Ah, October- the month (or season) for ghosts, spirits, and other sorts of “in-between” beings. I will be quite honest and say I am a giant wimp, and not a fan of scary things. However, I know that many people love the spooky season and everything that comes with it. Given that most of my research is centred in royal history, I’ve come across more than my fair share of haunted palaces and castles. So in honour of Halloween and all things supernatural, I am sharing a list of 7 haunted palaces you can visit!
Chillingham Castle- Chillingham, England
Chillingham Castle has been given the (un)lucky designation of “Most Haunted Castle in Britain”. Located in Chillingham in Northumberland, it dates back to the twelfth century. The castle has several resident ghosts, with the most notable being the Radiant Boy/Blue Boy. He would appear at midnight in the Pink Room; first one would hear a child crying and then see a radiant blue light. Some witnesses reported seeing a boy dress in blue clothing from the seventeenth century.
However, the Blue Boy has not been seen since the 1920s. Workmen discovered a partial child’s skeleton from a wall, and there was blue fabric with the bones. The remaining bones were given a burial and the apparition has not been seen since.
You can find more information on visiting Chillingham Castle here: https://chillingham-castle.com/your-visit/.
Kronborg Castle- Helsingør, Denmark
You might already be familiar with Kronberg Castle, as it serves as the setting for Hamlet. Although the Renaissance Palace that Shakespeare took his inspiration from does not exist anymore apart from a chapel, the rebuilt seventeenth-century castle has a fair number of spirits lurking.
This might be a good castle to visit if you would like to possibly encounter a ghost but not get murdered. Visitors to the castle have reported the feelings of being watched, hearing footsteps in the dead of night, and doors opening and closing on their own. And be ready to potentially fight a fire, because these ghosts have been known to light a candle or two!
You can find more information on visiting Kronberg Castle (and the Shakespeare-themed festival in August) here: https://kongeligeslotte.dk/en/palaces-and-gardens/kronborg-castle/visit-kronborg-castle.html.
Himeji Castle- Himeji, Japan
This Japanese fortress was originally built in the fourteenth century, and features a defensive maze through the surrounding woods. (I will say it now: screw moats, defensive mazes are where it is at…) Despite the town being bombed during the Second World War, the castle escaped unscathed.
There is one ghost that is very well-known at Himeji Castle- Okiku. Okiku was a servant working in one of the castle’s many dungeons who drew the attention of her master. He fell in love with her and asked that she become his mistress, but she declined. One of her duties was to watch over a set of golden plates, and when one of the plates went missing, her master took the opportunity to attempt to blackmail her into becoming his mistress by saying if she did not acquiesce, he would blame her for the missing plate. Okiku took no chances and decided to dive into a well and choose death rather than life with him. Very soon after, her ghost would appear to count the plates. In a small victory (because she was dead…), her master was thrown out of the castle.
You can find more information about visiting Himeji Castle here: https://www.city.himeji.lg.jp/castle/index.html.
Edinburgh Castle- Edinburgh, Scotland
Edinburgh Castle is certainly an impressive sight, and should absolutely be on your must-see list when you visit the city. In addition to housing the Scottish Crown Jewels and being the place where Mary, Queen of Scots gave birth, it is also rather haunted…
There are a number of ghosts at Edinburgh Castle, which is unsurprising given that it dates back to the eleventh century.
Several centuries ago, a maze of tunnels was discovered beneath the castle. They sent a piper into the tunnels to play while walking so that they could hear him and determine how big of an area was covered. However, after a few hours, he stopped playing. Many attempts were made to find him (or his body) but he was never located. And now you can occasionally hear piping coming from beneath the castle.
In the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth-centuries, the ghost of drummer would be seen walking around the grounds. Shortly after the ghost’s appearance, something bad would happen. Interestingly, the drummer’s last appearance was in 1650, and he appeared without a head- King Charles I, a Stuart King, was beheaded in 1649.
And if you would like some military-themed apparitions, people have been spotting a ghostly group of Napoleonic-era soldiers walking the grounds into the twenty-first century.
You can find more information about visiting Edinburgh Castle here: https://www.edinburghcastle.scot/.
Château de Puymartin- Marquay, France
This thirteenth-century French chateau (with a nineteenth-century facade) has one very dramatic ghost, la Dame Blanche (aka the White Lady). Thérèse de Saint-Clar was the lady of the castle, and took a lover while her husband was away at war in the sixteeenth century. He returned from war to find the trysting pair, and immediately killed the lover and imprisoned his wife.
Thérèse was kept in the north tower, and had scant contact with the outside world. Her husband had the door blocked up, and only a small trapdoor allowed food and necessities to be brought to her. She died after fifteen years of imprisonment in the tower, and her body was reportedly left in the tower to rot. La Dame Blanche now roams the castle and grounds at night.
You can find more information about visiting Château de Puymartin here: https://www.chateau-puymartin.com/.
Gyeonghuigung Palace- Seoul, Republic of Korea
This Korean palace dates back to the seventeenth century and is one of the “Five Grand Palaces” in Seoul. It is the smallest of the five palaces, and is said to be the most haunted. (It is known as “The Forgotten Palace”, which is not a great omen.)
To start with, there is a haunted Japanese road that leads to the palace. The palace houses Seoam, a cursed rock that is said to radiate the spirits of past kings (who may or may not be known for their less-than-virtuous lives). Several fires broke out at the palace over the centuries with many lives lost, and much of it was demolished under Japanese occupation. Still, the palace and grounds are said to be haunted by several different ghosts.
The Seoul Museum of History and an annex of the Seoul Museum of Art are now housed at the palace.
You can find more information on visiting Gyeonghuigung Palace here: https://english.visitseoul.net/attractions/Gyeonghuigung_/1168. (I could not find an official site for this palace.)
Tower of London- London, England
What would this list be without the Tower? William the Conqueror started building the Tower, and several later generations added to it. At various points in time, it has served as a fortress, a palace, a mint, an armory, a zoo, and a prison. And as it served as a prison, you can bet there are many ghosts to be found.
The Tower is a hotspot for royal ghosts. Queen Anne Boleyn, Queen Jane Grey, King Henry VI, and the Princes in the Tower are all said to be wandering the Tower in the afterlife. Given that they faced brutal deaths at the Tower, it makes sense that they would remain. Luckily they have the ghost a Norwegian polar bear from the zoo to keep them company!
You can find more information on visiting the Tower of London here: https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/.
Looking for Royal Ghosts?
If you prefer your ghosts to be of the royal variety, you can find the top 10 royal ghost stories here: https://anhistorianabouttown.com/the-top-10-royal-ghost-stories/!
Have you seen any of these haunted palaces you can visit?
Cheers,
The Historian
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