The Hellfire caves of West Wycombe Edward Eggers Samuel Ryder Academy

One of the most thrilling experiences around London is a visit to the hellfire caves of West Wycombe, however it has surprisingly gone under the radar for most people, but I have set out to tell some of the story surrounding these frightening caves. The Hellfire caves were originally a quarry in the 1700s but were expanded into the artificial caves that they are now by Sir Francis and workers he hired for a shilling a day which was a good salary at the time. From their opening day they have been open to the public but until recently the caves were only known to locals. In 1951 it officially began anew and since then it has attracted millions of visitors with most of the profits going to charities such as the Natural Trust.

These extraordinary caves have featured in shows such as “Ghost Adventures” and “Most Haunted” as supernatural occurrences aren’t rare in this series of caves. According to the website and information found inside the caves, there are several spirits that reside in the caves. One particularly sad story is that of a young woman in white bridal wear, glimpses of her can be seen here and there within the depths of the caves. This is said to be the ghost of a young women named Suki who had been lured to the caves by a man she had fallen for, only to be killed by several men. She now reportedly haunts the banqueting hall. A few of the other entities include Benjamin Franklin himself who in life became a regular visitor of the caves and is now said to wander those very halls.

But I won't spoil the rest as I have only talked about two of the many fascinating and terrifying stories found within the caves, I haven’t even gone into the original Hellfire club which is a can of worms that entire books could be written about. But if you want to know more check out their official website or maybe if you’re brave enough head into the caves themselves.

I was fortunate enough to be given an opportunity to speak with a representative from the HellFire caves and what they said was fascinating and shined a light on lesser-known parts of the caves’ rich history. For instance, they told me of the war time use for the caves as an air raid shelter during WW2 due to its size and proximity to London. They were also able to comment on the paranormal history of the caves and have said that as for activity in there, Suki (the female ghost previously talked about) is predominantly sighted in the large banqueting hall. Additionally, they stated that the staff are mostly made up of sceptics who may or may not believe in the paranormal but do question their beliefs on the daily with occurrences such as screams and rocks being hurled at them. Lastly, I had asked this representative what parts of the in depth history of the caves guests usually miss on their visits and what they said was shocking, they told me that an urn placed in a particular alcove is an original marble one that held Whitehead's heart before it was stolen. Along with this they provided some insight on to the carvings found around the cave, these apparently were made by famous artist William Hogarth (who was a part of the elusive Hellfire club) and featured the other members of the Hellfire club with even Sir Francis dressed as the pope as he was said to during club meetings.