Somewhere or something associated with unexplained events, including haunted houses.
Sometimes, it’s fun to set off in search of something you have little hope of finding. Of course, the hope is that the elusive whateveritis will be yours to claim. Maybe the attraction is merely the thrill of the chase. But, perhaps the best you can wish for is that you will be able to
A giant’s grave, lost lake, missing castle and misplaced church Read More »
North West England
Is there anybody there? Not everyone is able to make it round Borwick Hall (pronounced ‘borrick’), an Elizabethan manor house in the far north of Lancashire. If they do, they may not want to venture back, because the place has a reputation – for being haunted. Woooo…! Shall we start at the beginning? I came
A visit to Borwick Hall Read More »
North West England
The name of the town of Holywell in North Wales has an obvious origin. The holy well in question is the shrine of St Winefride, or Gwenffrewi – Winifred in modern English – and her story is a grim one. Winefride was a young maiden, famed for her beauty, who lived in the early 7th
The legend and shrine of St Winefride Read More »
Wales
Britain, the haunted island Let us be clear, firstly: a ghost is for life, not just for Halloween; secondly, tracking down Britain’s most haunted places is a tough mission. The entire British Isles is a place of myths and legends, of ghosts and gods and spirits, where folk memories go back thousands of years. Travelling
Britain’s most haunted places Read More »
British Stuff
The story of the Witches of Pendle is one of the most sinister and troubling tales to come out of Lancashire. It does not feature cackling old hags riding broomsticks across the night sky, but real living beings, victims of time and circumstance. The broad facts are well-known locally, but lest you be unaware, in
The Witches of Pendle Read More »
North West England
It is a wild, wind-blown, rain-lashed winter’s night. A spectral horse gallops up to the moss-covered ruins of old Wycoller Hall, the rider a man dressed in early 17th century fashion He slides swiftly from the saddle, enters the house and dashes up long-vanished stairs. A door is flung open. Terrified shrieks pierce the pitch
The ghosts of Wycoller Read More »
North West England
Unlike Balmoral, which is a private home, the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh is the Monarch’s official residence in Scotland. And parts of it are open to the public. So, assuming you don’t get to visit palaces too often, you should pop in when you’re next in town. It is situated at the eastern end
The Palace of Holyroodhouse Read More »
Scotland
Ghost stories have long been popular at Christmas, and Victorians loved them. In that tradition, and by way of a change from researching a factual article, I thought I would have a go at writing a spectral anecdote. So, in the unlikely event that you have a spare five minutes, and with a degree of
A Christmas ghost story Read More »
Events
“I have endeavoured in this Ghostly little book, to raise the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put my readers out of humour with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with me. May it haunt their houses pleasantly, and no one wish to lay it.” And so Charles Dickens modestly introduces us
A Christmas Carol – a ghost story of Christmas Read More »
British Stuff EventsThe first sight of Gawthorpe Hall may strike a chord with fans of Downton Abbey, the period soap-opera that followed the fortunes of the Crawley family and those that served them. I’m sure those of the true Fellowes’ faith will correct me, but doesn’t this Lancashire house look a little like Highclere Castle, the real
What does Gawthorpe Hall remind you of? Read More »
North West England
The great tempest broke rapidly and without warning in the darkness. The sea around Whitby convulsed, waves rising in growing fury, over-topping one another, beating white-topped on the sands, rushing up the cliffs and breaking with great spumes over the piers of the harbour. Adding to the difficulties and dangers of the night, a huge
Dracula and Whitby Read More »
Yorkshire and the Humber
There are several reasons to go to the little Northumbrian coastal village of Craster. It is famous for its kippers, offers several pleasant eating options, an art gallery and is a popular base for bird watchers, fishers and walkers alike. Our excuse was to revisit Dunstanburgh Castle, surely one of the most dramatic set of
Craster to Dunstanburgh Read More »
North East England