Chillingham Castle, in Northumberland, is the most haunted castle in Britain, according to visitors. The castle is home to a host of ghosts that regularly spook guests staying at the historic site.
Among the spectres terrorising visitors is the White Pantry Ghost, who begs visitors for water when she meets them. Her actions suggest she was poisoned to death.
The castle's chapel is home to its own hauntings, as men's voices can often be heard within the building. But once someone goes looking for the speaker, they mysteriously stop. Ghosts can also be spotted in the courtyard across the worn flagstones.
Inbaal Honigman, astrologer, psychic, and witch, agreed that Chillingham Castle deserved its title. She said: “Chillingham Castle needs no introduction and is home to many famous ghosts” that you are sure to come across.
Chillingham Castle was named the most haunted castle in Britain based on comments left by visitors on TripAdvisor. A total of 134,194 reviewers were analysed by Tombola, which totalled up how many times the reviews mentioned the words "spooky", "scary", "ghost" and "haunted". Each castle was then given an overall "Scare Factor" score.
Britain's top 10 haunted castles are:
- Chillingham Castle, Northumberland (Scare Factor: 35)
- Tulloch Castle, Dingwall (Scare Factor: 29)
- Treasurer's House, North Yorkshire (Scare Factor: 25)
- Craig y Nos Castle, Swansea (Scare Factor: 24)
- Alnwick Castle, Northumberland (Scare Factor: 24)
- Muncaster Castle, Cumbria (Scare Factor: 19)
- Glamis Castle, Angus (Scare Factor: 15)
- Dalhousie Castle, Midlothian (Scare Factor: 15)
- Berry Pomeroy Castle, Devon (Scare Factor: 15)
- Ruthin Castle, Denbighshire (Scare Factor: 14)
You can find out where each of the castles is in the map below:
Inbaal added: “In our largely secular, non-spiritual society of the 21st century, the afterlife isn't really a part of normal life. Relegated to creepy anecdotes and horror films, we don't really deal in ghouls and ghosts in our day-to-day existence. Halloween gives us a chance to feel childlike again.
“If we're going to be watching gory films and festooning our doors with cobwebs, then why not go the whole hog and visit a haunted castle, or go ghost hunting in a stately home?”