Inexplicable screams and flickering lights, ghosts and disembodied figures passing through the walls - all these things that make you shiver and that are full of horror films can be seen and heard in the ancient castles of Great Britain.
Legends include the face of a girl who drowned in the well of Carisbrook Castle, which regularly appears among visitors to the Isle of Wight, as well as a ghostly boy who was seen running towards a building that was once a hayloft at Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire.
In other castles, the frightening sounds of footsteps walking up the stairs are heard. Big trouble awaits any visitors trying to cross the path of the woman in the rocking chair blocking the entrance to Beeston Castle, or those trying to walk down the center of the stairwells at Whitby Abbey, the site that inspired Bram Stoker to write Dracula.
While many are familiar with these myths and legends, British Historic Site staff can recount many of the events they saw with their own eyes after the castles are closed for the night.
By analyzing reports from castle workers and frequent visitors to historic sites, English Heritage has compiled a list of the 10 worst places in the UK.
1. Bolsover Castle, Derbyshire
Built on an ancient burial site overlooking the city once called the "Satanic Capital of Britain", Bolsover Castle has won the title of the most feared castle in the country. Founded in the 11th century, it was abandoned from the 14th century until in 1612 Sir Charles Cavendish decided to build a "Little Castle" on this site, which has since stretched a reputation for the inexplicable.
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Castle staff have repeatedly reported mysterious steps and muffled voices, as well as loud slamming doors, cold sensations and even jolts. Two workers were shocked when they saw a woman disappeared into the wall. In addition, a small boy was seen holding the hands of visitors walking around the courtyard of the castle, while his companions were unaware of his existence.
One night, a late employee, when she was already leaving the castle, heard a scream that grew louder and louder. She rushed back, but found no one. Night guards while patrolling the building, which had been closed for two days, reported unexplained lights and moving figures through the empty halls.
2. Kenilworth Castle, Warwickshire
Kenilworth Castle, a medieval red brick fortress built in the 1120s, was rebuilt into a palace by Queen Elizabeth in 1563, who then presented it to her favorite Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.
Employees working at this 900-year-old castle have repeatedly reported several ghostly figures, including a boy running through the grounds of the former stables and hayloft, as well as a disappearing mysterious woman. There is often a smell of smoke near the castle fireplaces, and an antique crib in one of the bedrooms sways on its own. Workers say they heard footsteps walking up a wooden staircase that was empty.
One evening the night watchman saw a ghost walking right through his colleague, feeling cold when it happened. And after closing, something strange begins to happen in the castle - things change their places or disappear for a long time.
3. Castle Carisbrook, Isle of Wight
The Deep Well in Carisbrook is perhaps one of the most tragic places on the Isle of Wight and is considered the tomb of Elizabeth Ruffin, a young girl who tragically drowned in it many years ago. Employees say they saw the pale, disembodied face of a young girl in the well. There is also the Gray Lady in the castle, a ghost in a long cloak and accompanied by four dogs, and the ghost of Princess Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of King Charles I, who died while she and her brother Henry were transported to Carisbrook.
In the morning, the sounds of children's laughter are heard in the towers. Children, whose laughter sometimes sweeps through all the rooms of the castle, have never been seen, but the staff, leaving home in the evening, wish them good night.
At various times, the castle was a fortress to defend against invading Vikings, a prison and a royal summer residence.
4. Pendennis Castle, Cornwall
The castle, built by Henry VIII as a defensive fort against the invasions of France and Spain, was under siege in 1646 for six months. The king's supporters, who were forced to eat their horses and dogs in order to survive, eventually surrendered.
Visitors to the castle can now hear the shrill scream of the maid before her death when she slipped in the kitchen, as well as strange footsteps on the stairs, which no longer lead anywhere.
Pendennis Castle, built between 1539 and 1545, was rebuilt throughout its history, including in the 1700s and in 1902, when new barracks were built there.
5. Whitby Abbey, North Yorkshire
At first glance at the castle, built on a high rock, it is easy to understand why the remains served as inspiration for Bram Stoker's novel "Dracula". The abbey stands on the site of a much earlier monastery founded in 657 by the English princess Hilda.
The parish of St. Mary's Church, next to the abbey, has a large cemetery with some weathered tombstones hanging from the edge of a cliff.
Museum workers report icy drafts sweeping down the stairs, things falling from shelves and strange invisible touches.
6. Beeston Castle and Forest Park, Cheshire
The castle was built in the 1220s on a huge cliff that offers stunning views of the Cheshire Plain. There is a legend that says that the treasures of King Richard II are hidden in it, which for many centuries of searches have not been found.
Beaston Castle workers talk of a dark figure standing at the inner gate, flashing lights and banging on the walls. And visitors claim to have seen a woman on a rocking chair blocking the entrance to the castle, and a light in the depths of one of the caves.
7. Castle Dover, Kent
Over a long history, thousands of people were saved within the walls of Dover. The castle was built in 1066 under the leadership of William the Conqueror on the site of an ancient fortress, and then was reconstructed by Henry II in the 1180s. Located on the banks of the Pas-de-Calais, England and France, the castle has long been considered the "Key to England" because of its strategically important position.
In the great tower of Dover, where the king's chambers were located, the lower half of a man's body was seen by two employees. A worker working in the basement saw the figure of a gentleman, and from time to time the figure of a woman in a red dress flashes up the stairs and on the galleries of the castle.
8. Framlingham Castle, Suffolk
Employees at the former fortress of Mary Tudor report encounters with a ghostly man in a 17th century dress and a mysterious, dark, white-faced figure that wanders the castle. In addition, there is a cabinet in the castle, from which mysterious sounds, similar to a bell, are heard.
The castle was built in the 12th century and was under siege for two days in 1216. By the 14th century, the castle passed into the hands of the Earls and Dukes of Norfolk, who owned it for over 400 years.
9. Clifford Tower, North Yorkshire
Clifford Tower is almost all that remains of York Castle, built by William the Conqueror, presumably in a Roman cemetery. At one time, the castle served as a prison and a royal mint. It is where the Jewish community of York committed mass suicide in 1190 during the uprising.
Castle staff report strange calls, mysterious footsteps, and the screams of children running around in the courtyard as the castle closes to visitors. The doors in the halls swing open by themselves, and once the guard's dog barked so violently into an empty corner of the chapel that it took several people to bring the animal outside.
10. House of Charles Darwin, Kent
The former home of the famous scientist Charles Darwin is also not immune from strange events. A museum clerk said that while cleaning the office, when she reached across the table to close the shutters, the feather that was on the table suddenly turned and continued to roll over until she left the room.
English Heritage asked 1,800 of its employees to identify the creepiest place, and they chose Bolsover Castle.
“Our castles and palaces, especially on the night before Halloween, can be very scary places, and some of our team members have seen and heard things that cannot be explained,” said Lucy Hutchings, Regional Director for English Heritage. - Bolsover Castle, the former home of William Cavendish, definitely has a dark history. Over the years, staff have reported unexplained phenomena, moving objects and glowing balls, and some have seen William himself wandering through lonely corridors. It is not surprising that his castle was recognized as the most terrible."