Haunted Medieval Castles - A Must Read For Halloween

Halloween is approaching and for anyone interested in medieval castles, it's a great time to take advantage of a variety of 'spooky' castle tours on offer. 

A good example is that of Carlisle Castle in Cumbria where there are spooky tours and ghost stories on offer. An ideal opportunity for families to enjoy a little fun combined with medieval history. Carlisle Castle is a truly medieval castle and is reported to be very haunted, so it's a great attractions for visitors at this time of year. 

Portcullis at the entrance to Carlisle Castle

Read more about haunted Carlisle Castle. Carlisle Castle is not far from Hadrian's Wall in fact so visitors to the castle often go on to see the Wall and, moving on from medieval history, they can indulge in a little Roman history.

Bluebeard's Castle - A Scary Story For Halloween

We have written a lot about haunted castles, especially in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales but for this Halloween we're going to suggest something different .... a haunted castle in France.

Gilles de Rais has to be one of the most notorious medieval knights who ever lived. For a time he was a friend of the French king and a companion-in-arms to Joan of Arc but he went on to become obsessed with the occult and murdered what is believed to be hundreds of children.

His castle at Tiffauges in South West France is but a ruin but it has an eery air to it. Its location high up on a rocky hill above a river seems to add to a sense of foreboding as you approach it.

We took this picture on what at the time seemed quite a bright and sunny day when we first arrived in Tiffauges but by the time the camera shutter went, dark clouds suddenly appeared from nowhere. Spooky!

Gilles de Rais is believed by many to have been the inspiration behind inspired the fairytale 'Bluebeard' written by Charles Perrault in the late 1600s. Hence, today Tiffauges castle is often referred to as 'Bluebeard's Castle'.

Haunted Castles In England - Berkeley Castle

This is a medieval castle well worth a visit and merits several posts on the Medieval Castle Blog.

Berkeley Castle is said to be a haunted castle and when you read the story of the confinement, torture and death of King Edward II that took place there, you can understand why. It is a horrific story and when you visit Berkeley Castle and see the guard room where the King's torture is believed to have taken place, there is no doubt about the chilling atmosphere that seems to pervade it.

Here is a video of the guard room taken from the courtyard outside. The windows are the very same as the poor King probably looked out of in desperate hope of being rescued.

Filming Castles

Movies with a period setting have been and will always be popular. They are atmospheric and can lend a great 'background' to a dramatic story. Special effects of course make it easy to recreate 'historical' settings for movies these days but filming the REAL THING will never be bettered when it comes to castles!

No less than 4 real castles in Ireland were used in the filming of 'Braveheart'.

Ireland was also chosen by John Boorman for his 1981 epic 'Excalibur' - a much acclaimed and highly individual take on the legend of King Arthur.

NOTE: Any budding horror movie makers out there might like to read our page about haunted castles in Ireland.

Many scenes for the Harry Potter movie series were filmed at Alnwick Castle in Northumberland. You can see a photograph I took whilst visiting Alnwick Castle which features the Hogwarts lawn from which Harry took his first broomstick flight!

Alnwick is a good example of English medieval castle construction. However, I would dare to suggest to any filmmaker looking for somewhere equally, if not more, atmospheric yet not as over-used as perhaps Alnwick Castle is, that Carlisle Castle is worthy of consideration.

When you walk under its massive, imposing portcullis and enter within its walls, history comes to life! If you don't believe me just read this about Carlisle Castle.

A Seriously Haunted Medieval Castle

A popular section on our Medieval Castles website is the one about haunted castles. Let's face it, a castle built in the medieval period will have seen centuries of human activity - from births to marriages and deaths plus a whole host of things in between. Such a degree of human existence must leave a mark of some kind which perhaps explains why ghosts or so called 'paranormal phenomenon' have been witnessed and reported in and around medieval castles.

One of the most intriguing and exciting accounts of a haunted castle has to be one about haunted Carlisle Castle in England which we recently published on our website. Contributed by a member of the public, the writer requested anonymity for fear they would receive comments of ridicule from those seeking to discredit 'paranormal' activity. We have respected their request because we believe their story is genuine and wanted to share it with the large number of people out there who are interested in reading 'ghost stories'. Whether you believe it or not is up to you but it makes for some of the most fascinating reading about a English medieval castle. If nothing else, it may just encourage you to visit Carlisle Castle and see for yourself - with over 900 years of often turbulent history to its name, the atmosphere alone has to be worth the trip!

