Haunted Castles

Haunted Castles (Ghost Storys)

No matter what castle or where the castles maybe there will always be a good ghost story to go with it. Being a ghost investigator I love a good ghost story. What you have to understand that here in the UK we have so many castles to choose from,Some date from as little as a few hundred years old to thousands years. I know one castles near to my home town that has more ghost storys and history than most. Whortlon Castles dates back to the 10th century and there are reports of a roman fort being on the same location of where the castle ruins still stand today.


So in fact you could say that the castles has about 1800 years of storys to tell. Iam adding this page in dediction to all castles. So I hope you like a good ghost story!

Berry Pomeroy Castle

Berry Pomeroy castle is situated in an isolated part of Devon near to the small village of Berry Pomeroy near Totnes. The castle was built during the early 12th century on land that was presented to Ralph de Pomeroy by the King of England, William the Conqueror, as a reward for his loyalty and support during the Norman invasion of England.

The castle was home to the Pomeroy family for nearly 500 years after the Norman conquest.The lands were forfeited in 1549 when Thomas Pomeroy took part in a religious rebellion. The castle passed to Sir Edward Seymour, who built a mansion within the walls of the Norman castle.

The castle was ravaged during the Civil War (Oliver Cromwell's Roundheads Vs the Cavaliers who fought for Royalty) and was further damaged by fire in the early 18th century, after which no one has wanted to live their due to it's dark history. It is now reported to be one of the most haunted buildings in the United Kingdom.

One of the ghosts is known as the White Lady. She haunts the dungeons, and rises from St. Margaret's Tower to the castle ramparts. Those who report seeing this figure associate it with feelings of depression, fear and malevolence. She has been identified as the ghost of Lady Margaret Pomeroy who was imprisoned in the dungeons by her sister, Lady Eleanor.

Eleanor was insanely jealous of her younger and prettier sister, and is said to have incarcerated her because of a love rivalry, after Lord Pomeroy left to go on a crusade and left Eleanor in charge. Margaret was imprisoned in the castle dungeons for nearly two decades, before Eleanor allowed her a slow and painful death through starvation.

A blue light has been seen on a particular day every year in St Margaret's Tower, usually during the evening. The blue light has been witnessed by many people in the past including Peter Underwood and his colleagues during an overnight investigation some years ago.
A second ghost is the Blue Lady, she has been reported there as far back as the 18th century. Dressed in a long blue cape and hood it has been claimed that she tries to lure men to their death by seeking help in unsafe areas of the castle.

Said to be the spirit of the daughter of an early Norman lord, who after an incestuous relationship with her father, she gave birth to a child. Shortly after it's birth, her father strangled the baby in one of the upper rooms of the tower. In another version of the story it is said that she hated the child so much that she strangled it herself. It is said that because she smothered her child, her troubled spirit can find no rest, and she is often seen wringing her hands in anguish. At various times, the cries of the murdered infant can be heard throughout the castle.

Fig.3's photo was taken in the early 1900's with the image of a ghost in the doorway of the gatehouse, while the castle was still encased in Ivy, before English Heritage took management. The figure appears to be of a woman in a long dress. It�s thought that it could be the Blue Lady.

Sir Walter Farquhar was a witness to the Blue Lady in the late 18th century. He was a prominent doctor of the time and was in the castle attending to the wife of a steward who had fallen ill. He saw "a stunning young woman, who was wringing her hands in obvious distress," and he watched the figure move up a stairway and into a room upstairs.

With no prior knowledge of the legends of the Blue Lady he asked the steward who the figure was. Showing signs of considerable distress, the steward explained that the appearance of the figure was an omen of death. He thought that this meant that his wife would die. The doctor dismissed the idea, and confirmed that the woman was recovering well. But in fact the steward was rightly concerned, his wife suddenly died later that day.

Modern investigations in Berry Pomeroy Castle has resulted in many reports of apparitions, shadows, photographic failure, paranormal sounds and more. It has been documented that some visitors to the castle who have taken a small memento, such as a small stone etc., have quickly returned it as they feel that part of the foreboding and lingering feel of evil has followed them home.

Chillingham Castle,UKs Most Haunted Castle

Chillingham Castle is widely regarded as one of, if not the, most haunted places in the country. Dating back over 800 years this castle was built for one purpose and one purpose alone, killing. In the heart of Northumberland the castle was the first line of defence, preventing the Scots getting over the border to invade England back in the days of William Wallace when the castle was ruled over by King Edward I (Edward Long shanks). It has a truly amazing, yet horrific history and that's why its one of the most haunted places on Earth. Ghost-story.co.uk decided to take a tour of the castle to see if it deserved its fearsome reputation, this is our report.

