ARGUMENT……………………………3 ENGLAND: The Tower of London..........4 Windsor Castle.....................6 Chillingham Castle………...7 SCOTLAND: Edinburgh Castle………….9 Finavon Castle……………10 Inverary Castle……………11 WALES: Caerphilly Castle………….12 Conwy Castle……………...13 Ruthin Castle………………14 BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………….15 2 Each time a person hears something about haunted places or ghosts, he becomes suddenly very interested. Most of us are quite suspicious and curious about everything that is unusual or strange, and we don’t believe it until we see with our own eyes. Of course there had to be someone to take advantage of this “weakness” we have, and that “someone” are the travel agencies. In attracting their tourists, travel agencies emphasize even more the stories that are heard about those places and they practically forget to mention the cultural and historical importance. Doors that crunch without being touched, footsteps heard at midnight, the smell of a lady’s perfume, although no one lives there, are only some examples of stories which have become famous along time, especially because of or for the tourists. If all these are true or they are just scams, we’ll probably never find out, also because of the advanced technology nowadays, which makes almost everything possible. Until the mystery is solved, we’ll enjoy the amazing stories of events that took place many years ago, but which seem to have consequences in the present. Set your mind free and discover the hidden part of the history from the amazing castles of Great Britain. Perhaps there is something in the nature of borderlands like England, Scotland, Wales, which makes them particularly prone to the supernatural. 3 Location: London, England With a long history of execution, murder and torture, is there any wonder the "Tower of London" ranks as one of the most haunted Castles in Britain? Its history begins in the reign of the Roman Emperor Claudius. He chose the site to build a fort on. Over 1000 years later, William the Conqueror chose the same site on which to build the Tower of London. It is the oldest fortress, palace and prison of its type anywhere in Europe, with a 400 years history of executions: these ranged from hanging, beheading, to being hung or drawn and quartered, it was the perfect recipe for a haunted history. To give you an idea of how many souls could be haunting the Tower of London here is a short list of just some of the people (also called enemies of the Crown) who were executed there: Dignitaries beheaded: Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard, Lady Jane Grey. Those who lost their lives in public execution included: 2 Archbishops, 6 Dukes, 10 Earls, 1 Marquis, 1 Viscount, 15 Barons, 33 Knights, 1 Bishop, 1 Prior and many others. The first documented sighting of a ghost at the tower was that of Thomas A. Becket. It was reported that during the construction of an inner curtain wall, he appeared and showed his anger at the construction by reducing the wall to a pile of rubble by striking it with his cross. Probably the most persistent ghost is that of Queen Anne Boleyn. On learning that the baby she was carrying was a boy, and heir to the Kings throne, she sadly went on to miscarry the child and was subsequently beheaded on the grounds of adultery and treason. Queen Anne is buried under the chapel's altar, and her body has been seen to walk the corridors of the Tower. She is only recognizable by the dress she wore at her execution. The Tower of London – winding stairs 4 One of the most gruesome haunting heard about is that of the Countess of Salisbury. At 70 she was given the death penalty on political grounds. As she strode up to the block to be beheaded, she refused to place her neck on the block as all others did and subsequently she fled the scene chased by the executioner. He apparently hacked at her body until she fell down dead...hacked to death. At the scene of this grisly murder it is said you can see the executioners axe doing its deadly deed. Although not an apparition, the haunting in the Salt Tower is for some, very real and very frightening. Said to be one of the most haunted areas in the tower's complex, dogs will not enter this area at all and Yeoman Warders will not enter after dark, after a Warder told how he was almost throttled by a strong but unseen force. In 1816, a guard saw what he described afterwards as "a shadowy bear walking up the stairs in the twilight". He lunged at it with his bayonet, which shattered against the wall. The ghostly presence walked on unaffected and the guard, having told his unlikely story to others, died of shock a few days later. More recently, in 1995, an American tourist was taking photographs of the Tower. She took a picture of Traitor's Gate. On having the film developed, you can clearly see what appears to be a hand wearing a 16th century Yeoman's uniform. The story that can explain the ghost from the photo is of the two young Princes who were murdered around 1483, after being declared illegitimate heirs to the throne. This was apparently a political move, and there were several suspects. It has never been conclusively proven that they were murdered, or who did it. The boys just mysteriously disappeared one night, never to be seen again. Years ago, workmen renovating the Tower discovered some bones that are speculated as belonging to the Princes, but this has not been conclusively proven. This photo would certainly seem to support that the young Princes did indeed perish within the confines of the Tower of London. Photograph taken in the Tower that reveals the ghost of one of the Princes. 5 Location: London, England Windsor Castle is without doubt one of the most spectacular castles in Britain, if not the world. The Castle has been a Royal residence since the reign of William I (1066-1087). Since that time the Castle has been embroiled in legends of suicide, witchcraft and demonic ghosts: particularly the demonic horned being said to bring death and disease to those who are unfortunate enough to see it. One of the most famous ghosts reported at the Castle is that of King Henry VIII. Guests at the Castle have reported hearing the late king’s footsteps along the long hallways of the Castle. Some have even claimed to hear his moans and groans! One of his wives, Anne Boleyn, has been seen standing at the window in the Dean’s Cloister, as well as Queen Elizabeth I. Queen Elizabeth I has also been seen in the Royal Library. She has been seen walking from one room to another. She is always dressed in a black gown with a black lace shawl draped over her shoulders. The list of ghosts reported at the Castle is endless: King Charles I has been seen in the Castles library and the canon's house, and although he was beheaded, he is seen as a whole person. King George III, who for many years suffered of a mental illness, is seen in the windows directly below the Royal library. This was the place where the King was kept for many years due to his illness, venturing out on rare occasions. The Duke of Buckingham, Sir George Villiers, is said to haunt one of the Castles bedrooms, and the Castles long walk is said to be haunted by numerous ghosts, including that of a soldier whom, while on guard duty, is said to have committed suicide after he saw statues in the Castle moving on their own. He shot himself! The royal library of Windsor Castle 6 Location: Northumberland, N.E. England Chillingham Castle is certainly worth a visit and why not, even a stay…if you dare. If there is any truth in such a contention, Chillingham should certainly afford shelter to many wraiths of its departed owners and former dwellers. The district is full of romance, and the Castle being so close to the Borderland was in old times the scene of many raids from its Scottish neighbours. Its dungeons were probably seldom without some unfortunate inmate immured therein. There can still be seen on the dungeon walls, ancient initials and lines scratched in by them to count the number of the weary days of their imprisonment. Perhaps the most famous apparition was known as the 'Blue Boy', or 'Radiant Boy', which used to be seen in what is now called the Pink Room (not open to the public). There, when from the Clock Tower the hour of midnight sounded, were heard the cries and moans of a child in pain and in an agony of fear. Anyone sleeping there saw, gently approaching them, the figure of a young boy dressed in blue, and surrounded by the light. Witnesses say his clothes were like those seen in paintings dating from the Restoration period of the 1660’s, when Charles II was on the throne. The explanation of an electrical fault can be counteracted by the fact that there are no electrics of any kind in the wall where the flashes were seen. During some refurbishing in later years, the bones of a young boy and fragments of a blue dress were discovered in the bedroom wall. The "blue boy" was given a proper burial, though no one ever knew whom he was. Another well known and authenticated ghost is that of Lady Mary Berkeley, wife of Ford, Lord Grey of Wark and Chillingham and Earl of Tankerville, still looking for her husband.