Murray House

Built in 1846, Murray House is one of the oldest surviving public buildings in Hong Kong. Named after Major-General Sir George Murray, the structure was built in Central as part of the British Army's Murray Barracks. Designed by Major Alder and Lieutenant-Colonel Aldrich of the Royal Engineers, the building served for nearly a century as quarters for British military officers stationed in the crown colony.

During the Pacific War and Japanese occupation of Hong Kong (1941–1945), the Imperial Japanese Military Intelligence (Kempeitai) commandeered Murray House as their island command center. The basement and ground floor rooms were transformed into torture chambers and interrogation cells. Historians estimate that over 4,000 civilians, resistance fighters, and British suspects were interrogated, tortured, and executed on the premises during the three-and-a-half-year occupation.

Following WWII, the building was used by British colonial administrative departments. Reports of extreme hauntings among government clerks grew so severe that the Hong Kong colonial government authorized two official Buddhist exorcism rituals in 1963 and 1974. In 1982, Murray House was dismantled stone by stone; over 3,000 numbered granite blocks were stored in rural warehouses until 1998, when the Hong Kong Housing Authority reconstructed the iconic building at its current waterfront site in Stanley, re-opening it in 2000.

The most famous legend surrounding Murray House involves the sheer volume of paranormal disruptions during its post-WWII government tenure. In the 1960s and 1970s, civil servants working late at night reported witnessing phantom Japanese soldiers holding drawn samurai swords marching through administrative offices, hearing bloodcurdling screams from basement storage rooms, and seeing official files fly across rooms without human touch. The hauntings culminated in May 1963 and again in 1974 when the colonial government permitted over 300 Buddhist monks to perform solemn exorcism rites, broadcast live on radio stations across the city, to appease the thousands of spirits slain during the war.

Another enduring legend claims that when Murray House was dismantled in 1982, several spirits attached themselves to the numbered granite blocks. Workers storing the stone pillars in rural depots near Shatin reported hearing phantom crying, desperate whispers, and heavy metallic clanking coming from the crates late at night.

Even after its relocation to Stanley in 2000, restaurant workers and night visitors report seeing a headless man in WWII military boots pacing the second-floor arcaded verandah after closing hours, as well as hearing typewriter keys clicking inside dark, unoccupied administrative offices late at night. Local feng shui masters note that moving the building to the coast released long-trapped energy into the surrounding ocean, though ghostly remnants continue to wander its open-air corridors.

Staff members working in Murray House's waterfront restaurants and retail spaces continue to document intriguing supernatural occurrences. The most frequent report involves sudden, dramatic temperature drops and cold gusts of wind blowing through sealed interior dining rooms during hot summer nights when all air conditioning systems are set to constant levels.

Night watchmen patrolling the building report hearing disembodied footsteps following closely behind them, heavy wooden doors locking themselves from the inside, and phantom footsteps climbing the granite staircases after public hours. Kitchen staff have reported heavy cooking utensils and tableware moving mysteriously across counter surfaces when no staff member is standing near.

Tourists photographing the historic colonial columns along the Stanley waterfront frequently capture unexpected light mist, spectral orb phenomena, and faint shadowed figures standing between the granite pillars in photographs taken after dark. Despite its modern commercial usage, Murray House retains an unmistakable atmosphere of historical memory and ghostly presence.

Murray House is a classic masterpiece of early Victorian colonial architecture adapted for the subtropical East Asian climate. The three-story structure features heavy granite masonry columns, broad covered arcaded verandahs on all levels, high timber ceilings, historic granite staircases, timber roof trusses, and tall French windows that facilitate cross-ventilation.

The original building was constructed using durable granite blocks quarried locally from Hong Kong Island. During its relocation to Stanley, 3,000 original granite blocks were meticulously reassembled over a reinforced modern concrete frame. The building now sits on the scenic Stanley Bay waterfront, housing upscale international restaurants, fashion outlets, and public heritage displays.

Murray House is located at 96 Stanley Main Street, Stanley, on the southern coast of Hong Kong Island. It is easily accessible from Central or Causeway Bay via public franchise buses (Routes 6, 6X, or 260) or green minibuses running directly to Stanley Market. Public parking is available at nearby Stanley Plaza.

The building exterior, waterfront plaza, and public arcades are open 24 hours daily with free entry. Restaurant and retail store operating hours vary by establishment (typically 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM). Visitors are welcome to walk along the historic granite verandahs, enjoy waterfront dining, and read historical plaques commemorating its unique architectural relocation story.

Murray House earned its historic haunted status due to the thousands of documented executions conducted within its walls by Japanese forces during World War II, paired with official government-sanctioned Buddhist exorcisms in the 1960s and 1970s. Its unique status as a dismantled and reconstructed ghost building keeps its legendary lore vibrant in Hong Kong folklore and international dark tourism circles.