Sutherland, Scotland
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Background: The
Earls of Sutherland have had a castle here since the 13th century. In 1845
Charles Barry, who built the Houses of Parliament, re-
I worked at this location way back in 2008. I was very lucky to get the go ahead. Sadly though I had very little time to conduct an investigation.Four hours I had been given, five at a puch and also I had to be walked around by security officer. With everything said though it is a real wonderful place and I thank the owners and staff for all the help.
Origin of the haunting: 17th Century
Background of the haunted place: The present castle was built, by Sir William Hilton, between
1374 and 1420. There is nothing left of the original castle built in 1072.
Towards the end of the 18th Century the castle was abandoned and much of it was
demolished in 1862. The ghost of the Cauld Lad tells the story.
Ghost
story: I'm Robert
Skelton and I was a bit of a lazy boy. I didn't mean any harm but if the master
didn't keep me busy I got into mischief. I was a stable boy and one of my jobs
was to get the master's horse ready. One day I fell asleep and when the master
came to get his horse it wasn't ready. He flew into a terrible rage. He threw a
pitchfork at me and killed me.
He threw my naked body into the pond; it was
cold even for a ghost. I used to wander round the grounds shivering. Then one
day some servants left a cloak for me which kept me warm. Eventually my bones
were found in the pond and I was given a proper burial. Nobody has seen me
since. I am at peace and have no reason to haunt anymore -
Scarborough, North Yorkshire
Origin of the haunting: 14th Century
Background of the haunted place:
This castle was built in the early 12th Century by
William Le Gros. It was practically impregnable and the Northern stronghold for
Kings and Queens for almost five centuries. It is not surprising that Piers
Gaveston, favourite of Edward ll, used this as a base when he was under siege.
His ghost tells the story.
Ghost story: I had so much power, Edward was so weak he
couldn't see who really controlled things. His father realised and had me
banished. But once he was dead Edward recalled me and made me Earl of Cornwall.
Nobody could tell me what to do. They tried to banish me again but I came back.
Sadly, once they rose against Edward and declared war; I became a
target.
It was here at Scarborough they finally
caught me. I was taken to Warwick and executed. But if they thought that would
be the end of me; they were sadly mistaken. It is here that I seek my revenge.
My headless ghost lures people up to the battlements, especially those
half-
I hope you are planning to visit soon.
Whitby Abbey
Location of the haunted place: North
Yorkshire
Origin of the haunting: Unknown
Background:
Whitby Abbey was built in 657 AD. It was a double monastery housing both women
and men. It was destroyed by the Danes during a Viking invasion but rebuilt by
the Normans in 1067. This is Constance de Beverley's story.
Ghost story: I was a nun in the Abbey. I broke my vows and was
punished. I fell in love with a knight, he was such a brave man. I know it was
wrong but my love for him was powerful and I couldn't stop myself. When my crime
was discovered, they bricked me up in the dungeon and left me to die. It was a
horrible death. I don't think I deserved that sort of barbaric punishment. I'm
still here hoping that someone will release me. Please, please, if you see me on
the stairway, release me.
Shaun Underwood has investigated Whitby Abbey 23 times in the past 9 years. Found this to be a very active location. This Abbey as history as long as your arm. Thanks to E.H who have given Shaun and his TRIPA UK team many locations to research & Investigate and as much time needed. There will be a full diary of all the TOP CASES and W.A (Whitby Abbey) IS IN THE TOP 10.
Watch out for the tongueless woman ... Glamis Castle. Photograph: Britain on View
Highgate Cemetery, London
The spectacular gothic architecture on show at this Victorian necropolis is eerie enough but in the late 60s bizarre rumours circulated of a tall, dark figure with hypnotic red eyes terrorising passersby. Amid stories of fearful schoolgirls and mutilated animals, it didn't take long for received wisdom to declare the fiend a vampire.
At least as extraordinary as the idea of the undead stalking N6 was the bitter feud between two locals, exorcist Sean Manchester and occultist David Farrant, who both swore they would hunt down and terminate the ghoul. Nowadays, only the simultaneous opening of several gastropubs would cause a run on garlic.
· The Friends of Highgate Cemetery runs tours of both sides of the cemetery, although the eastern section can be explored unaccompanied. Admission to the more atmospheric western side is by guided tour only.
2. Borley Rectory, Essex
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 The 1944 demolition of this infamous haunted house hasn't diminished its status among supernatural enthusiasts. It's a legend based largely on the activities of Harry Price, a ghostbuster who became famous for a series of psychic investigations, including a not particularly scary-sounding tussle with a talking mongoose
Price's thorough accounts of the Rectory's ghouls (most notably a murdered nun) brought the place national infamy until its virtual destruction by fire in 1939. No trace of the rectory remains although pilgrims still visit, to the irritation of some of Borley's long-suffering residents.
· The village of Borley lies on the River Stour, two miles north-west of Sudbury in Suffolk and 24 miles north-east of Chelmsford in Essex.
3. Pendle Hill, Lancashire
Fans of Living TV's Most Haunted go into raptures when remembering the episode that saw psychic investigators decamp to the scene of Britain's most famous witch trial. Ten of the so-called Pendle Witches were hanged at Lancaster Castle in 1612 (possibly just innocent victims of the whims of witchcraft-obsessed James I). Their ghosts reputedly haunt the village of Newchurch, which lies in the dark, brooding shadow of Pendle Hill and is where one of the witches is said to be buried. Depending on what you believe, the events in the much-eulogised Most Haunted episode were either TV presenters trying to scare themselves and their audience witless or the spirits still seething at a terrible injustice.
