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Examining folkloric, paranormal & cryptozoological locations in the UK and beyond

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Castle Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana

Angry Knight

Location: Blackness (Stirling) - Blackness Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s
Further Comments: This vexed spirit chased a female witness out of the castle during a sightseeing tour. Banging sounds have also been reported, with no source ever being found.

Janet Dalrymple

Location: Bladnoch (Dumfries and Galloway) - Baldoon Castle ruins
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 12 September (reoccurring)
Further Comments: On her wedding night, Janet went insane; she stabbed her husband several times and had to be dragged away by servants. Janet's husband survived, though she died shortly after - the date on which her shade returns to the scene of her outburst.

Lady Jean Sings

Location: Blairgowrie (Perth and Kinross) - Newton Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Lady Jean Drummond used witchcraft to seduce and marry the local laird, but those who taught her the magical arts came and abducted Jean on the wedding night. She now sings sad love songs from the tower and has been seen passing through the castle.


An old postcard of Blarney Castle in Ireland.

Man at the Window

Location: Blarney (County Cork) - Blarney Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 15 October 2010
Further Comments: Echo Ghosthunters reported seeing a man by a window in the castle, but later found out there was no stairs leading to that spot. EVP was also recorded in another location.

Victorian Lady

Location: Bodelwyddan (Clwyd) - Bodelwyddan Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Several dead people still appear to be trapped within this building, including a woman dressed in Victorian garb, a soldier (likely to be from the First World War, when the castle doubled as a recuperation hospital), and an unknown shadowy figure who lurks in the corridors.

Lady in Red

Location: Bodiam (Sussex) - Bodiam Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown, singing heard on Easter Sunday (reoccurring)
Further Comments: This spectre stands on the top of a tower, illuminated by bright moonlight, as if waiting for someone. A child haunts the bridge - the young boy disappears when he reaches the halfway point. More stories tell of phantom singing, music, and words spoken in an unknown tongue.


The ghostly hare of Bolingbroke.

Hare

Location: Bolingbroke (Lincolnshire) - Bolingbroke Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1660s onwards
Further Comments: The castle was haunted by a phantom hare. Locals believed the creature to be a ghostly witch once held prisoner in the castle. The entity was said to leap over people or run between their legs, and any dog sent after it would return crying out.


An old postcard of Derbyshire's Bolsover Castle.

Burning Baby

Location: Bolsover (Derbyshire) - Bolsover Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Wayne Anthony, in Haunted Derbyshire and the Peak District, writes that the ghostly woman seen in the kitchen area of the castle carefully places a small child into the fireplace before vanishing. Phantoms have also been reported in the chamber under the castle - a man wearing ruffs and a woman in a scarf have been spotted standing together just before vanishing.

Edgewell Oak

Location: Bonnyrigg (Lothian) - Dalhousie Castle
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Prior to a death in the castle
Further Comments: A fall of a branch from the Edgewell Oak was said to indicate a death in the castle.

Disguised Queen

Location: Borthwick (Lothian) - Borthwick Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Mary Queen of Scots left the castle in 1567 dressed as a boy to escape her enemies - her ghost here remains clothed in this way. Another phantom in the castle has been named as Ann Grant, a servant murdered after falling pregnant with the lord's child.

Wissie

Location: Boverton (South Glamorgan) - Boverton Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early Nineteenth century?
Further Comments: The ghostly lady in black who haunts the area was the wife of King John - he condemned her to exile here, though she apparently continued to love him dearly. Her tall, sobbing form was seen by a couple of workmen.

Romans hiding Treasure

Location: Bowes (Yorkshire) - Castle ruins
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Murdered by an angry mob, these Romans all died before any could reveal where they stashed their gold. While their ghosts are now said to show the location of the treasure, those who see them die before they can share the secret.

Presence

Location: Braco (Perth and Kinross) - Braco Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: One of many buildings in the UK that are said to be haunted, but no description of the entity exists. Dogs are said to become quite agitated on the staircase.

