and was found a corpse in the middle of the floor after frantically ringing for help in vain. Rumour suggests other cases of the same kind, all ending in death, madness, or both as a result of sleeping, or trying to sleep in that room. The very party walls of the house, when touched, are found saturated with electric horror. It is uninhabited save by an elderly man and his wife who act as caretakers; but even these have no access to the room. This is kept locked, the key being in the hands of a mysterious and seemingly nameless person who comes to the house once every six months, locks up the elderly couple in the basement, and then unlocks the room and occupies himself in it for hours.”
Hmmm. Party walls when touched found saturated with electric horror? What rational things could explain this?
Damp maybe? Static electricity perhaps? A combination of the two or something similar?
A Lie to Cover up Criminal Activity?
Another explanation could be that the story was a cover for some illicit activity going on in the upper floors. The stories of deaths and weird creatures having the effect that anyone curious would be too scared to investigate and find out for themselves. Perfect cover really. And the bit with key and the caretakers locked in the basement for whilst occupying the room for hours. If they were in the basement, how would they know that nameless person was occupying that room and not engaging in some other criminal activity within the house itself? I mean, it does state it’s a rumour. But even as a rumour it has flaws.
The following source has something interesting to say about this theory https://of-mysteries.blogspot.com/2018/03/nameless-thing-the-unknown-creature-of-barkeley-square.html
“Harry Price, one of those who studied this mystery intensively in the 1920s found some interesting facts. Before 1790, 50 Berkeley Square was once used as the headquarters of the document counterfeiters.”
Well this is interesting. Headquarters of document counterfeiters. Could this have carried on throughout the Victorian period and beyond? With the tales of the terrifying nameless creature put in place to keep people away? Certainly seems a good way to hide such activity by putting people in fear of something horrible being present to scare away curious eyes.
Fear does have a tendency to prevent a lot of rational investigation taking place for it is the fear of something horrifying experience which tends to hold people back. I say look beyond the fear and find some more rational and logical explanations rather than simply naming worst fears and leaving it at that.
If anyone really wanted to investigate a physical examination of the property itself by a group of people would also have been a logical step forward. A group so there’d be less of a chance of individuals buying into their fears and freaking out without logical reason to.
Don’t you find it odd that only individuals, apart from the two sailors, seemed to occupy the room in question. When there’s only one person in there there’s no other witnesses to corroborate what has occurred. There was never a group. If a creature was sneaking up there, do you really think it’d know in advance that only a single person was in that room and that was the time to strike? Whilst this story is mysterious it actually opens up more questions than it does answers:
- Why was only single people in the room being attacked? Why were not groups of people being sent in there to see what was really happening?
- Was such a creature really advanced enough to know how many were in the room in order to strike?
- Why were there no proper investigations into what was happening with plenty of people for witnesses?
Another explanation could be that it was simply a story to create publicity for something. Perhaps a book, a newspaper or something similar.
But these are just possible explanations. What do you think? What do you think could have caused the events at 50 Berkeley Square? Do you think the events were likely true or created purely to cover something up or created as a publicity stunt? What do you think?
More Controversy
More controversial elements about the stories surrounding 50 Berkeley Square
https://www.spookyisles.com/elliott-odonnell/
“One such legend that Elliott O’Donnell was said to have fictionalised was the now famous story of two sailors who, in 1887, stayed the night in 50 Berkeley Square, London, only for one to die as he fled the house in terror, while the one who lived to tell the tale, told of seeing an angry spectre approaching both men.”
If this is true then we could discount this part of the tale as fabrication. And if that is the case, how much more of this tale is true?
https://thereluctantskeptic.wordpress.com/2016/04/22/50-berkeley-square/
“An alternate theory comes from famed British ghost hunter Harry Price. In the 1940s, Price claimed to have uncovered evidence that the house had been being used as a hideout by a gang of counterfeiters, who had concocted the tale and used some primitive “special effects” to dissuade the curious from discovering their illicit activities.”
Again a plausible explanation; especially if one is looking for rational explanations rather than simply labelling it as paranormal or unexplained.
It would be interesting to know what sort of primitive special effects he was suggesting were in play and how they could have been applied.
Although Harry Price himself has not been without controversy. Even with this in mind, using the paranormal and tales of horrors would be a plausible way of keeping eyes and ears away from criminal activities taking place. People would be too scared of the nameless horror to investigate for themselves. Which also brings another possibility. If the deaths were real, they could have had those stories embellished around them to cover up how they really died. Like, for example, those victims had discovered the criminal activity and had seen too much. Or they were heavily involved in such activity, become a threat and had to be removed. The paranormal stories being the perfect cover for how and why they really died.
More on the case below:
https://paranorms.com/house-no-50-in-berkeley-square/
https://cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/Nameless_Thing_of_Berkeley_Square
“Since 1938 the base floor of the building is used as a bookshop named Maggs Brother owned by Ed Maggs. But the workers are not permitted to climb to the 2nd floor just in case. Nothing has happened since then.”
But since this is a wiki page it’s hard to validate if this was ever actually true. It’s believed that in more recent years it’s now become a private house so it would be interesting to see if all the floors have access or not.
Another source claims: “Since the death of Robert Martin, only an elderly couple and an antiquarian book dealer have inhabited the sinister house at 50 Berkeley Square. With the closing of Maggs Bros. Antiquarian Book Dealers in 2015, though, the stories have returned – of objects tossed about or of a shapeless brown mist that reaches from the shadows.”
“To this day, a police notice stands on the wall inside the townhouse that proclaims that the upper floors cannot be used for any purpose. May all who see it heed its warning.”
https://www.theoccultmuseum.com/victorian-ghost-story-haunting-50-berkeley-square/
There’s a pdf here of when it was on the market recently complete with floor plans. Seems all the floors are accessible: https://media.onthemarket.com/properties/3671961/doc_1_1.pdf
More here:
https://www.buildington.co.uk/buildings/2601/london-w1/50-berkeley-square/50-berkeley-square
“50 Berkeley Square is a Grade II listed mid-terraced townhouse from 1750 in Mayfair, London W1. The four-storey building with basement is internally interlinked at basement level with its mews No. 50 Hay’s Mews. There is a garden between the buildings.”
https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101066467-50-berkeley-square-w1-west-end-ward
“C.1750. Blackened brick, the ground floor stuccoed at later date. Four storeys and basement. Three windows. Stone cornice at third floor level, parapet with coping. Stone architrave doorcase with cornice on consoles. Revealed glazing bar sashes under flat gauged brick arches, those on first floor with continuous early C19 cast iron geometric patterned balcony. Wrought iron area railings and overthrow with brick extinguishers and lampholder. Interior retains wrought iron staircase balustrade to open string stone stairs. Late C18 marble chimneypieces etc. Part of the best surviving terrace of town houses in the square.”
What do you think happened?
ICU Security Services 
Reblogged this on ICU Investigatory eXcel and commented:
Always look for a more rational explanation before diving into wild and implausible tales for explanations. Think what’s logical and what’s possible within the physical realms of reality. But the big question you should ask yourself “can you PROVE the explanation as being likely to have happened?”
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