The Dungeon is a very small room with markings scratched into the mortar where prisoners have kept count of how many days they have left to live. The prisoners could expect to have had their arms and legs broken before being thrown 20ft down a hole into the Oubliette and left there to die, either from starvation or their injuries. Sometimes prisoners would start to eat chunks of flesh from others and even their own bodies in a vain attempt to prolong their life. It has been reported that if you look down through the grate covering the Oubliette you can see the remains of a young girl looking back up at you. These are the remains of the last person to be killed here. Many people have experienced things here, orbs have been seen and photographed and some people have actually picked up emotions from the room. The room has a depressing feel to it.

We took several photos using a digital camera but they did not show any abnormalities, however one of the party noticed his camera's battery had dropped to half power from a full charge in just a few minutes. One of the party had brought an EMF detector to try to find any abnormalities in the electromagnectic field, we located several hot spots where the readings would be significantly higher than the background readings.

Next up is the Torture Chamber, nearly all of the torture implements are in perfect working order and each is as sick and deranged as the next. The floor is on a slope, this was so the blood could drain away down to one side of the room. For many thousands of Scots this will have been the last place they ever saw. The torturer here was a man called John Sage, he was a major celebrity in his day. Before he was a torturer he was one of King Edward's best men in the battlefield, and had worked his way up to the rank of Lieutenant. Sage was injured one day whilst at battle, his leg was wounded and he couldn't fight anymore. Sage begged Long shanks to keep him on in some capacity and he was given the role of castle torturer. Sage was a brutal man, he hated the Scots and he revelled in the role, even devising some devices of his own.

There is a boiling pot, gadgets for gouging eyes out, barrels full of spikes that would have had a prisoner tied in and rolled around until the flesh was ripped from the body and they died in agony, there are cages that would have been attached to a prisoners stomach and a starved rat would be put inside and the only way out for the rat was to eat his way out through the victim! Some of the things the prisoners would have endured at the hands of this man are unimaginable. Sage tortured upwards of 50 people a week for the three years he held down this job. There are many torture devices on show. The guide tells us he never comes down here on his own as he has felt a malevolent presence here on more than one occasion.

As the war was coming to an end with the Scots, John Sage wanted rid of the Scottish prisoners being held in the castle so he rounded up the men, women and older children took them to the courtyard and put them all onto a huge bonfire. The younger children were kept in the Edward room and could probably see their parents being burned alive, they will have heard the screams and will have been able to smell the burning flesh. Sage knew that if he released the younger children they would return when they were older to seek revenge, so he took a small axe and went to the Edward room and hacked the children, some as young as one year old, to pieces. The axe can be seen today on the stair well. The Edward room is one of the most active rooms in the castle and people often say they see the chandelier hanging from the ceiling swinging without it being moved. The room has a foul smell and a strange atmosphere.

In the torture chamber there is also a torture rack, this particular device proved to be the undoing of John Sage, for Sage had a girlfriend Elizabeth Charlton, and one night they were having sex on the rack when Sage started to strangle Elizabeth to heighten her sexual pleasure, unfortunately he took it too far and killed her. Elizabeth's father was a member of the Border Reivers, a group of tribal leaders, broken men and outlaws. They were not to be messed with, and of course they wanted Sage killed.

The Border Reivers were a very powerful organisation who commanded a vast, highly skilled and experienced fighting force. It is recorded that the Reivers met with Edward Long Shanks and instructed him that if he did not have Sage killed they would join forces with the Scots and launch an assault on Chillingham castle. This time the Scots would probably win due to their backing from the Border Reivers.

As Long Shanks was virtually penniless due to the war against the Scots, he was forced to call for Sage to be hung. Sage was captued and hung in front of an enormous crowd, in the grounds of Chillingham Castle. As he hung the crowd started to take souvenirs, cutting off Sage's toes, fingers, testicles and nose whilst he was still alive. Its not known how long Sage hung there mutilated before he died. The ghost of John Sage has been seen wandering the castle by many of the visitors and staff. Others claim to have heard footsteps followed by the sound of someone dragging something.

