October 2008 (weekend before Halloween!)
Location: Chillingham Castle, Northumberland
For Derek’s 30th birthday, I wanted to organise something special and exciting – something that he would remember forever. So, after much thought and consideration, I finally found the perfect solution - a two night stay at Chillingham Castle. After all, what better way to celebrate a significant occasion, than a couple of nights of thrills, chills and scares?
Chillingham Castle is situated in the Northumberland countryside, dating back to the 12th century, and some say that it is one of the most haunted castles in Britain. With bags of history, it promised to be bursting at the seams with ghosts and spooky goings-on. I could hardly contain my own excitement, yet somehow managed to keep it a secret from Derek for weeks on end.
Finally the day of the trip arrived and, upon approaching the castle from the driveway, I told Derek the extent of his birthday surprise. We were both buzzing with excitement and, wasting no time at all, we embarked upon a tour of the castle’s dark and gloomy innards…
And where better to start, than the torture chamber. According to popular belief, the infamous John Sage had been the castle’s executioner during the 1200s. He is said to have tortured and killed at least 200 captured Scots, on average, each month. The vast scale of death and suffering linked with the castle is really quite horrific, to say the least. With this in mind, I found the torture chamber to be particularly menacing and creepy. Grotesque torture devices and contraptions are strewn about in the dimly lit space, giving a brief glimpse of how it must have been in bygone days. From the iron maiden to the enormous human boiling pot, you can’t help but glance around at all the apparatus set out, and ponder which you would choose for your own demise, if you had to. None of it seems any less agonising than the next one. Each piece is masterfully designed, surely by the most sadistic of minds. Even the floor is on a gradient – for easy drainage of blood!
Other rooms of interest include the dungeon – not for the claustrophobic amongst us. This miniscule room still bears prison cell markings on the wall from previous captives, who had most likely been counting down their final days.
The Great Hall, with its ornamental elephant head, draped in flamboyant armour, hanging above the enormous fireplace and the grand dining table that spans the length of the room. The Edward 1st Room, where its namesake briefly resided on his way to the battle of Falkirk , just before he historically captured William Wallace. The State rooms, with all their impressive ornamentations and museum style charm. The Chapel, which is small and eerie, and said to be haunted by the ghost of a young girl. Then last but not least the teashop in The Minstrel’s Hall – a nice hot cuppa and a slice of cake go down really well in the colder months, as the castle can get pretty chilly.
The castle boasts an Italian garden to the rear, in addition to plenty of other surrounding grounds to explore. A short walk will find you at a peaceful lake - though story has it, this was the dumping ground for the bodies of numerous tortured Scots, so even a stroll down by the water’s side is enough to give you the jitters.
There are a number of self-catering apartments within the castle, yet unbeknown to me at the time of booking, I’d booked the scariest of them all - the Grey Apartment. This particular dwelling has accumulated more reports of ghostly activity than any of the other apartments.
The Grey Apartment is reached via a narrow, stone spiral staircase, which adds to the overall haunted castle effect – if you are being chased by a ghostly apparition, there’s no way you could run down them in a great hurry (not without breaking your neck anyhow).
The apartment comprises a massive living/dining area which adjoins the kitchen, an adequately sized bathroom, and two bedrooms. Both bedrooms are very unsettling, but one more so than the other – in particular, I imagined its foreboding black fireplace might suck me into some great dark abyss if I stood too close.
Old furniture, creaky hinges, secret drawers, devilish-looking mounted cattle horns, portraits that follow you with watchful eyes and a cold chill, to tease your already growing goose-bumps, were all factors that made The Grey Apartment everything you’d expect from a horror movie.
The dining room offers prime views to the front of the castle, and also down into the courtyard, which is at the heart of the castle. Ghostly mannequins stare at you from the State rooms across the way, and the torture chamber entrance is directly opposite. Even when the apartment lights are switched on, it always remains dingy. Shadows and dark crevices lurk everywhere; constantly tricking your mind and making you jump. I thanked my lucky stars that I’d gone well equipped with a torch and plenty of glow sticks.
A journal is kept in the apartment for recording personal accounts and experiences. And this offers great insight into what other guests had experienced during their stay – we found it excellent reading, and it had my nerves on edge.