Medieval Castles in 2009

During the course of this year we have visited and photographed a number of medieval castles in the Border region that lies between England and Scotland. It is an area that has seen many battles for power over the centuries and is therefore littered with fortresses many of which date back to medieval times and some such as Carlisle Castle having origins even further back - to Roman times.

Carlisle Castle (Cumbria England)
With over 900 years of history. Architecturally fascinating and reputed to be haunted!

Naworth Castle (Cumbria England)
A small, privately owned medieval castle dating back to the early 14th century.

Dacre Castle (Cumbria England)
An even smaller castle, again privately owned which was up for rental at the time we visited.

Dunstanburgh Castle (Northumberland, England)
Castle ruins in one of the most outstanding locations you could ever dream of! Located high on a promintery overlooking the sea. Breathtaking views once you reach it and look down on the surrounding countryside. Legends abound about this castle and it is reputed to be haunted.

Threave Castle (Scotland)
Ruins of a 13th century castle built in a unique location - on an island in the middle of the river Dee.

Hermitage Castle (Scotland)
Another unique location for a medieval castle - this was far from romantic though. A much more desolate location. Castle reputed to be haunted.

Photographs of each of the above will be published in subsequent blog posts.

Hermitage Castle Scotland

Whilst our Halloween post pointed readers in the direction of a variety of haunted medieval castles all over Britain, it focused in particular on Hermitage Castle.

After writing that post I was reminded of just how strong an atmosphere there was to the place - I can still close my eyes and feel the 'coldness' that seemed prevalent there! I then started to sift through the photographs we took on our visit to Hermitage Castle earlier in 2009 and it became even clearer just how powerful and commanding a presence the place has.

It seems therefore only fair to the many readers of our medieval-castle.com website and our medieval castle blog, that we should share some of those photographs with you all. After all, many of you are not in a position to travel to Scotland and see first hand what I have described. So over the coming weeks watch out for some great photos!

Today's ...... the view that greets you as you walk towards Hermitage Castle.

Spooky Stories From Medieval Castles On Halloween!

If you've been reading our Medieval Castle Blog during the month of October you will know that we have been recounting 'white lady' ghost stories at some of Britain's medieval castles. Well, for those of you who haven't had enough and want yet more spooky stories for your Halloween bedtime reading, let us point you in the right direction ....

Haunted Castles In England
Haunted Castles In Scotland
Haunted Castles In Ireland
Haunted Castles In Wales

On a personal note, one of the most 'spooky' castles I have ever visited has to be Hermitage Castle in Scotland. It is difficult to explain but the moment you set eyes on the castle it really grips you and holds your attention. It has a powerful, eery appearance and when you see it close up and then enter inside the ruins the atmosphere is very intense. Hermitage Castle is set close to a river, in open countryside and with views to distant fields and hills all around. It has to be one of the most distinctive of medieval castles I have ever seen - though not one that I would relish revisiting. There was a coldness to it that even now is clear in the memory as I write this post. See our dedicated page on Hermitage Castle and read about 2 of its ghost stories.

Haunted Castles - The White Lady Of Denbigh Castle

Here is our third "White Lady' ghost story.

Denbigh Castle in Wales was built in the late 13th/early 14th century by Henry de Lacy, 3rd Earl of Lincoln in England to whom King Edward I had granted the territory after the last native Welsh prince had been defeated in 1282 AD. Having 700 years of history, the castle has doubtless seen its fair share of strange events! The ghost story of "The White Lady" at Denbigh Castle is one that many people swear to have witnessed in person with many reported sightings of a 'White Lady' around the castle, usually gliding around the footpaths near the Goblin Tower and surrounded by a glowing white mist. In recent years (1999 AD) 3 youths hit the local headlines when they reported being terrified at the sight of the 'White Lady' standing beneath the Goblin Tower of the castle from where they said she "glided" down the hill toward them.

There is a great video clip from a BBC TV programme where paranormal investigator Mike McManus recounts a vigil at the haunted ruins of Denbigh Castle. Spooky stuff!

For more detail on this fascinating Welsh castle go to our dedicated Denbigh Castle page.

