The United Kingdom has everything you could possibly want in a haunted nation: ancient castles, abbeys in ruins, old pubs, and a long, sometimes brutal, history. Many of its buildings have been standing way longer than America has existed as a country. With all these factors, it’s not surprising that tons of places seem to come with at least one resident ghost. Some stories involve historical figures, while most revolve around ordinary people. Some are quite strange. These are eight of the most famously haunted places in the UK.
Ancient Ram Inn — Wotton-under-Edge, England
This notorious inn is said to date all the way back to 1145 and has managed to stand the test of time. The ancient inn has a reputation as one of England’s creepiest spots. Reports here run the gamut from shadow figures to strange noises and the feeling of being touched by a disembodied hand. The Bishop’s Room comes with its own particularly eerie stories, and visitors have been known to leave in the middle of the night. Because it’s so old, the legends attached to it are impossible to verify. But there are tales of a witch, a murdered lady, and even a succubus! With or without the stories, the crooked floors and exposed beams really make for a haunting atmosphere.
Edinburgh Castle — Edinburgh, Scotland
Centuries ago, Edinburgh Castle was constructed above the city on a volcanic rock. Its most well-known ghost is that of a piper who went missing while exploring tunnels underneath the castle. Visitors describe seeing a headless drummer, feeling sudden cold spots, and experiencing the creepy sensation that someone is watching them. The castle’s dungeons held prisoners of war in awful conditions, so it certainly has a dark history. Exploring this fortress after dark sounds like an excellent way to scare yourself.
Hampton Court Palace — East Molesey, England
Henry VIII’s Tudor palace has its fair share of ghost stories. The best known is Catherine Howard, Henry’s fifth wife, who was arrested at Hampton Court after being accused of adultery and treason. She was later executed at the Tower of London. According to accounts, her ghost runs screaming through the palace, supposedly trying to reach Henry to beg for mercy. Another of Henry’s wives, Jane Seymour, is also said to appear where she used to live, lit by candlelight. In 2003, security cameras captured a robed-looking image opening doors! Staff nicknamed the ghost “Skeletor.”
The Tower of London — London, England
If any single building in the UK is likely to be haunted, it’s the Tower of London. The building dates back almost 1,000 years. Through its long history, it has been a royal home, a prison, and even an execution site and place where prisoners were tortured. Its most well-known ghost is Anne Boleyn, whose beheading took place here in 1536. Some fairly fantastical reports state she wanders the chapel with her head in her hands. Both guards and visitors have described unexplained footsteps and shadowy figures. The oddest report is of a crushing sensation in certain rooms. Though the Tower really was used for torture, particularly in the 16th and 17th centuries, its reputation as a giant torture chamber is exaggerated. However, with a centuries-long history of imprisonment and death, the stories are well earned.
Chillingham Castle — Northumberland, England
Full of medieval rooms and dungeons, Chillingham Castle has everything you’d want in a haunted place. Its most talked about apparition is the “Blue Boy,” so named because the cries of a little boy come with flashes of blue light. The legend became even more disturbing with stories that human remains were found inside a wall during renovations. Visitors to the chapel have also described seeing a pale female figure. Making the entire building more unsettling are the torture instruments in the dungeon.
The Skirrid Mountain Inn — Abergavenny, Wales
The Skirrid Mountain Inn has a history stretching back centuries. It has a reputation as one of Wales’s most haunted pubs. According to locals, part of the building was once a courtroom where prisoners were sentenced to death, before being hanged inside the inn. Tourists say they feel something tighten around their necks near the hanging spot. However, historians dispute the details behind the execution stories. The inn’s low, almost claustrophobic, ceilings and ancient stone make this spot the pub version of a haunted house.
York Treasurer’s House — York, England
A very strange event supposedly happened directly under the Treasurer’s House in York. In 1953, a young apprentice heating engineer named Harry Martindale was working in the cellar when he suddenly heard a trumpet sound. At that moment, Roman soldiers came straight through the wall. He said about 20 soldiers passed through, and he could only see them from the knees up, as though they were walking on a path just under the cellar floor. Remarkably, archaeologists later realized that an old Roman road lies beneath the building. The thought of ghostly Roman soldiers marching straight through a building is super haunting.
Berry Pomeroy Castle — Devon, England
The stunning ruins of Berry Pomeroy Castle are popular with tourists, yet they have some unpleasant stories tied to them. Its most famous ghosts are two women, known as the White Lady and the Blue Lady. The White Lady is thought to be Margaret Pomeroy, who was said to be starved in the castle, but historians question the reliability of the story. The Blue Lady is more terrifying, with visitors reporting a sinister nature. She is said to intentionally lure people into dangerous parts of the castle. Crumbling stone hallways, the surrounding dense forest, and reported feelings of dread make Berry Pomeroy one spooky place!