LONDON–Every credit union has had some frightening members, been haunted by bad debts, and had some spooky experiences with new hires—but real ghosts? Some say yes.
If you dare, for Halloween, here is a compilation of some credit unions and banks globally that don’t need to put up any scary decorations and are instead said to be haunted.
An ’Odd White Blur’ in CU’s Office
In 2009, WYFF reported on an unnamed credit union’s office in the new Municipal Business Center in Anderson, S.C. where video cameras reportedly captured a ghostly image on repeated occasions.
The building was new, but historians said that in the 1800s a large estate called Echo Hall stood on the property.
According to long-held tradition in Anderson, Echo Hall belonged to J.P. Reed, a prominent judge and one-time mayor of Anderson. But the mysterious apparition in the credit union is a distance from where the main home stood.
The part of the lot where the credit union now stands was basically empty until around 1890, when a man named P.E. Stevens built a carriage shop on it.
A paranormal investigator followed up after the “odd white blur” was seen moving around inside the credit union’s office, but he was unable to find any evidence of an apparition.
Videos of the ghostly image can be viewed here.
The Bank of England
The story is that a ghost known as Sarah Whitehead (nicknamed “the Bank Nun” or “the Black Nun of Threadneedle Street”) is said to haunt the Bank of England premises and the adjacent street on Threadneedle Street in London.
Her brother, Philip Whitehead, worked in the bank’s cashier office, was charged with forgery in 1811 and executed in 1812. Reportedly, Sarah visited the bank everyday, asking for her brother, dressed in black mourning garb. In 1818 the bank directors paid her a sum on condition she not return.
Today, ghost-tour guides claim her specter still paces outside after hours, asking “Have you seen my brother?” and dressed in black.
Haunted CU Building in England
In 2011, DVIDS (the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service) reported that a building used by Keesler FCU (Building 131 at RAF Mildenhall) had once been haunted. The building was formerly a commissary
According to the report, staff who worked there when it was the commissary reported “poltergeist nature” events: clocks flying off walls, meat and bread tossed from shelves with no visible cause. dvidshub.net
There are also unconfirmed reports that the building had once been a morgue.
Perhaps fans of the living-people-helping-living-people ethos of credit unions, the reports of ghosts came only while the building was a commissary, and not while occupied by the credit union.
First Bank of the United States, Philadelphia
According to lore, the building of the First Bank (chartered in 1791) is reputedly haunted — among the claims: ghostly presence of Alexander Hamilton, or at least a spirit linked to the early national banking era.
The First Bank of the United States building (completed around 1795) was central to early U.S. federal finance, but later its operations ceased and the building is long closed to the public.
Visitors report battery drains and a heavy “presence” in the empty halls; local legend says Hamilton’s ghost paces the halls.
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) – Safe Deposit Vaults, Melbourne, Australia)
In Melbourne, ANZ’s historic safe-deposit facility at 90 Queen Street is reportedly haunted—staff describe footsteps, doors moving, a sense of “someone else there” when working alone at night.
The building, a Gothic-style vault structure built during Melbourne’s gold-rush era, housed the valuables of thousands of families and businesses.
Staff have also reported feeling a presence, hearing doors close by themselves, and tradesmen refusing to return after experiencing apparent paranormal phenomena.
Union National Bank Building / Hotel ICON, Houston
The historic Union National Bank building, which is now the Hotel ICON in downtown Houston, is reportedly haunted: room 415 is said to host the ghost of a banker or employee from the Depression ere.
Some people have said they have heard gunshots at night and unexplained footsteps, and also smell cigar smoke. One ghost has been described as wearing a 1930s suit, pushing himself out a window.
Spring State Bank, Old Town Spring, Texas
The old Spring State Bank building, which is now part of an Old Town Spring tourist area, reportedly has ghost stories tied to its vault and a 1930s-era bank robbery lore (and even alleged Bonnie and Clyde connection).
The bank building retains its vault, and local ghost tours highlight the energy and apparitions believed to inhabit the space.
Visitors have described strange “energies” emanating from the vault area, figures in 1930s attire, and unexplained sounds and scents.
