If you were going to build a medieval house of horrors that would one day become one of the most haunted places in the world, you'd be hard-pressed to come up with a more prescient name than today's Haunted House of the Day, for few places in the world have seen so much bloodshed...
In the beginning, the Chillingham Castle (so named because it sits in the village of Chillingham in of Northumberland, England) was used as a monastery and it was the home of the Grey family from 1246. The original manor house was destroyed by a Scottish raid in 1296. By 1298, the new manor house was built, though more fortified. The foundations of the castle as we know it today were created then. This is also when King Edward I visited Chillingham Castle on his way north to fight William “Braveheart” Wallace at The Battle of Falkirk. Wallace was defeated at that battle. He managed to escape, but for many other Scottish people, the terror had just begun.
Alongside the Grey family, Chillingham Castle was also owned by the Bennet family. No less than 18 family members belonged to the Most Noble Order of the Garter. The main purpose of this order was to connect the most powerful nobles to the King. Even though the family was noble, it was also quite rebellious. Eight family members were executed. They were hanged, drawn and quartered and their heads impaled on the city gate as a warning. Some members were lucky and only lost their heads. When the Scottish-English war (1296 – 1346) was over, the castle lost its defending task. A beautiful forest was created around it where up until today the special “Chillingham Wild” cattle is kept.
Chillingham Castle has a very bloody history. Many Scottish people have met their end here. Most of them by the hands of a man named John Sage. He was nicknamed “John Dragfoot” or worse “The Butcher of the Scots”. John Sage was a cold-blooded and ruthless torturer and executioner who had the time of his life in his torture chamber. He hated the Scottish and he was a frustrated man. As a lieutenant, he got badly injured. As a result, he wasn’t able to fight anymore. He tortured more than 50 people each week for the period of three years. It's estimated he tortured and killed over a thousand people at the castle. The Torture Chamber which is open to the public contains all of Sage’s toys. However, you need to bear in mind that this is not the original torture chamber. The real torture chambers are located underneath the Tea Room. They were sealed off for the public after a seance was performed there. The seance had a pretty terrifying ending, so to keep the danger inside it was closed up. Many human remains are still down there.
At the end of the Scottish-English War, the English needed to get rid of the remaining prisoners. They made a huge fire at the Courtyard and burned all the men, women and older children alive before the eyes of the younger children. After this, the children were taken back into Chillingham Castle where they were hacked to their death in the King Edward’s Room. John Sage was later publicly hanged. Because he was deeply hated, the public cut off his fingers, toes, nose, lips and genitals while he was still struggling for breath. Disembodied voices and full-bodied apparitions have been seen wandering the courtyard. Even the ghost of John Sage is said to haunt the Courtyard.
The Blue Boy is the most famous ghost of Chillingham Castle. His hauntings are associated with the Pink Room. Witnesses have reported seeing blue flashes or a blue halo near a bed in the room, accompanied by a loud wail or cry. The legend says that the ghost is that of a young boy who was discovered bricked up inside a wall in the castle, along with bones and fragments of blue clothing. During renovations, the bones of a boy were indeed found inside the wall, lending some credence to the ghost story. Lady Mary Berkeley is another well-known ghost at Chillingham Castle. She was the wife of Lord Grey, who abandoned her for her sister. Heartbroken, Lady Mary remained at the castle, where she eventually died. Her ghost is said to roam the halls, and visitors have reported hearing the rustle of her dress and feeling an inexplicable cold chill as she passes by.
I first became aware of Chillingham Castle many years ago when my wife (GF at the time) and I would watch Scariest Places on Earth. A show where families would be sent to famous haunted places with cameras and be tasked with spending the whole night there while completing tasks. It was fun to watch the families run and panic, and to listen to the show being narrated by Poltergeist actress Zelda Rubinstein who made sure to say everything extra creepy. The show was hosted by Linda Blair and the onsite host was Alan Robson. The show ran for 3 seasons on the Family Channel from 2000-2003.
As the nights would go on, the tasks would become darker and more frightening as the families had to split up and go to separate locations within the castle.
The King Edward’s Room is the room in which many young children were hacked to their deaths after the Scottish-English War was over. They killed the children because they were afraid they would retaliate later. A dark, malevolent spirit resides in this room. The spirit is very violent and aggressive and has attacked several people.
One of the rooms where you can spend the night is the Still Room. It is connected to the Dungeon, and thus a very interesting place. The Still Room was used to keep the castle’s treasures. Each night, a guard was locked in here to guard them. One night, a guard who was locked in, was alarmed by an old, frail looking woman who was inside the Still Room with him. She asked him for water. When the guard went to get it, he was confused: he was supposed to be there all by himself! When he returned with the water, the old woman was gone. She is now known as the Pantry Ghost. She was most likely poisoned inside the Still Room and still haunts it, asking for water. A Spanish witch was also killed in the room. Right before she died, she cursed the castle. Anyone who would take anything from the castle would experience bad luck.
During the Second World War the castle was used as a barrack. The beautiful forest was then burned down. After the war the castle deteriorated. All the lead was taken out of the roof so it started to leak heavily everywhere. In 1982, the castle was bought by Sir. Humphrey Wakefield. His wife is a descendant of the Grey’s. They renovated the castle completely and created holiday apartments in it. You can spend the night there if you like, but I wouldn't be caught dead there. However, odds are pretty good you might just catch something else.