The Great Hall leads into the Chapel and the Minstrels Gallery. The Great Hall is a long room with lots of artefacts on the wall. There is a life size statue of a horseman on his horse, there is a huge stuffed elephant's head with chain mail elephant armour on, and there is also a tapestry with a skull beneath it. People have experienced lots of strange things near the tapestry, whether it be cold spots or noises being heard. From the courtyard figures are often seen passing the windows of the great hall when no one is actually in there. The skull is also known to move around the room but never leaves it. One of our readers recommended Chillingham Castle for investigation, they had visited the castle several months ago and had taken many photos, when they had them developed they noticed the strange ghostly presence sat in the chair on the left at the back of the hall

The Minstrels Gallery is a balcony overlooking what is now used as the Tea Room. People have been pushed down the stairs here and, while on this balcony, people often suffer from terrible headaches and/or an awful feeling of nausea to the point where they feel like throwing themselves over the top down onto the concrete floor below. There is a story that when Tea Room was being excavated a giant toad-like creature came through a wall before taking the form of a human and then disappearing, it is said that it now haunts the castle.

The Chapel is where people would come to pray to their God before going out to kill Scots, or torture them, this is a place of total hypocrisy. On the wall are flags that would have been taken into battle, a huge sword, a spirit bell, crucifixes, paintings of Mary, the mother of Christ. The Chapel was recently excavated and relics and human bones were found under the floorboards. Cameras often refuse to work in this room. Digital camera sometimes have there batteries drained of power in this room other people have found orbs in there photos. Our group's cameras did not pick up any anomolies, however I felt several cold spots in this room. Others in the group also confirmed these cold spots, although no draught could be found to explain them.

The Edward Room (also know as the Killing Room) is on the top floor of the castle. All the way around the top of the room runs a balcony. In the room is a suit of armour holding a two-handed sword, on the walls hang weapons such as swords and pikes, there is a helmet, lots of cow horns and flags. On display are the documents that were found walled up with a Boy in the Pink Room (closed to the public). The Blue Boy (also known as the Radiant Boy) found some documents to be given to the Spanish from the aristocrat who owned the castle at the time to help them defeat the English during the time of the Spanish Armada. The boy was walled up alive with the documents and his body was found in the 1920s along with some blue cloth from his clothes hence the blue boy. The bones of his fingers were worn away from where he had been trying to scratch his way out.

It has been reported that when the hour of midnight sounds sometimes you can hear his cries of agony and fear. The centre of the cries always emanate from the Pink room. The noises are usually traced to a spot near a passage cut through a ten-foot wall. When the wails die away, a bright halo of light sometimes appears around the old four poster bed, anybody sleeping in the bed would see the figure of a young boy dressed in blue, and surrounded by light, gently approaching them. He is the most famous ghost to roam the castle and he also seems to be the friendliest towards the public.


Another famous Chillingham ghost is that of Lady Mary Berkeley, wife of Lord Grey of Wark and Chillingham. The ghost wanders the corridors of the castle looking for her wayward husband who ran away with Mary's own sister. Lady Mary was left in the castle, alone with her baby girl as companion, heartbroken. Visitors to Chillingham have often heard the rustle of an old fashioned dress or a chill as if the ghost of Lady Mary has walked by.

A ghost originating from a family portrait has also appeared to the Grey family. The apparition of a woman was seen by the Tankerville's children and their nurse stepping out of the painting, it then followed them around the castle for several minutes. After a family friend stayed at the castle, they saw the same ghost but this time she emerged from another of her portraits. Her spirit has also been seen her walking the corridors mistaken for a guide in period clothing.

In the Library, underneath the upper chamber, the voices of two men are often heard talking, but it is not possible to follow what they say and they seem to cease at once if one stops reading or writing to listen to their discussion. It disturbs no one and many have heard it but none has accounted for the voices or who the two may be.

The lake is very picturesque, fish can be seen jumping in the water and otters live here too. To look at the lake you�d never know that beneath the surface lie the remains of thousands of Scots killed during the war with the English, the bodies would be bundled onto a cart and then thrown into the lake. The water is rumoured to be cursed, if you put your hand into the water the souls of the dead will pull you under.

During restoration work in the nineteenth century workmen uncovered two grinning skeletons, the bones of a man and child, close to a trap door that opens to the stone arches of the underground vaults. Is it possible that they hid during a Border Reiver attack only to be trapped in their safe-hiding place. Workmen also discovered in the lower dungeons of the castle, the perfectly preserved figure of a man sitting in a chair. Unfortunately as soon as the air rushed in, the body crumbled.

Dover Castle

Dover Castle is situated at the shortest sea crossing of the English Channel. This has made it one of the most important defensive sites in Britain. There has been a castle at Dover since Anglo Saxon times. The castle was strengthened by William of Normandy, who built the first earthwork castle in 1066 before moving on to London.