Once we were unpacked, we settled in for our first night – which comprised of board games, vodka shots (for Dutch courage), and a sleepless night in the least scary of the two bedrooms. I insisted that we push the two twin beds together, because there was no way I was sleeping alone – and I still ended up stuck to Derek’s back like a limpet in his single bed.
During our second day, we walked around the castle grounds and surrounding areas – enjoying the fresh air and psyching ourselves up for the ghost tour we had planned for later that evening. Ghost tours are carried out most evenings, and these are a must! They begin at around 9pm and last for approximately 2 hours. The tour begins outside, where the guide takes everyone along the Monk’s Trail. Here you get to see the old yew trees that were used for hanging people, and the guide also encourages group members to use dowsing rods, in an effort to communicate with any lingering spirits.
Following on from an enlightening gathering in the woods, filled with shocking tales of hanging and brutality, you are escorted back to the castle to be guided around various rooms, which are far more distinctive by candlelight. Accounts of historic events and ghost stories are plentiful – and are sure to get your heart racing. Especially when you are taken into the chapel and told the story of the young girl who died in there.
When we were in there, our guide took the opportunity to blow out all of the candles, demonstrating how utterly dark and eerily quiet the room is. And I swear I would have jumped through the ceiling if anybody had touched me within those few moments, because it was hard not to imagine icy ghostly fingers reaching out.
We learnt that two of the most notorious ghosts of Chillingham Castle are the Blue Boy and Lady Mary Berkeley. Nobody knows the exact identity of who the Blue Boy really was. He adopted the Blue Boy title because his bones were found bricked up behind a wall in the Pink Room, swathed in blue cloth. The Pink Room is closed to the general public nowadays, however it is right next to one of the Grey Apartment’s bedrooms (yes, you’ve guessed it – the creepiest of the two, with the scary black fireplace). At midnight, it is said that you can hear the wails of a young boy screaming in terror, followed shortly afterwards by a glowing light – so understandably, when Derek suggested we try sleeping in that room for our final night I told him stop talking so ridiculous!
As for Lady Mary Berkeley, she reportedly still roams the castle grounds. It is said that she searches in vain for her adulterous husband, Ford Grey, 1st Earl of Tankerville, who ran off with her younger sister, Lady Henrietta Berkeley. Mary, apparently, didn’t cope too well with this change of circumstances – which was hardly surprising, since she and her baby daughter had essentially been left to fend for themselves at Chillingham Castle. She fell into a state of despair and depression which lasted for the remainder of her life. It is believed that her spirit is a very troubled one, because she never stopped watching and waiting for her husband to return. On the dining room wall in the Grey Apartment hangs a large painting of Lady Mary Berkeley, which aptly portrays an image of anguish and sadness.
Once the ghost tour drew to a close, I far from expected a restful night of deep sleep and sweet dreams – (even in the least scary of the two bedrooms), and I was correct in my assumptions. My imagination had now gone into over-drive, so much so, that I couldn’t muster up the courage to go to bed (I even considered sleeping in the car!). Alas, Derek and I sat talking in front of the cosy log fire for what seemed like hours, until we could put off sleep no longer. Once tucked up tightly in bed, Derek drifted off straight away, yet I lay awake for at least half an hour, listening to doors and windows rattling in their frames, despite there being no wind! With the duvet pulled tight up to my face, and my hand touching a torch for comfort, sleep did eventually find me. By the time morning thankfully arrived, I was both relieved and proud to say that I had survived two nights at Chillingham Castle!
Did we see any ghosts during our stay? No, we didn’t. However, we did capture an orb in a photograph near the throne in the Edward 1st Room (if you squint your eyes you can see it near the top right-hand side of the throne) – anyway,I’m sure Most Haunted would have been proud of it.
Overall, the entire castle is tremendously unnerving and atmospheric; you can feel the presence of ghosts, even if you don’t see them.
For anyone looking for an original weekend break idea, (something not for the faint-hearted), then I would highly recommend a stay at Chillingham Castle. And if you are brave enough, I dare you to stay in the Grey Apartment!
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