Haunted Britain : a Guide to Supernatural Sites Frequented By Ghosts, Witches, Poltergeists and Other Mysterious Beings

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Many of their stories were, more or less, the same. Characters, times and locations changed but the basic essence of the experience didn't. Local legend tells how Richard "Burnchapel" Whaley, a member of one of the areas richest families, had joined the society and had revelled in the debauched rituals. As well as housing many common criminals it was also the place where the leaders of the 1916 uprising were detained. Many were also executed within its grim walls, and a plaque in the gaols courtyard remembers those patriotic men who bravely and defiantly faced the firing squads, in the cold early morning hours of May 1916. Another one of the castle’s most talked about spirits is that of the Blue Boy who is thought to haunt the Pink Room and witnesses have claimed to see blue halos of light inside.

Then, as anger overcame her fear she warned "do not think that your deed will go unpunished for the fate awaiting you will be far worse than ours."Lir, however, calmed his daughter’s fears, persuading her that no harm would befall her and, reassured, the children boarded the chariot and set out on their ill-fated journey. Where can I stay nearby? Summerfieldsand California Cliffs Holiday Parkare both a 50 minute drive from Felbrigg Hall Others, however, sense the gaol to be a tranquil place and speak fondly of how the eyes of the thousands of past inmates, watch them, apparently looking out for their well – being. In 1584, Queen Elizabeth 1st’s Lord Deputy of Ireland, Sir John Perrot, brought an army to Dunluce and battered the garrison into submission with a relentless bombardment of cannon fire. Having evicted Sorley Boy, he installed Peter Carey as constable of the castle. But her husband discovered their affair and, according to contemporary accounts, 'did put them to death with his sword'.

Mrs O’Brien thought the stories nonsense to begin with, but then she too saw the creature and, as she put it, "began to understand the fear." The heavy footsteps of an invisible man have been heard plodding their way through the house at night. The fragrant aroma of rose petals and lavender has been known hang in the air. Belgrave Hall, in Leicester, attracted attention in 1999 when a white figure was captured on CCTV. One theory is it is the daughter of a former owner. [3] It has stood here since the times when magnificent wooden palaces dominated the brow of the hill. Its memories are Ireland’s memories of ancient glories and long ago kingships.

1. Pluckley Village, Kent

Whether or not the husband was punished is not recorded, but Elizabeth's ghost has wandered the building ever since. Towering over you, its lower branches almost touching the road, is the prodigious "King Oak" the massive girth of which testifies to its venerable age. Arundel Castle in West Sussex, with the first Earl of Arundel who built the structure as its most famous reported ghost. [2]

Lost also are the words that would have been uttered along with any trace of the rituals that were practices here.

8. Corfe Castle, Dorset

During the restoration another man whom colleagues described as "very religious and tea total" was painting in the dungeon area of the prison, when a huge gust of wind suddenly blew him against a wall. Battling hard against the mysterious tempest, he managed to fight his way from the dungeon, where his ashen face and shaking hands were vivid testimony to his brush with the uncanny force. He point blank refused ever to work in, or even visit, the gaol again. It is encircled by a luscious variety of towering trees, and stands on the sleepy banks of a babbling river. It came to pass that the Tuatha De Nanaan met to elect a king, and duly settled upon Bodb Dearg, much to the anger of another contender, Lir, who returned to his palace angrily refusing to accept the new monarch. In 1811 Lady Catherine Hutchinson, wife of Thomas Bernard commissioned the present castle which, although burnt by the Republican’s in 1922, was restored and has since been transformed into the magnificent, extremely cosy, hotel whose, dark, atmospheric corridors; elegant rooms; library bar resplendent with rows of antique books upon its shelves; and sweeping stairways, provide visitors with tranquil haven far removed from the stresses and strains of the modern world.