Between 1179 and 1188, Henry II had Dover Castle completely rebuilt. The massive keep and walls and towers of the inner bailey were built and work was started on the walls of the outer bailey. The castle was the first in Western Europe to be built to a concentric design (a series of defences, radiating in a succession of larger and larger circles from the central inner keep). The defences were completed by King John after Henry's death.

In 1216 Dover Castle was besieged by Prince Louis of France. King John left Hubert de Burgh in charge at Dover and even though the French managed to breach the defences by undermining the north gate, de Burgh's forces beat back the attack and Prince Louis called a truce. The truce was short lived as John died soon after and Louis again besieged the castle. Louis was eventually defeated by Hubert de Burgh.

Following the 1533 annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, his subsequent excommunication by the Pope and the 1538 peace treaty between former enemies France and Spain, Henry VIII was isolated in Europe and a Catholic invasion of England seemed inevitable. A great chain of coastal forts was commissioned by the king, who came to Dover in 1539 to inspect the work personally.

At the end of the 18th century the Napoleonic Wars prompted a massive rebuilding program. Barracks were added and the defenses improved and Dover became a garrison town. With the Castle nearing capacity it was decided to build a complex of barracks under the castle. Up to 2000 soldiers lived in these underground barracks during the Napoleonic Wars.

At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the barracks and tunnels were used by customs to combat smuggling. This was a short term Endeavour though and in 1826 the headquarters were moved closer to shore. The tunnels then remained abandoned for more than a
In the twentieth century the castle played an important role in both world wars. The castle was armed with anti-aircraft guns and searchlights, supplemented during the Second World War with Radar.

In May 1940, the evacuation of 338,000 allied soldiers from Dunkirk was directed from a command centre in the converted Georgian underground barracks, at Dover Castle. New tunnels were built to house an underground hospital and the combined headquarters for the three services.

After the war the army remained in the castle until 1958; five years later the whole of Dover Castle was handed over to the Ministry of Works for preservation.

Perhaps it's the castles long history or the violence that has surrounded it, that makes Dover castle one of the most haunted buildings in the UK. Dover Castle is associated with numerous ghosts and strange sounds.

A ghost has been reported in the Kings bedroom, the lower half of a man has been seen walking through the doorway then vanishing. Very recently, two female members of staff saw the lower half of a man's body crossing the doorway of the King's bedchamber during the evening search of the keep. The two witnesses followed the figure into the chamber only to find he had disappeared, and there was no other exit. Other members of staff were close by in the main hall at the time. It is not known who this ghost is and why only its lower half is ever seen.

The ghost of a woman wearing a long red flowing dress has been seen at the west stairway of the keep. No facial features could be seen and the witness reported that a crying or sobbing sound accompanied the sighting. This apparition has been seen on more than one occasion in the vicinity of the west stairwell, and also in the mural gallery at the top of the keep. This apparition was reported by a male member of staff. There have also been sightings of a figure in blue being seen in the mural gallery, this figure has yet to be identified as male of female.

Visitors and staff have heard the sound of drumming coming from the Castle battlements and some even say they have seen a headless figure walking along them very late at night. This figure is believed to be Sean Flynn, a 15 year old drummer boy. He had been sent to the town of Dover late one night on an errand. Through the darkness he walked with only his drum to keep him company. Unfortunately, two greedy soldiers had heard that he was going to town and that he carried a substantial amount of money. They ambushed him and instead of just handing over the money to the robbers Sean tried to fight them off, one mighty blow from one of their swords took off his head and he lay dead only several hundred feet from the castle.

Recently the television show Most Haunted visited Dover Castle, and Medium Derek Acorah visited the Battlements. Derek seemed to be getting messages from Sean, and informed us that Sean was a proud and brave drummer boy but that he missed his mother and wanted to be with her. Derek said that he would help Sean to go to the light where he would be with his mother again, the drumming has not been heard since.


A handsome male figure dressed in early 17th century cavalier style clothing was seen by a female member of staff in 1990, around 8:30am while she was cleaning in the basement area of the keep. She described a man wearing a black wide brimmed hat with a purple cloak which draped to the floor. The witness also reported that the figure had long dark wavy hair and a moustache. The apparition stood staring at the witness for about 30 seconds then faded away into nothing.

Next we move to the tunnels under Dover Castle. The ghosts down here are sighted far more frequently than those that appear above ground.

