Beaumaris Castle - Anglesley, Wales

Caernarfon Castle North Wales

Boddelwydden Castle, North Wales

Photo - JPTUK

Bodelwyddan Castle 

The castle was bought from the Humphreys by Sir William Williams, Speaker in the House of Commons from 1680-1681.

The castle which stands today was reconstructed between 1830 and 1852 by Sir John Hay Williams, who employed the architects Joseph Hansom (inventor of the Hansom cab) and Edward Welch to refurbish and extend the house, though the Williams' family fortunes had started to decline since the 1850s, due to the loss of the main source of income for the estate, lead mining. The castle has been described as one of Hansom's most ambitious projects, "being wildly dramatic and owing nothing to its predecessors".

At the same time works were carried out to construct an estate wall and formal gardens. Further refurbishment work was carried out in the 1880s by Sir Herbert, 7th Baronet, who inherited Bodelwyddan Castle from his heirless cousin.By the First World War the house had become a recuperation hospital for wounded soldiers. During this time, the grounds of the estate were used by soldiers based at the nearby Kinmel Camp for trench warfare training.

Traces of these trenches can still be seen. By 1920, the cost of maintaining the castle and estate had grown too burdensome, and the Williams-Wynn family leased Bodelwyddlan to Lowther College, a girls private school. In 1920, the house became a private school for girls, Lowther College. The school was formed in 1896 at Lytham St. Annes in Lancashire, by Mrs Florence Morris (later Lindley).

The school originally moved to Bodelwyddan as tenants of the Williams family, however Lowther College purchased the property five years later, in 1925. The school is thought to be one of the first private schools for girls to have its own swimming pool. It also had a private golf course. The Lowther College Tableaux were well regarded within the community for their musical excellence. Boys were admitted from 1977. The school closed in 1982 due to financial problems. In the 1980s, the site was bought by Clwyd County Council with the aim of developing the castle as a visitor attraction. Partnerships were formed with several prominent museums and art galleries, such as the National Portrait Gallery and the Royal Academy of Arts, so that the castle could be used to display objects from these collections. In order to house these items, the interior of the castle was restored by Roderick Gradidge, an expert on Victorian architecture. Part of the site was leased to the Rank Organisation in 1994 for development into a luxury hotel, Bodelwyddan Castle Hotel and this use remains today. The historic house and grounds are not part of the hotel but are managed by an independent trust and are open to the public.  

There have been many reports of ghost sightings at the castle, including that of a soldier in one of the galleries. Sir John Hay Williams wrote in 1829 that, during a period of refurbishment, human bones were found near one of the chimneys. They were built back into the wall, which means they remain there to this day. The castle has also been the subject of two episodes of Living TV's Most Haunted and Syfy's Ghost Hunters International. The castle is set within a large area of parkland, and formal gardens, the most recent of which was originally designed by Thomas Hayton Mawson in 1910.

The castle structure seen today is mostly a Victorian facade, but that covers a core that is believed to date back to the 13th century. Archaeologists have found Roman remains on the site, and suspect they relate to a settlement adjacent to the nearby Roman road. The castle has a distant view of Rhuddlan Castle and St. Asaph Cathedral—which was damaged in the 15th century by both the English armies and the Welsh Owain Glyndŵr's forces. However, the Bishop was sympathetic to Owain's men, whilst he excommunicated the English.

Edinburgh Castle

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Looking down into the cellars

Edinburgh Castle is built on top of an old volcano!

The sun trying to come through the cloud makes the castle look eerie.

In the cellars

The skeleton of a soldier, one of 15 found recently in another part of the castle.
The evidence indicates that the dead were all victims from the 1689
siege, who may well have died here in the cellars.

Superb carvings and gargoyles

Edinburgh Castle is allegedly haunted by several ghosts, a headless drummer as been heard and seen in the 1960's, his apparition is said to be a warning to all that the castle is about to be besieged.  A piper went missing down a tunnel towards Holyroodhouse and was never seen again, but people still hear the pipes.  There is a dog cemetery at the castle, a spectral dog has been seen here. Ghostly prisoners are said to haunt the cellars. 

More information: Guide to castles - Edinburgh Castles ghosts 

Source: Paranormal database

Viscount Dundee

Location: Edinburgh - Edinburgh Castle
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: Viscount Dundee was seen by Lord Balcarres while the lord was held in the castle. He later discovered that the Viscount had died at Killiecrankie around the time of the sighting. Note that Colinburgh Castle also claims this event for itself. A phantom drummer has been reported at the castle, said to forewarn of bad news. This ghost was blamed when the arms of a tunic on display apparently moved as if beating an invisible drum. Early in the twenty-first century, a group of workmen claimed to have photographed a glowing ball of light, though the image looks more like the reflection of the flash in glass.

Wikipedia entry 

Wycoller Hall and Village - Lancashire

 

Wycoller is a famous Hamlet outside Colne in Lancashire only 3 miles North of Howarth; Charlotte Bronte took her walks here. Wycoller Hall was thought to be 'Ferndean Manor' in Charlotte Brontes 'Jane Ayre' novel. The hall is said to be Haunted by a spectral horseman that comes out only when there is a full moon also the ghost of a black woman wanders the grounds. Pearson House joined on to the tea-room has the ghost of the blue lady who walks through walls. Wycollar House has a poltergeist.
We visited Wycoller Hall on a very pleasant summers day. The ruins looked very romantic surrounded by wild flowers. Not at all creepy on a sunny Saturday. Too many children running amongst its stone-work. Definitely a spooky hot spot for wanabee ghost hunters. We shall certainly be paying the spectral horseman a visit one moonlit night soon.

Hardwick Hall Old and New

Aberconwy House, North Wales

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Conwy is a glorious town and it boasts not only a marina but a massive castle built by Edward I and two excellent haunted houses nearby; Plas Mawr and Aberconwy House.

After I quick wander around the exterior part of Plas Mawr house, we walked only a few metres down the same street to Aberconwy House. What could be more convenient! Having not one but two haunted houses in the same street! Aberconwy house was a 14th-century merchant's house known to be one of the oldest recorded houses of its kind anywhere in Wales and probably one of the oldest haunted houses around.

It has probably got ghosts from three different times in history, the Jacobean the Georgian and the Victorian; lots to go at there then! But it is the wife of the first owner who frightens people the most, she has been seen near the fireplace and wafts pleasant flowery perfume in the loft area, she has been seen near the fireplace.

A man in Victorian attire has been seen wandering down the Victorian corridor, apparently he just disappears into thin air; nicknamed Mr Jones because between 1850 and 1880 a Mr Jones lived there with his lady wife. People say that he died on the same day his seventh child was born and they think it is he who haunts the Victorian corridor.

The floorboards creak and doors rattle all the time, plates and pens move in their displays most nights on their own. One employee said that she had her hair platted in the Victorian Bedroom! It is a creepy little house because it has no overhead lighting. If you fancy a visit there, don’t be surprised if you get a door slammed in your face!