Castles
Castle of Santa Severa
In this ancient castle of the 17th century, located not far from Rome, groans and sounds of furniture being moved can be heard in the dark corridors at night. According to local residents, strange visions can often be seen. More recently, archaeologists have found a burial ground with more than 400 graves in the courtyard of the castle next to the church. This necropolis, created in the period from 800 to 1200, may well refer to the historical fact of the murder of Saint Severa and her brothers, who in 298 refused to renounce the Christian faith. At the same time, in one of the sarcophagi, the researchers found a human skeleton in a tense kneeling position. Most likely, he was buried alive.
Poppy Castle
Fans of mystical adventures often mention a small town in the Italian province of Arezzo. This place seems to have frozen in the medieval era, retaining its gloomy appearance. The same coldness is felt in the local castle, erected in 1191, which was once owned by the Guid dynasty. For many decades, Poppy hosted ruthless and bloody knightly tournaments. And, as you can see, this tradition has survived to this day - at night on the slopes leading to the castle, you can see ghosts - duelists, who, as before, are eager to settle scores with each other. And the rattling of weapons and the blows of blades are heard quite clearly here.
Another of the ancient legends associated with the Poppy castle tells about a certain princess Matilda. Left a widow, this beautiful woman began to bring young lovers to her chambers. And in the morning, after the night's pleasures, she accompanied them … into the pit, the whole bottom of which was studded with sharp blades.
Matilda's bloody fun continued until the angry local residents immured the princess in one of the walls. The structure, which became the last shelter of a loving lady, has since been called the "Devil's Tower". And the bringing of the princess, periodically donning either black or white outfits, appears before young men in the hope of seducing them and, according to a cruel tradition, mercilessly ruining them.
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Montebello castle
Ghost hunters come to the resort of Rimini (Italy) to visit the Montebello castle and hear the story of little Gwendolina. Legend has it that in 1375 this castle belonged to the Malatesta family. The head of the family had a 7-year-old daughter. Her father often went on military campaigns, so the girl was forced to hide in the castle of Montebello, having attached a guard of two guards to her. There was another good reason to hide the girl in the castle. Gwendolina was a true albino with unnaturally white skin, hair and even eyes. Given that dark era, it is not surprising that parents were afraid that the girl would not be mistaken for a witch. To protect Gwendolina from the evil eye, the guards decided to dye her hair. But the dye had a strange effect: the hair turned from white to blue,after which the child began to be called Azzurina (little blue girl).
1375, June 21 - on the day of the summer solstice, Azzurina played in the castle walls under the watchful eye of the guards assigned to her. She rolled a small ball out of rags and ran with it through all the rooms and corridors of the castle until the toy fell to the lowest floor. Azzurina chased the ball down the long, narrow stairs. The guards did not bother, because they knew that the only way out of the basement was by this staircase, and the girl would return anyway. But everything did not happen like this - suddenly the steps on the stairs were replaced by a loud childish scream and Azzurina disappeared … forever.
From that time on, her cast began to live its life in Montebello's rooms, sometimes crying, then screaming from unknown pain or fear. In addition, strange noises are often heard from the dungeon - thunder and the sound of a shower (the girl disappeared on a rainy day). 1990 - the phenomenon was officially registered with the help of special equipment. Control checks after 5 and 10 years confirmed the presence of a paranormal phenomenon.
Rozmberk castle
The Rožmberk Castle in Bohemia, built in the 13th century by the knights of the five-petal rose Rožmberk, stands on the high bank of the Vltava. 1429 - the then owner of the castle, Ulrich Rosenberg, had a daughter, she was named Perchta. When the girl was 20 years old, her father, against her will, married her to the nobleman Jan Lichtenstein. Ulrich counted on Jan's political connections, and the groom, in turn, on the Rozhmberk state.
The hopes of both did not come true. In addition, the husband did not like the unfortunate Perkhta, he treated her badly. Moreover, his mother and sisters also liked to make fun of the girl. 1476 Jan Lichtenstein dies. On his deathbed, the tormentor asked for forgiveness from Perkhta, but she refused him. In response, the dying man exclaimed: "So damn you!"
Three years later, Perkhta also died, but her soul remained on the earth - probably, the word of curse gained the power. Now she lives in the Rosenberg ancestral castle, appearing to visitors in a white dress. Therefore, she was called the White Lady. She does no harm to anyone, and is considered a good ghost. According to the legends, the White Lady sometimes appears in a black dress or black gloves - this means that someone will die soon. Once she appeared in red robes, and after a while there was a strong fire in the castle.
