Lesser known facts about this inhumane punishment
Edinburgh's landmark 12th-century castle is one of Scotland's most popular tourist attractions. But some visitors have reported harassment by ghostly apparitions, restless spirits from the Napoleonic Wars. The most disturbing sightings are of an alleged headless drummer boy, who announces his presence by beating time to the sound of marching feet.
Built within a cave mouth in south-central Slovenia, Predjama Castle was the seat of a notorious knight called Erasmus of Lueg. No friend of the Hapsburgs, Lueg was killed after a long siege by soldiers loyal to the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick III. His tormented spirit is said to haunt the castle's interior.
Carini Castle near Palermo in Sicily is said to be haunted by Laura Lanza, the Baroness of Carini. In 1563, she was discovered in flagrante with her lover. Both were murdered at the hands of her father and brother. Legend says that on the anniversary of her killing, a bloody handprint appears on the wall near where the pair were slain.
Moosham Castle near Unternberg in the Lungau region of Salzburg was the site of the Zaubererjackl witch trials between 1675 and 1690. Hundreds were executed, including children. The victims' tortured souls are said to linger withing the castle's weathered walls.
Reputedly Ireland's most haunted castle, Leap Castle in Coolderry, County Offaly, dates back to 1250. It's the site of the grisly murder of a priest, who died when his sibling fatally stabbed him in front of the altar in what is today called the "Bloody Chapel."
Medieval Chillingham Castle sends shivers down the spines of many who visit this austere-looking stronghold, said to be the most haunted castle in Britain. The most famous phantom is the "blue boy," whose radiant aura haunts the castle's Pink Room.
The name is somewhat of a giveaway and indeed, Frankenstein Castle near Darmstadt may have been an inspiration for Mary Shelley as she was preparing the first draft of her 1818 Gothic novel 'Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus.' Furthermore, the castle was home to Johann Konrad Dippel, an alchemist who created all sorts of weird potions and elixirs.
The handsome Château de Brissac in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France has its own resident ghost, la Dame Verte or Green Lady, who is said to be the anguished spirit of an unfaithful wife murdered by her husband during the 15th century.
Commonly known outside Transylvania as Dracula's Castle, the medieval-era Bran Castle has only loose associations with the notorious individual known as Vlad the Impaler. And whether or not 'Dracula' author Bram Stoker ever visited the place is unclear. But the brutal reputation of Vlad III alone is enough to lend this castle a chilling veneer all of its own.
One of Ireland's most romantic hotels is said to be haunted by several ghosts, including that of a servant girl who was lynched in the 1780s after she fell in love with her patron's son and became pregnant. Guests have reported feeling a strange presence in the courtyard rooms and near the 'Hanging Tree' in the grounds.
Located near the village of Blatce, Houska Castle is traditionally known in folklore as covering one of the gateways to Hell to prevent demons escaping and tormenting humanity. Those who have breached the "devil's pit" are variously said to resemble a grotesque frog-like creature or a terrifying headless horse.
Dragsholm Castle in Zealand is one of the oldest secular buildings in Denmark, completed in 1215. In the 16th century, it became a prison. Witnesses describe seeing the ghosts of two women, a gray lady and a white lady, plus an apparition of the Earl of Bothwell who was married to Mary, Queen of Scots but later arrested and imprisoned at Dragsholm.
One of grandest and best-known castles in the world, Windsor has its fair share of phantoms. An apparition of Henry VIII dragging himself through the corridors, the result of an ulcerated leg, has been reported by some. And Queen Elizabeth I, the monarch's daughter, has been spotted wearing a black dress and shawl inside the library.
The historic Tower of London is home to at least 13 ghosts, among them Lady Jane Grey, the English queen with the shortest reign—a mere nine days. Visitors have also reported the sound of sandals slapping against the stone floors, apparently made from the steps of a ghostly monk.
Sources: (National Geographic) (Britannica)
See also: The most haunted objects in history
The ruins of Newcastle's medieval fortification lend the city its name. The foundations actually date back to the 12th century, built over a 7th-century cemetery. And according to local lore, it's the footsteps of these ancient corpses that can often be heard shuffling across the cold stone corridors.
Dalhousie Castle is a picturesque hotel located 12 km (8 mi) from Edinburgh. The castle's history stretches back 800 years ago and is supposedly haunted by a number of specters, most famously that of Lady Catherine, known as the "Grey Lady," often seen hovering around the turrets and in the dungeon of the castle.
Arguably the most sinister looking of Scotland's many castles, Hermitage is where Sir Alexander Ramsey was starved to death in 1342. His ghost and that of Mary, Queen of Scots are said to roam the dark interior. A more threatening apparition is that of Redcap Sly, a malevolent, murderous goblin found in Border folklore.