Newly Wed Bride

Location: Braemar (Aberdeenshire) - Braemar Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1980s
Further Comments: Convinced she had made a bad wife after waking up and finding her new husband gone, this girl leapt off the battlements to her death - unfortunately, her husband had only gone hunting without informing her. She now appears to others, not wanting them to make the same mistake.

Plague Victims

Location: Braemar (Aberdeenshire) - Kindrochit Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Eighteenth century
Further Comments: When the Black Death broke out within the castle, local villagers blocked the external doors so no one could escape and taint the nearby lands - all those who died inside sometimes return to relive their final days.

Demon Bird

Location: Bransil (Hereford & Worcester) - Bransil Castle
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A large black bird was once said to protect a pile of hidden gold within the castle grounds. The hoard could not be moved unless the bones of Lord Beauchamp, former owner of the gold, were in possession of the treasure hunter.

Coach and Six

Location: Brechin (Angus) - Kinnaird Castle and surrounding area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: James Carnegie, a former laird at the hall, was well versed in the black arts - this has resulted in his soul being doomed to travel in a black coach pulled by dark horses for the rest of eternity.

Post Girl

Location: Bridge of Avon (Moray) - Ballindalloch Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Seen outside the castle, this woman carries a letter addressed to her lover that will never be delivered. Inside, the building is haunted by two female ghosts (each in different locations) and a former male owner who walks towards his wine cellar.

Gold Guard

Location: Bridgend (Mid Glamorgan) - Ogmore Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Protecting hidden treasure, this shade once attacked a man who tried to take all the gold - he died soon after of a wasting disease. It is not known whether the spectral woman who has also been seen here is the same ghost, although most legends say she does guard the hoard, which in turn is said to be haunted by the wailing of its former owners. Another legend says that whoever falls asleep here may wake in the past or future.

Duke of Monmouth

Location: Bridgwater (Somerset) - Castle ruins
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early July (reoccurring)
Further Comments: The Duke of Monmouth is said to have stayed at the castle just prior to the battle of Sedgemoor, his phantom possibly remaining in regret of defeat.


An old postcard of the beach at Broadstairs in Kent.

White Nurse?

Location: Broadstairs (Kent) - Kingsgate Castle and beach below
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: December 2010 (nurse), October 2011 (nun)
Further Comments: A photograph taken by artist Malcolm Baker appears to show the upper body of a white figure moving through foliage just outside the castle. Baker believes the figure to be a nurse in 1950s uniform, carrying a tray in front of her. A few months later musician Dan Smith reported spotting a nun dressed in white on the beach just after dawn, the figure quickly vanishing.


Brownsea Castle, Brownsea Island.

Mary Bonham Christie

Location: Brownsea Island (Dorset) - Brownsea Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: May 2003
Further Comments: Brownsea Castle, Brownsea Island, Dorset. A photograph taken from a window in the castle in May 2003 revealed a strange face only seen after the development of the film - some have identified the figure as Mary Bonham Christie, the so-called 'Demon of Brownsea' who bought the island in the 1920s and forced two hundred residents to leave. Mary lived alone in the castle for 33 years, and when she reached 96 years of age, Mary's family moved her to a nursing home. Mary died within 24 hours after being rehomed.


Bungay castle, Suffolk.

Shuck

Location: Bungay (Suffolk) - Bungay castle
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Believed by some to be the headquarters of Old Shuck, the ruined castle is still avoided at night.


Bungay castle, Suffolk.

Hugh Bigod

Location: Bungay (Suffolk) - Bungay castle
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Humbled after taking part in a failed rebellion against the king, Bigod was forced to pay a great deal of gold to keep his castle. His shade has returned to show his resentment, sometimes taking the form of a black dog.

Sounds of Fighting

Location: Burgh Castle (Norfolk) - Roman castle
Type: Environmental Manifestation
Date / Time: 27 April (fighting) (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Once a year the sounds of clashing swords and Roman and Saxon screaming can be heard in this area. Another ghost reportedly observed here during dark nights is a figure that plummets from the ramparts.

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