· Pendle Hill is located in Lancashire near Burnley, Colne, Nelson and Clitheroe. The village of Newchurch is a mile away from Rawtenstall and boasts a souvenir shop, Witches Galore.
4. The Red Lion, Avebury, Wiltshire
The British enjoy drinking in the afterlife as much as on earth, if the number of supposedly haunted UK pubs is anything to go by. If any boozer was ever going to lay claim to spectral regulars it would be The Red Lion, situated within Avebury's mysterious stone circle, long associated with paganism, witchcraft and superstition.
Apparitions served at the Red Lion include a woman named Florrie who pays particular attention to bearded customers. Ghostly children have also been seen and visitors have often reported orbs of light, weird shadows and cold spots within the 400 year-old inn, which is never short of visitors looking to test their nerves with an overnight stay.
· The Red Lion, Avebury, Marlborough, Wiltshire, SN8 1RF. Tel: 01672 539266. B&B costs £40 per person per night.
5. The Ancient Ram Inn, Wotten-under-Edge, Gloucestershire
Stories attached to this other West Country haunted hotspot make The Red Lion look positively benign. Murder, satanism and child sacrifice are just some of the light-hearted activities supposed to have taken place in this ramshackle building, dating from the 12th century and reportedly built on a pagan burial ground. Its inexplicably freezing temperatures and evil atmosphere have had even hardended ghostbusters quaking in their boots. Hardly surprising, given the horrific cast of residents, including an incontinent spectral cat. In an attempt to avoid swelling the ghastly ranks, a polite message on the Inn's website asks visiting mediums to desist from summoning any more evil spirits to join the party.
· The Ancient Ram Inn, Potters Pond, Wotton under Edge, GL12 7HF. Visits must be booked with owner John Humphries on 01453 842598.
6. Glamis Castle, Angus, Scotland
Nothing, it seems, guarantees centuries of angry haunting like a lifetime of secret incarceration. The imposing home of the current Earl and Countess of Strathmore is supposedly riddled with secret rooms. Residents include the so-called Monster of Glamis Castle (an unkind moniker for a deformed child held here in the 19th century), a tongueless woman running around the garden, and a wicked aristocrat who loudly bemoans a lost card game. There's also the mysterious Grey Lady. This isn't the late Queen Mother, born at Glamis in 1900, but rather Janet Douglas, executed on a trumped-up charge of witchcraft in 1537.
7. The Tower of London
Harry Price called Borley Rectory the Most Haunted House in Britain but the title surely belongs to the Tower of London. Its history as a place of torture and imprisonment ensures no shortage of, often headless, souls hanging around, although perhaps none are as frightening as the admission fees or gargantuan summer crowds.
The Princes in the Tower, allegedly murdered by their uncle Richard III, are the best-known spectres. Also on duty are Lady Jane Grey, Anne Boleyn and the White Lady, whose supernatural signature is apparently the overpowering aroma of cheap perfume, which hints at a hitherto unrecorded snobbery among the undead.
· The Tower of London is open every day except Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day. Tickets are £16 with children paying £9.50, family tickets are £45.
8. Culloden Moor, near Inverness
The last battle to take place in mainland Britain was fought on this barren moor in 1746 where the Jacobite rebellion was dealt a terminal blow and a grim era commenced of repression of Highland customs and traditions.
As befits such a bloody battle, where Jacobite prisoners and wounded were ruthlessly massacred on the orders of the notorious Duke of Cumberland, the dead do not rest easy and every year on April 16, the battle's anniversary, the landscape is said to echo again with anguished cries as phantom legions re-enact the slaughter.
· Culloden village is three miles east of Inverness. The battlefield, where there is a National Trust for Scotland visitor centre, is three miles south of the village.
9. Llancaiach Fawr Manor, near Caerphilly
Ghosts, by their ethereal nature, tend to be a tad elusive, but, at this place, they appear bold as brass, showing visitors around and brazenly pretending the English Civil War is still raging. Actually, this place is a living museum, frozen in the year 1645 and the people in period costume are actors but any reassurance this gives is invariably shortlived as the Tudor manor house is often described as the most haunted in Wales.
As well as the ubiquitous spectral children, some of the most noted paranormal activity is the constant chatter of disembodied voices around the house. One particular room is said to frequently cause visitors to burst into tears.
· Visitors to Llancaiach Fawr Manor can enjoy ghost tours on Thursday and Friday evenings, October-March. Tour £8, tour and meal £15.95.
10. Berry Pomeroy Castle, near Totness, Devon
What is it with castles and multicoloured female spooks? Ghost hunters calling at 12th century Berry Pomeroy Castle are spoilt for choice with both a Blue Lady and a White Lady plying their mournful trade and causing many people to feel inexplicably uneasy when visiting.
The White Lady is said to be Margaret Pomeroy, a renowned beauty who had the misfortune to fall in love with the same man as Lady Eleanor, her less beautiful but insanely jealous sister. Eleanor imprisoned Margaret in the castle dungeons and it is from here that her spirit is said to rise to the castle ramparts. Her partner-in-colourful-haunting, the Blue Lady, is also reportedly seen beckoning to visitors among the ruins. The consensus is that it's not a good idea to follow her.
· English Heritage looks after the castle, which is closed between November 1 and March 20. Admission is £3.80 adults and £1.90 children.
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