Read more about haunted castles in Wales on medieval-castle.com

Haunted Castles - The White Lady Of Glamis Castle

Here is our second 'White Lady' ghost story.

Glamis Castle in Scotland is reputed to be haunted by more than one lady in fact but we will just look at "The White Lady" in this post. There has been much discussion about who she might have been in real life but the general concensus seems to point to the possibility of it being the ghost of Janet Douglas, wife to the 6th Lord Glamis back in the 16th century. After his death she became wife to Archibald Campbell then later imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle and finally burnt at the stake on Castle Hill on a charge of witchcraft. For more detail on this and other hauntings at the castle go to our dedicated Glamis Castle page.

Read more about haunted castles in Scotland on medieval-castle.com

Medieval Castle Ghosts - The White Lady Of Tamworth Castle

One of the most common 'apparitions' in ghost stories is that of the 'white lady'. There are many legends that tell of some tragic story and the end result is that of a haunting by a white lady.

In the next few posts we will share some of the white lady stories that we have come across in our research on medieval history and medieval castles.

Here is the first ....

• Tamworth Castle in England - There have been many reports of "ghostly happenings" in Tamworth Castle but one of the most famous is that of the White Lady. According to local folklore, a young woman was captured and locked in the castle tower by Sir Tarquin. Over time she fell in love with him and after he was killed by Sir Lancelot du Lac she mourned her lover so much that she threw herself from the battlements. It is believed her ghost walks the castle battlements weeping and people have reported not only seeing the apparition but also hearing her mournful cries.

Read more about haunted castles on medieval-castle.com

A Haunted Castle For TV's "Most Haunted"

It's October again with Halloween just around the corner. So we're going to discuss all things 'spooky' this month on our Medieval Castle Blog. From legends to true, live witness accounts we've got some great medieval castle ghost stories to share with you!

First we will look at Carlisle Castle - a fabulous piece of medieval castle architecture in Britain in the county of Cumbria. With no less than 900 years of history to its name, Carlisle Castle has seen some truly turbulent times and has associations with many famous people. These include King David I (King of the Scots) who died there, William Wallace who once tried to attack the castle, Mary Queen of Scots who was imprisoned there for a time at the behest of Queen Elizabeth I, Bonnie Prince Charlie who also attacked the castle, and, in the 20th century, Rudolf Hess who during WW2 made an overnight stop at the castle on his way South having been taken prisoner in Scotland where he landed his plane. One can well imagine the intensity of some of those historic visits! It's not surprising then that Carlisle Castle is rumoured to be haunted. So much so that the TV series "Most Haunted" visited the castle this summer to film one of their shows (due to be aired some time this month). The shows producers are giving little away but have admitted during their stay, the team experienced mysterious footsteps in the gatehouse, strange phenomena in the Keep and something very unusual around one of the cherry trees in the castle's grounds. If you think it might not be genuine, think again ... staff at the castle have reported seeing mysterious figures on many occasions, especially on the top floor of the Keep.

Having visited Carlisle Castle myself I can honestly say that it has an intense atmosphere about it. The dungeons are particularly eery. See our photographs of the castle dungeons and you will know what I mean!

Stunning Brougham Castle Keep

One of the most stunning parts of a medieval castle is the castle keep. Essentially a fortress within a fortress, the keep was built to be the last line of defence within a castle. Many medieval castles were able to withstand aggressive attack sometimes suffering an outer wall breach, only to resist and finally repel the attackers from within the confines of their castle keep.

Being a stronghold within a stronghold, the keep was often used for important food storage and also to retain prisoners. Within the keep of Carlisle Castle for example, the very bottom part of the keep was used to house prisoners from the Jacobite rebellion; you can still visit the keep and see the medieval dungeons today. (Quick nod to Dave at garage doors cumbria for reminding us about Carlisle Castle which is just round the corner from him!)

One particularly outstanding example of a castle keep is that at Brougham Castle in Cumbria, England close to the border with Scotland. Although a ruin, the bulk of the keep is still intact and makes for a wonderful sight on a summer's day. It is a great example of medieval castle architecture and well worth including on your itinerary should you ever be in the Border region.

Photographing castle keeps is something we make a point of every time we visit a medieval castle and we have compiled a stunning array of photos to date, particularly of castles in England and Scotland. Hopefully we'll find the time to upload a gallery on medieval-castle.com soon. Alas, not enough hours in the day .... but we'll get there! In the meantime, I will keep (pardon the pun!) writing about them within our castle blog so please revisit soon for more on great castle keeps, including those within haunted castles!