Slovakia also has its own White Lady. Its prototype is Countess Julia Korponay. This woman was the wife of Captain Korponay, with him she lived in the Slovak city of Levoča. During the anti-Hapsburg liberation movement, the Countess fell in love with the leader of the enemy troops and for his sake opened a secret city entrance to the imperial troops. Soon, Julia was exposed and executed for treason. Since that time, the ghost of the unfortunate countess often appears in the town hall: a sad beauty wanders along the walls, trying to open the secret doors with a key.
Legends about the White Lady are very popular in Slovakia. According to them, it appears in Levoča, it is also possible to see it in the most beautiful old castle in Slovakia - Bojnice, founded in the 12th century on the site of an ancient volcano. It was originally built of wood, later it was rebuilt into a stone Gothic one. By the 16th century, the castle was renovated in the Renaissance style. The last transformations took place with the Bojnice Castle already at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Fontainebleau Castle
There are also many ghosts in French ancient castles. The most densely populated by otherworldly entities is considered the residence of the kings of France, Fontainebleau, whose building was erected in the 16th century under Francis I. The castle of Fontainebleau became the first residence of kings in Europe, devoid of any defensive functions. Here, as always, France acted as a trendsetter.
The walls of Fontainebleau witnessed how the fate of Europe was being decided, peace agreements were signed here and important decisions were made. Napoleon Bonaparte also lived here, and here he abdicated the throne. However, not only living people lived in the beautiful palace. In any era, there have been witnesses to countless spirits and ghosts wandering through the intricate labyrinths of the castle. For kings, guests from the other world more than once gave advice and predicted significant life events.
Bradsher Manor
British paranormal researcher Jimmy Stefferson is convinced that the reason for the appearance of ghosts is that ancient castles literally "keep a lot of skeletons in their cabinets." The specialist cites the story of the ghost of a crying little boy who wandered around the old English estate of Old Elms for a century and a half. The owners of the estate, the Bradshers, knew the family legend about how one of their ancestors, without suspecting it, married his illegitimate sister. As a result of this marriage, a boy was born to the newlyweds. When the husband accidentally found out that their child was the fruit of an incestuous relationship, he killed his son and walled him up in the wall. Soon the man committed suicide, and after a while his wife could not stand it and died of grief.
On the night of February 5-6, 1903, the last of the Bradsher heiresses saw in her bedroom the ghost of a boy who was sitting on her bed with a toy in his hands, crying and calling his mother. The frightened woman immediately called the servants, who dismantled the wall and found a child's skeleton under a layer of masonry, clutching a tin doll in his hand. After the funeral of the remains of the unfortunate child, his ghost finally stopped bothering the inhabitants of the estate.
Glamis Castle
In every second castle in Scotland, according to the assurances of the inhabitants of this country, ghosts live. But in particular one of the most beautiful is famous for them - the medieval Glamis Castle. Its history dates back to the 11th century, and it gained fame since the Scottish kings began to hunt in these places. The modern look of the castle building with battlements and a gloomy silhouette was formed only by the 17th century.
1034 - here the first tragedy occurred - King of Scotland Malcolm II was brutally murdered in Glamis. On the day of the murder, the king's blood soaked into the wooden floor of the then Glamis hunting lodge. Since that time, Malcolm's ghost has appeared frequently in the same place. In the so-called room of Malcolm, a blood stain has survived to this day, and the ghost still occasionally visits it.
XV century - the mystical story of Glamis was continued. Earl Glamis was an avid card player. One Saturday evening, he was so carried away by the game that he could not stop until midnight. One of the servants reminded the count that it was already Sunday, and that it was not proper for a Christian to gamble on that day. To which he replied: "I am ready to play until the Last Judgment, even if the devil himself decides to join us!" A moment later, there was a thunderbolt, Satan appeared and joined the game with a good bet. By the end of the night, of course, it turned out that the owner of the castle had lost his soul to him and was now doomed to entertain Satan with gambling until the Last Judgment.
The Earl still plays cards with the devil in the "nonexistent" room of the Glamis castle. Outside, it is clearly visible through the window, but there is no door to it. They say that when the servants once caught this ghostly game, they walled up the entrance to this cursed room. If you approach this wall on the night of Saturday to Sunday, you can hear the distinct voices of gamblers.
