Friday 3 August 2012

Popular haunted castles in UK

North, south, east or west, almost every corner of the UK can boast of having its haunted castle. Many of these ancient buildings have a sinister and gruesome past, and most have built up a reputation of being haunted. Some offer tours through their dark rooms and shadowy, narrow stone passageways, where eerie presences have been felt or ghostly figures seen. As well as ghost tours, for those who are very brave, some castles such as Chillingham Castle in Northumberland offer the chance of joining in all-night ghostly vigils. Chillingham, with its ghostly rooms, dungeon and torture chamber, where many thousands of Scots were tortured to death, is said, by some, to be the most haunted place on earth. Among some of its ghosts include a tortured child, a wandering lady in white, voices in the chapel and the spirit of Lady Berkely, whose husband ran off with her sister, leaving her abandoned at the castle with her baby. Now she searches the corridors of Chillingham in search of her cheating mate. The picturesque Eilean Donan Castle is one of the most photographed castles in Scotland. Sitting on a rocky islet where three lochs meet, the castle has a fascinating history. In the early 1300s Randolph, earl of Moray, had 50 men executed at Eilean Donan and ordered their heads to be spiked on the castle walls. But it is the ghost of a Spanish soldier who was killed during a siege in the early 1700s that is said to haunt the castle. Also, one of its bedrooms is haunted by the ghost of a lady. The magnificent Warwick Castle in England is reputed to be haunted by the restless spirit of Sir Fulke Greville who was murdered at the castle by his manservant. There are many recorded ghost sightings at Warwick castle, including some captured on security camera. Cleaners and security personnel have reported eerie happenings and encounters with spirit beings. The castle’s ghost hunt for July 2011 is now fully booked, but they are still taking bookings for the ghost hunts in October and November! Many paranormal events have taken place in Gwyrch Castle in Wales which is haunted by a white lady, a red lady and a butler, among others. Some stories tell of how, after a séance at the castle, a solid oak door was ripped off its hinges. Although now in a dilapidated state of repair, this has been said to be one of the most haunted castles in Wales. There have been many eerie encounters and ghostly tales connected with Windsor, one of the most well-known castles in the UK. Henry VIII’s dragging footsteps can be heard in the deanery cloisters while Elizabeth I haunts the royal library. Some have seen the sad face of mad King George peering out of a window while Charles I haunts a Canon’s house in the castle precincts. The ghost of a young Grenadier Guard who shot himself while on duty at Windsor Castle haunts the Long Walk, the kitchen of one of the buildings in the castle grounds is haunted by a man leading a horse, while ghostly footsteps can be heard on many of the castle’s staircases. Throughout the UK stand scores of grand and many now sadly ruined castles. And whether visiting some of the more majestic buildings or one of the more desolate places, each and every one will have its own ghostly tale or two. Sources: http://www.chillingham-castle.com/GhostsPg.asp?S=3&V=1&P=34 http://great-castles.com/chillinghamghost.php http://www.hauntedcastlesandhotels.com/Scotland/eile andonan.htm http://www.medieval-castle.com/haunted_castles_wales /gwyrch_castle.htm http://www.bbc.co.uk/berkshire/content/articles/2005 /10/12/windsor_castle_ghosts_feature.shtml