Haunted Castles On Halloween

For some people Halloween is just another day; for others it's a special occasion when they might go to a Halloween party or watch a scary movie with friends. For some people though it's the opportunity to try and witness first hand the 'paranormal'. According to many websites there are special haunted castle trips available in Britain and of course Halloween is a popular time for booking these.

I can't say I would ever go on such a trip but apparently many people do and they really enjoy it. They don't all get to see ghosts of course but at the very least they can say they've visited a castle that's reputed to be haunted.

Chillingham Castle is one of Britain's most haunted castles and offers public tours of 'haunted areas of the castle and grounds'. It's also in one of Britain's most notable counties - Northumberland. If you're ever in the area it's well worth considering. For more information go to the castle's own official website and page.

Haunted Castles: Glamis Castle, Skibo Castle

There are many haunted castles in the world and perhaps no more so than in Scotland.

Scottish castles are numerous and all with their own story to tell. Centuries of feuding both amongst the clans themselves and against the English provide an amazing and colourful backdrop to the profile of so many castles in Scotland. No wonder many of them are haunted!

Take Glamis Castle for instance which is reported to be haunted by more than one ghost. These include the Grey Lady and the White Lady have both been seen at Glamis Castle. The White Lady has been seen the least but is thought to possibly be the ghost of Janet Douglas. She was wife to the 6th Lord Glamis (John) back in the 16th century and after his death became wife to Archibald Campbell; she was imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle by King James V and later burnt at the stake on Castle Hill. Another ghost is believed to be that of Earl Beardie, a gambler and card player whose strange story is well worth reading in full on our Glamis Castle page.

Skibo Castle is another reputedly haunted castle in Scotland. Renovated by Andrew Carnegie in the early 20th century, Skibo Castle is a wonderful example of castle architecture and design and was chosen by Madonna and Guy Ritchie as their wedding venue back in 2000. The main ghost at Skibo Castle is that of a girl who is said to have disappeared there whilst on a visit. At the time it was thought she was murdered by the Castle's keeper who hid her body within the grounds. In later years during renovations, a female skeleton was found behind one of the castle walls!

For more reading on these 2 wonderful Scottish Castles ....

Wiki page on Glamis Castle

Wiki page on Skibo Castle

Haunted Castles - Featherstone Castle

As the third feature in this short series of posts on haunted castles of Britain, I have chosen a little known castle in the county of Northumberland - Featherstone Castle.

Northumberland plays host to many medieval castles including some of the most famous and breathtaking castles in Britain - Alnwick Castle and Bamburgh Castle . However, at the very edge of the county close to the border with Cumbria is where you will find Featherstone Castle.

This is one of those ghost stories that makes you sit back and pause to think for a while. Essentially, it's a tragic love story but one that had devastating consequences not just for the unhappy couple but for many others around them. It's for this reason that I chose to feature Featherstone Castle in this series.

Dating back to the 1400's when its construction began under Thomas de Featherstonehaugh, the castle remained in his family for centuries. It was in the 17th century that an event occurred giving rise to the castle's claim to being haunted. The story involves young love, a pre-arranged marriage, desire for revenge and murder. To read the full story go to our Featherstone Castle page.

Northumberland has another medieval castle with a tragic love story as the basis for its haunting - read about Warkworth Castle.

Haunted Castles - Chillingham Castle

The second of our features on haunted castles in the lead up to Halloween and all things ghostly is about Chillingham Castle in Northumberland. Even the castle's name has 'chilling' in it - how spooky is that?!

A 12th century monastery and Norman stronghold, Chillingham Castle only became a fortified castle some 200 hundred years later. It has a rich history tied to key events on both sides of the England/Scotland border. King Edward I of England stayed there when he was on his way to do battle with William Wallace in Scotland. Side-tracking for just a moment, anyone interested in Scottish history and particularly the life of William Wallace should pay a visit to the marvellous Wallace Monument in Stirling, Scotland. Having been there myself I can vouch for it being a worthwhile experience - you even get to see what is claimed to be Wallace's broadsword that he used in battle.