In addition to the enchanted earl and the murdered king, it is possible to meet here the Countess Glamis, burned at the stake on charges of witchcraft - Janet Douglas, who is now called the Gray Lady, as well as the ghosts of a woman without a tongue, a boy-servant and even a vampire girl who died from the cold!
Crenshaw House
In the famous film "The Canterville Ghost", modern Americans are absolutely not afraid of ghosts: firstly, they do not believe in them, and secondly, they believe that healthy pragmatism is stronger than any mysticism. And yet the Americans themselves are sure that they, like the British, have enough ghosts. Only they do not appear in ancient castles overgrown with moss, but in houses and villas, mainly of the 18th – 19th centuries. An example of such a creepy house is the Crenshaw House, or the Villa of the Old Slaves, located in Illinois. It was built in 1838 for the state's only slave owner and slave trader, John Crenshaw. There were rumors in the area about the unprecedented brutality of Crenshaw, who kept the slaves in the attic in unbearable conditions.
In addition to the official use of slaves to work in the salt fields, which the Illinois constitution allowed, Crenshaw was engaged in theft of entire families of blacks from northern states, where slavery was already prohibited, transporting the unfortunate to the south, where slave labor was still used. In the attic of John's house there was a kind of prison for the kidnapped - black slaves were kept on chains in incredibly narrow cells.
But in 1851, the first eyewitnesses of strange sounds came from the attic of Crenshaw's villa: the clatter of chains, screams and groans. Since that time, the house has been firmly entrenched with an ill-fame associated primarily with the terrible fate of the slaves tortured in the attic. 1864 - Crenshaw sold the villa, and 7 years later died of an unknown illness.
In the 20th century, the haunted villa belonged to the Sisk family. 1920 Hickman Whittington wrote an article for the local newspaper about the paranormal at Crenshaw House, and then decided to spend the night in the mysterious attic of the villa. Alas, he did not live until morning. In subsequent years, many curious tourists came to see the old villa in order to personally get acquainted with its "inhabitants". According to eyewitness accounts, none of the brave souls could spend even a few hours in the former prison - all as one ran out of there with shrill screams. 1961 - The owner of the house forbids people from appearing at the Crenshaw House at night. Since 2003, the mansion has been owned by the Illinois state and is closed to the public.
Stanley Hotel
Another mystical place in America is located in Estes Park, Colorado. This is the Stanley Inn, well known from Stephen King's The Shining. It was here that the famous writer came up with the plot for the future novel, and here the shooting of the mini-series of the same name took place. The fact is that the hotel is actually inhabited by the ghosts of the first owner and his wife. The hotel staff constantly hears strange sounds from vacant rooms, and the piano in the lobby sometimes starts playing by itself. Also in the inn, you can often see the ghosts of the children of Lord Dunraven, the former owner of the land on which the building now stands.
However, unlike their book copies, ghosts do no harm to anyone. It remains a mystery why they chose this place, since no documented murders took place here.
Mikhailovsky castle
There are ghosts in Russian castles, in particular in St. Petersburg. Once the Mikhailovsky Castle was built on the site of the wooden Summer Palace of Elizabeth Petrovna by order of the most mysterious Russian Emperor Paul I. Back in 1784, the Grand Duke decided to build a castle for himself. He came up with this idea after traveling around Europe, and he made the first sketches of the building's layout himself. The design work took almost 12 years.
1796, November - Paul ascends to the throne. In the very first month of the reign of the new emperor, a decree was issued on the construction of his old and carefully planned dream - the Mikhailovsky Castle. Paul I decided to move his residence to the new palace, fearing palace coups: “For a permanent sovereign residence to build with haste a new impregnable palace-castle. It should stand in the place of the dilapidated Summer House."
1801, February 1 - Paul I with his family and retinue solemnly moved to his new residence. 40 days later, on the night of March 11-12, 1801, the emperor was killed in the Mikhailovsky Castle, in his own bedroom, 47 years after he was born in the same place, only in a different palace …
After the terrible event, the court and the imperial family returned to the Winter Palace, and a bad glory was fixed for the Mikhailovsky Castle. They said that shortly before his death, the holy fool Xenia of Petersburg warned that the sovereign was allowed to live for as many years as the inscription above the castle gates consists of. This inscription read: "The shrine of the Lord befits to your house in the length of days." The inscription contains exactly 47 letters, the same as the age of the unfortunate emperor.
