Heathrow — the Man with the Briefcase

London · United Kingdom · Haunted site

Radar showed a man out on the runway where the DC-3 crashed in 1948 — the patrol found no one, but the radar watched him walk straight through their car.

In March 1948 a Belgian DC-3 crashed in dense fog while landing at Heathrow; everyone aboard died. As rescue crews worked in the wreckage, a man in a dark suit and bowler hat stepped out of the fog and calmly asked whether they had found his briefcase — then vanished. Ever since, 'the man with the briefcase' has been Heathrow's most famous ghost. In one celebrated 1970s incident, ground radar picked up the echo of a person out on that very runway; the patrol sent to intercept found nothing, while the tower reported the figure on screen walking straight through their vehicle. The airport's lore also includes highwayman Dick Turpin, said to ride the ground where the gallows of Hounslow Heath once stood — his hoofbeats reported in terminal corridors at night.

FAQ

Where is Heathrow — the Man with the Briefcase located?

Heathrow — the Man with the Briefcase is in London, United Kingdom.

More haunted places in London

• Eltham Palace London · Palace
• Syon House — the night the king's coffin split London · Palace
• Severndroog Castle — the widow's tower on the gallows hill London · Tower
• Shooter's Hill London · Road
• Croydon Minster — the archbishop who finds no rest London · Church
• Cross Bones Graveyard London · Cemetery
• The Rose and Crown (Enfield) Enfield, London · Pub
• White Webbs, Enfield Chase — the Gunpowder Plot's hiding place London · Forest

Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.