Back to Chillingham Castle ... stories abound about it being haunted. Two of the most notable ghosts claimed to have been seen at the castle are that of the 'Blue Boy' and that of Lady Mary Berkeley. Both are said to date back to events from the time of King Charles II of England. To read the full detail of both 'ghost stories' read our haunted Chillingham Castle page.

There are a number of haunted rooms in Chillingham Castle including the Great Hall, Minstrels Gallery and Chapel. Indeed, a good friend who once stayed overnight at Chillingham Castle said they were convinced the castle is haunted and that parts of the castle definitely had an eery feeling that they could not explain. Coming from the friend in question who is not given to flights of fancy and having read other accounts, I am more than a little inclined to believe that Chillingham Castle is possibly one of the most haunted places in all of Britain!

Haunted Castles - Leap Castle

We're into October and of course at the end of the month is Halloween. In the run up to Halloween we're going to run a series of features on haunted castles. Here is our first - about haunted castles in Ireland.

Ireland has a long and eventful history and, in some ways, it is similar to that of Scotland. For centuries, warring clans dominated Irish history and today, much of Irish folkore and legend is based upon events from those dark times.

With territory being highly valued and much fought over, it's not surprising that Ireland has many medieval (and even pre-medieval) castles and with so much blood shed between chieftains and their clans, it's logical to assume that some of these castles might be haunted. There are a number reputedly haunted castles in Ireland but perhaps the most famous - and allegedly most haunted - is Leap Castle.

Leap Castle was built on top of an ancient rock close to Birr, a town in County Offaly. It was built for strategic reasons and is not in fact a 'medieval' castle - technically it's pre-medieval, having been built as far back as 800 AD, over 250 years before the Battle of Hastings! For anyone interested in this particular part of British history, there's a great Battle of Hastings Game courtesy of the BBC where you can opt to play the part of William or Harold.

At the time of its construction the castle was actually called "Leim ui Bhanain," or "Leap of the O'Bannons as it was the O'Bannon family who lived there. The family held considerable power in the area but were only "secondary chieftains" to the ruling clan of O'Carroll.

Leap Castle has a unique and bloody history and the claim by some that it is the most haunted castle in Ireland is based on the savage warring that took place between rival clans. Read more about the history behind haunted Leap Castle.

Haunted Hever Castle

Hever Castle has had associations with numerous famous people over the centuries including William Waldorf Astor but its most notable resident was surely Anne Boleyn - second wife of King Henry VIII and mother of Queen Elizabeth I of England.

Anne lived at Hever Castle as a child. Her life was to go on to reach an incredible 'high' as the most important woman in all England, only to end in terrible tragedy when she was beheaded at the Tower of London, still a young woman. It is said that her restless spirit still haunts Hever Castle and its grounds.

So it is from Tudor times that Hever Castle has its most notable historical associations but it is in fact a medieval castle by definition, having been built in the 13th century. That is why we have put Hever Castle into our haunted castles section on our main website, under the category of haunted english castles in fact. If you go to the section you will see lots of other english medieval castles listed , all with their own, individual haunted castle story to tell.

Ghostly Dunstanburgh - Haunted Medieval Castle

Dunstanburgh Castle is not an easy castle to reach. Its location on the Northumberland coast of England is fairly remote, beautiful though somehow eerie and desolate.

It was whilst driving back from a visit to Bamburgh Castle that we had the opportunity to see this magnificent medieval ruin for ourselves. As soon as it came into view in the distance, it seemed to loom with a striking, almost ghostly silhouette against the skyline. The 'ghostly' part of that description is very apt: Dunstanburgh Castle is reputed to be haunted - and by more than one ghost!

Once the largest castle in Northumberland, Dunstanburgh Castle was built in the 14th century by Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, nephew to the then King Edward II. Having led a rebellion against his king, Thomas was executed for treason in 1322. His execution, however, was not quick and he died an agonising death because of the executioner's inexperience. It's because of this that his ghost is said to haunt the castle that he built - Dunstanburgh.

Another ghost reported to haunt the castle's grounds is that of Sir Guy, a knight who sheltered nearby during a storm. His legend tells of a wizard and Sir Guy's attempt to rescue a young woman from the castle to no avail only to become a ghost without a shadow, searching throughout the centuries for the lady he sought to rescue.

There's more on haunted Dunstanburgh Castle in our haunted English castles section for anyone interested in reading further.