Many argued that the spirit of Paul I did not want to leave his castle and remains there to this day. The ghost was seen by soldiers transporting military property, new residents of the palace, and ordinary passers-by often noticed a transparent figure standing in the windows of the gloomy castle.
The cottage, located in the county of Berkshire, in the village of Bray, has gained ominous fame. 1972 - bought by the widow Penelope Gallencote. At first, the house "behaved" rather friendly. Mrs. Gallencote's friends stayed there one weekend. In the morning they said that they could not sleep in their rooms because of some otherworldly, unnatural cold. And after a while Mrs. Gallencote learned that the house had once been used for filming a cheap haunted thriller. In the next two years, the widow's life turned into a nightmare, because tragedies followed one after another. First, the dead body of a neighbor was found in the garden, which had lain there for about a week. Then son Charles drowned in his home bath. Less than a month later, his younger brother Richard drowned, falling into the river. Next week to the spot where Richard slippednailed the man's body. A year later, on September 30, 1973, at the same place one of Mrs. Gallencote's guests fell into the river and drowned. The woman turned to the local priest, the Reverend Sebastian James, curator of the Church of St. Michael in Breya, for help. The reverend suggested that black magic was practiced in this house. The police were also unable to understand the misfortunes. One of the top officials admitted that even the policemen felt the presence of something eerie and frighteningly incomprehensible in this mansion. The police were also unable to understand the misfortunes. One of the top officials admitted that even the policemen felt the presence of something eerie and frighteningly incomprehensible in this mansion. The police were also unable to understand the misfortunes. One of the top officials admitted that even the policemen felt the presence of something eerie and frighteningly incomprehensible in this mansion.
Kelvedon Hall
This 16th century British mansion is located 30 miles northeast of London, in Essex. The house acquired gloomy fame in 1934, when it was hastily converted into a monastery school. In the first year, there were many unexplained incidents and sudden fires. And in the summer semester, death also visited the mansion.
The first to die was one of the students in the school, after falling on the playground and suddenly fell ill with tetanus. In the same week, another student died of a cerebral hemorrhage. In September, Sister Premawesi drowned in the mansion pond. Two weeks later, the next victim was a boy who fell ill with pneumonia. The nuns who taught at the school prayed for deliverance from troubles, but in vain.
At the end of October, Mrs. Margaret Gallivan's guest fell out of a third-floor window and crashed to death. An investigation was carried out, but no witnesses were found. The nuns - the sisters of the monastery of St. Michael - did not doubt that evil forces were to blame for everything. A few days later, after the death of Mrs. Gallivan, the Mother Superior closed the school and took the nuns out of the cursed house. There were rumors that the blue women mentioned ghosts who, apparently, tried to take revenge on people for something …
1937 Kelvedon Hall is sold to the Channon family. Soon the owner, Sir Henry, asked the bishop of Brentwood to consecrate the newly acquired dwelling. Whether it helped or not, Sir Henry, a member of one of the wealthiest dynasties in England, lived in the house until old age.
Door to a parallel world
Another ancient castle, located near the Scottish town of Comcriff, has a notorious reputation. Contemporary owner Robert McDogley acquired this unfit for habitation for a pittance, out of pure curiosity and a love of exoticism. In the cellars, he found old books on alchemy, black magic, witchcraft and summoning spirits. Carried away, Sir Robert sat in the dungeon for a long time, leafing through dusty tomes, while …
“Once I stayed longer than usual,” he said. “Dusk fell, and I noticed a strange blue glow emanating from the large central hall. I approached the arched entrance, and a bright bluish-gray sheaf of light hit me in the face, emanating from a three-meter portrait, the colors of which seemed so worn out during the day that it seemed impossible to make out at least something. But that time I saw a full-length man, dressed in a suit made up of clothing details from different eras of the 15th – 20th centuries. When I came closer to see everything better, the portrait fell off the wall and fell right on me ….
Sir Robert's life was saved by good fitness. Having recovered from the shock and fractures, the hapless lover of the exotic fenced off the castle and the territory in front of it with barbed wire. But rumors of what happened, overgrown with colorful details, spread beyond the district with amazing speed. Curious tourists began to flock to the castle.
Everything was going well until the time when two elderly ladies climbed into the niche that opened behind the portrait, and immediately … disappeared into thin air! The missing ladies were searched for by the police, firefighters and the military, who checked all the premises in the castle with special radars, but nothing was found. Psychics claim that the castle opened a door "sealed" over the centuries to the other world, where the tourists probably moved.