Strange noises, otherworldly creak of floors, suspicious shadows … To the question "Who is there?" - silence. There are locks, staying in which gives goosebumps. These are castles with ghosts! There are many of them both all over the world and in our Latvia.
Warwick Castle in Great Britain
Built in the eleventh century by William the Conqueror, this castle has seen more battles than any other in Europe - so much violence took place in its halls. The most mystical place is recognized as the "ghost tower", which became the home for the ghost of Sir Fulk Greville. He was killed by his own servant in 1628, and now appears every evening from his portrait hanging on the wall in the tower. The dungeon is another habitat for ghosts in the castle. Many complain of nausea and weakness when they touch rusty bars and torture devices.
* Entrance ticket: GBP 18.60 (EUR 24.74).
Predjama Castle in Slovenia
Built inside the cave, the Predjama Castle was a powerful fortress that withstood numerous brutal attacks and attacks. And yet in the XIV-XV centuries the castle was destroyed by a series of long sieges and earthquakes. In 1567, the castle was rebuilt, along with numerous secret tunnels and passages, which to this day are visited by the ghosts of many soldiers who died within the castle walls. Various noises and footsteps can be clearly heard from the dungeons and tunnels under the castle.
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* Entrance ticket: 11.90 euros.
Dragsholm Castle in Denmark
The most interesting history of the castle is connected with the chapel, where in 1532 a soldier killed his brother priest with a sword. And now the ghost of the priest lives in a room with the frightening name of the Bloody Chapel. Another terrible spirit is called a certain phenomenon that does not look like a person. He is described as a creature the size of a sheep, but with a human face and black sockets for eyes. Its appearance can also be judged by its characteristic rotten smell. The dungeon is also "overgrown" with many creepy stories. For example, according to one of them, in the dungeon there is a room with a special hatch through which prisoners were thrown directly onto the numerous metal spikes embedded in the floor.
* Entrance ticket: 15 euros.
Moosham Castle in Austria
Moosham Castle was built in the 12th century and is also known as the Castle of the Witches due to its sinister past. It is the site of the bloodiest witch trial in history. Between 1675 and 1687, thousands of women were called witches and sentenced to death by the Inquisition. They were tortured and deprived of their heads within the castle walls. Most of them continue to come to these halls, but in the form of ghosts.
* Entrance ticket: 11 euros.
Brissac castle in France
Brissac Castle is the tallest castle in France. Its seven floors are located in the heart of the picturesque Loire Valley and is the most visited haunted site in the world. In the 11th century, a certain Pierre de Brese was the owner of the estate. His wife Charlotte started an affair with a common man and used the chambers for pleasure with him, located literally across the wall from her husband's room. But Brese did not sleep and listened to their groans of passion night after night, until the two lovers mysteriously disappeared. Probably Pierre de Brese made an effort for this event. Whatever happened, Pierre did not manage to destroy the lovers. On dark nights, he continued to hear their groans until he began to go crazy and escaped from the castle. The sounds of their passion can be heard today.
* Entrance ticket: 10 euros.
Edinburgh Castle in Scotland
Built in the 12th century, Edinburgh Castle is one of those places where atheists become believers as soon as they step on its doorstep. Founded on the site of an extinct volcano, it is the symbol of Scotland. According to some reports, this place is a paranormal point where figures of ghosts regularly appear in front of visitors. So, Lady Glamis was often seen wandering the dark halls of the castle. She was accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake in 1537. Since 1650, the ghost of a beheaded drummer boy began to haunt the castle. There is also a piper, an old man in a leather apron, and even a ghost of a dog galloping near the cemetery.
* Entrance ticket: £ 16.50 (€ 21.95).
Chillingham Castle in Great Britain
Chillingham Castle served one single purpose - to kill. A certain John Sage worked here as a torturer for three years in a torture room. He is said to have tortured approximately fifty people a week. And today at night you can still hear John Sage dragging bodies around. Another famous ghost is the Blue Boy who haunts the pink room. Bright colors for a ghost story. The guests of the castle claimed that they heard a loud cry, after which they saw blue flashes of light above their bed. The ghost's pursuit ended after extensive reconstruction was carried out and the bodies of a man and a boy were found walled up in a 10-meter wall.
* Entrance ticket: £ 9.5 (€ 12.64).
And what do we have in Latvia?
* A ghost of a local drunkard has lived in the Dobele castle for almost two centuries, who hacked his wife at the castle walls, and then hanged himself on a nearby tree. After his death, his spirit was forever doomed to wander and frighten the townspeople at night.
* A Brown Lady lives in the Krustpils Castle. According to legend, once upon a time a young baron fell in love with a servant girl and decided to marry her. The family, of course, could not allow such a misalliance. Therefore, the poor girl was lured into a dungeon and walled up there. Since then, the ghost of a poor cook has been wandering around the castle. The people dubbed her the Lady in Brown - the girl wore clothes made of homespun cloth. At night he comes to the castle from the side of the park and rattles dishes in the kitchen.
* The ghost of Charlotte lives in Dikli castle in Valmiera region. Now the old estate of the von der Palen family has turned into a hotel. When, after the restoration of the complex, the very first wedding took place within its walls, one of the guests saw the silhouette of a woman. It is believed that it was Charlotte, the wife of one of the owners of the castle, who lived here 200 years ago. The ghost emits emerald light. Sometimes it appears and steals things that are then found elsewhere.
* The ghost of the baron's sister dwells in the castle in Dundaga. One night in the castle the local king of the dwarfs was celebrating a wedding, but the sister of the baron, who owned the "property" near the lake, was categorically against this holiday of evil spirits. As a result, the evil dwarf ordered her to be walled up in the wall. And until now, the ghost of a woman comes out of the wall at night, wanders around the castle, frightens everyone who is suddenly nearby.
* The ghost of the Jaunmoka castle in the Tukums region is a ghost named Julia. Surprisingly, this creature is meek and benevolent. And almost the only ghost that one of the tourists accidentally managed to photograph. The Jaunmoka ghost is believed to be the spirit of a girl who once served in the palace. She fell in love with a Polish officer, and then, becoming pregnant, took her own life, fearing disgrace. The ghost lives on the upper floors of the castle, but the hotel guests are not disturbed.
* In the Jelgava Palace in the autumn of 1997, in the central part of the building, workers dug up a perfectly preserved 16th century cellar. Inside this basement, mythical giant leviathans were hiding for four centuries - figures that look like huge fabulous fish. These "fish" are now displayed on the green lawn of the courtyard of the Jelgava Palace: if you believe the rumors, this is where a mysterious ghost comes at night - a little girl in white clothes who plays and sings near these very leviathans.
* The ghost of the Black Pig is found in the Ventspils Castle of the Livonian Order. It is believed that this ghost was awakened in the 1990s by archaeologists, who discovered the skeleton of this animal during excavations in one of the niches.
Olga Stopinskaya