The ghost of a 17th century pike man was seen in 1979 in the guardroom at the furthest end of the tunnels by a male member of staff. At that time the castle was owned by the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works. The witness described how a soldier wearing a helmet and carrying a pike walked into the guardroom through one wall and out again through another. This incident lasted only a few seconds and took place at about 6pm, while the witness was in the process of locking up at the end of the day. There have been no other reports of this apparition by any of the present members of the castle staff. The original report was made in June 1979.

A male apparition dressed in a blue cloak, has been seen walking along the passageways on more than one occasion, although it is thought that this figure may be the same figure in blue that has been seen in the keep. The underground tunnels also seem to be affected by sounds from the past. During the summer of 1991, an American tourist and his wife commented to a member of the castle staff about the "very realistic sounds" (screams and moans) which they heard while touring the passageways. The two visitors were the very last to leave the tunnels and thought they had been listening to an audio recording of sound effects. These sounds are thought to date back to the siege of the castle in 1216.

The most common phenomenon, which is reported quite frequently in the vicinity of the tower section of the tunnels, is that of the sound of banging doors, described by members of staff as "heavy wooden doors being slammed shut".

In the Hell fire (WW2) section of the tunnels there have been numerous sighting of the ghosts of servicemen who had worked here. In 1989 one witness saw a man dressed in Military uniform walk through a Metal plate door. The figure has since been reported by a number of visitors on some occasions it has been seen by multiple witnesses.

Castle Fraser

Castle Fraser situated in Aberdeenshire is one of the most haunted castles in Scotland, as well as being one of the most elaborate Scottish castle built to the traditional 'Z' plan. Castle Fraser stands in over 300 acres (1.2 km2) of landscaped grounds, woodland and farmland which also includes a walled kitchen garden. There is archaeological evidence of an older square tower dating from around 1400 or 1500 within the current construction.

Construction of the castle began in 1575 by the 6th Laird of Fraser, Michael Fraser, on the foundations of the earlier tower, and was completed in 1636. A panel on the northern side of the castle is signed "I Bel", this is believed to be the mark of the master mason John Bell of Midmar, the castle is a joint creation over several decades with another master mason of this period, Thomas Leiper.

Castle Fraser was modernised in a classical style in the late 1700s, with a new entrance inserted in the south side and sash windows throughout. This work was supervised by Elyza Fraser, the lady laird. Elyza was also responsible for the landscaping of the grounds, sweeping away the remains of the original formal gardens and orchards. The construction of the impressive stable block was also added. Castle Fraser supported both Jacobite Uprisings though its location kept it from seeing any of the battles.

The castle was owned by various branches of the Fraser family until 1921, when it was bought by the 1st Viscount Cowdray for his son, the Honourable Clive Pearson. Extensive restoration took place during the residence of Mr. Pearson and later, his second daughter. The castle was given to the National Trust for Scotland in 1976.

Fraser Castle's most famous ghost is that of its own ghost that of a princess staying at the castle who was murdered while she slept in the Green Room. According to legend, her body was dragged down the stone staircase leaving a bloody trail. A stain which could not be removed even with repeated scrubbing. As a last resort the steps were covered in the wooden panelling as seen today. Over the years many residents have reported seeing her ghost throughout the castle.

Visitors to the castle and members of staff have heard ghostly piano music, voices and whispers have been heard in the empty hall. Witnesses have seen the ghost of Lady Blanche Drummond who died in 1874. She appears in a long black gown her ghost has been seen in the castle grounds and on the staircase.

The kitchen staff have reported hearing the sound of children laughing and singing, only to find that there were no children at the castle. Recently TV's Most Haunted have carried out a paranormal investigation at the castle.

Castle Fraser has recently been used as a backdrop for some of the scenes shot in the BAFTA, Golden Globe and Academy Award winning film "The Queen", starring Helen Mirren. The castle is open to visitors from Easter to October. The grounds and walled gardens are open year round. It can be hired for weddings and corporate events and has an apartment for rent (from the National Trust for Scotland) which over looks the courtyard.

Shaun Underwood,Notes.

These pictures were taken by the public when on a trip to a castle. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did .Do you think there real GHOSTS. let me know via email what you think?

   



No matter what castles you choose to visit or where it maybe in the UK there will always be a ghost story to go along with it. I just hope the next time your walk around in castles you dont feel that cold chill down your spin. I hope you have enjoyed these four ghost storys from our haunted castles file. Stay safe and remember.

Fear Is An Emotion, NOT An Excuse!!!!!