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Combe Carey Hall

The exterior of Combe Carey Hall

Lockwood-Sitting "I'll tell you about it another time"
This article is scheduled for a Rework.

Combe Carey Hall, a haunted mansion owned by John William Fairfax , the owner of the Fairfax Iron Company, is declared free of psychic phenomena after Lockwood & Co.'s investigation in The Screaming Staircase. It was found in Berkshire, just to the west of London.

Prior to this, Combe Carey Hall was considered one of the most haunted buildings in the United Kingdom. It was known for the Red Room and the Screaming Staircase, which reverberated with the sound of screaming voices for those that stood upon it and had the Talent of Listening.

It has a long history of violence, starting with its original use as a priory for devil-worshiping monks who were later thrown down a well on the premises. The next significant owner was the Red Duke, who tortured people every night for entertainment and was said to light candles in the skulls of his victims and place them on the steps of the main staircase. The crux of the haunting is revealed to be the monks, who together became a Changer and manifested differently in every room of the house. Their Source is the well down which they were thrown, which Lockwood & Co. destroys by blowing it up with an industrial-strength flare.

Following Lockwood & Co.'s investigation, Combe Carey Hall underwent a thorough cleansing to make sure it was utterly free of all ghostly activity. With John Fairfax's death, ownership of the hall passed to a niece and nephew of his who had also taken control of Fairfax Iron. They disliked the property and sold it as it as soon as it was declared safe. It was converted into a prep school the following year.

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In the Netflix Lockwood & Co. series, it is stated explicitly that the monks were a devil-worshiping cult, as opposed to the original novels in which it is unclear if this was actually true or merely a smear made against them by the nobles who killed them in order to gain control of the property. Additionally, the monks are heard chanting in Latin, glorifying death and Satan. As such, in the TV series, the Screaming Staircase does not actually scream, rather, it is instead their chanting that Lucy Carlyle hears.

A map and full listing of all the Lockwood & Co book and TV locations has been created by fans to assist with anyone visiting London. Named after the map George has pinned up in the kitchen at 35, Portland Row, "George's Gazetteer" is free and based on an interactive Google map. Click here to visit it.

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