Nestling in the hills above the Moselle between Koblenz and Trier, Eltz Castle dates back to the 12th century and exudes an eerie atmosphere, especially in the dead of winter. In the 15th century, the beautiful daughter of an earl living in the castle was promised to a suiter she did not love. When she refused to marry him, the jilted husband-to-be attacked the castle. A stray arrow pierced the woman's heart and she tumbled off the battlements to her death. It is said that the ghost of the hapless woman often appears in the castle courtyard at midnight.
In the 16th century, Denmark's Voergaard Castle in Dronninglund on the North Jutland peninsula was owned by Ingeborg Steel, who had a reputation for greed and cruelty. Her ill temper followed her to the grave: her ghost is said to haunt the grounds, with visitors reporting moans and groans, the slamming of doors, and candles being blown out on their own.
The ghost of a princess murdered in her sleep while staying at Castle Fraser near Kemnay is said to trouble visitors to this largely 18th-century property. And the princess is not the only ghost of the castle. Roaming the hallways alongside her is the spirit of Lady Blanche Drummond, who died of consumption in 1874.
Overlooking Parma, Bardi Castle is haunted by the ghosts of two young lovers. She took her own life after believing her suitor had died in combat. He had in fact survived. Overcome with grief, he too ended his own life.
The resort city of Palma in Majorca has its own haunted castle in the form of Bellver. Built in the 14th century and unique in Spain for its circular design, the castle is known for its dungeon, the infamous olla, or pot, into which prisoners were thrown and left to swelter in the summer heat or freeze to death in winter. Their wretched cries are said by some to be carried on the wind that funnels through Bellver's narrow alleys and tunnels.
Craig Y Nos Castle enjoys a reputation as a favorite bed and breakfast accommodation option. It's also renowned for being the most haunted castle in Wales. Things really do go bump in the night here, apparently due to the clumsy ghosts of patients still trying to find their way through what was once a hospital for those stricken with tuberculosis.
The Carew family have owned this castle in Pembrokeshire for more than 500 years. Over the centuries, the property has been visited by a number of spooky apparitions, including the ghost of a fearsome barbary ape, a Celtic warrior, and the figure of a deathly white female, who usually makes her appearance during a full moon.
Caernarfon Castle in Gwynedd, which saw action during the English Civil War, has a number of resident ghosts, the most mysterious being that of a glowing form of a woman floating through the air. Apparently the castle's electrical equipment is often found tampered with following her appearance.
Château de Puymartin in the Dordogne is associated with the dark, 16th-century legend of the white lady. The castle's owner, Jean de Saint-Clar, found his wife, Thérèse, in the arms of a young nobleman. Enraged, he killed him before locking his wife in the tower where she languished for 15 years before dying. According to accounts, her ghost appears at midnight drifting through the premises in search of her murdered love.
Little remains of Werdenfels Castle in Bavaria. But its dreadful legacy lingers. In the late 16th century, the region was gripped by witch hunt fever. Suspected witches, many of them older men and women, were taken to the castle and imprisoned in appalling conditions. Tortured to death, their bodies were allegedly burned and buried near the castle walls. Local legend tells of tormented ghosts roaming the site in spiteful purgatory.
Belgium's spookiest stronghold is reputed to be the ruined La Roche-en-Ardenne Castle. Largely dating back to the 12th century, it's supposedly haunted by a countess, who made a pact with the devil to rid herself of her unfaithful husband and his lover, the price of which was eternal torment.
A Tudor mansion within the walls of an earlier castle, Berry Pomeroy in South Devon is the source of gruesome ghost stories and mysterious happenings. One tale recounts the day two brothers rode their horses to the top of the castle ramparts and threw themselves to their deaths to escape capture by a feuding gang. Their terrified screams and that of their mounts accompany ghostly apparitions that some visitors have reported in disbelief.
Europe is peppered with ancient castles, many of them wonderfully fairy-tale in appearance. Others, however, are possessed of a more mystical appeal, with some hiding dark secrets and a violent past. These are the spooky strongholds that will make you shiver, mysterious medieval seats of power where dastardly deeds took place in an atmosphere of fear and repression. Hundreds of years later, these creepy castles are scenes of ghostly goings-on where specters and phantoms tease and torment with malevolent glee. But where can you find the most frightening fortifications?
Click through if you dare and get ready to be haunted!
The most haunted castles in Europe
Spooky strongholds that will make you shiver!
TRAVEL Destinations
Europe is peppered with ancient castles, many of them wonderfully fairy-tale in appearance. Others, however, are possessed of a more mystical appeal, with some hiding dark secrets and a violent past. These are the spooky strongholds that will make you shiver, mysterious medieval seats of power where dastardly deeds took place in an atmosphere of fear and repression. Hundreds of years later, these creepy castles are scenes of ghostly goings-on where specters and phantoms tease and torment with malevolent glee. But where can you find the most frightening fortifications?
Click through if you dare and get ready to be haunted!