Chillingham Castle is said to be the most haunted castle in England with over one hundred spirits haunting it. According to the castle's website, it 'boasts some of the highest levels of paranormal activity in the country'. Just as with my post about Athelhampton House, this post will discuss the history of this history location, then the spirits, followed by my own thoughts.
Sources I will be using:
History
Chillingham Castle is located in Alnwick, Northumberland, close to the border between England and Scotland. It isn't too far away from Alnwick Castle, another of the UK's many castles which boasts particular hauntings, in this case a legend about a man known as 'The Alnwick Vampire'; but that is for another post. Chillingham Castle dates back to being a 12th century stronghold. The location was originally built as a monastery but then transformed into a castle and served as home to the Grey family from 1246. A year before the Grey family began using the castle as their home, during 1245, King Henry III visited the castle and this served as the first of many royal visits which continue to this day. As it is located close to the border with Scotland, the location underwent a fair few raids and attacks from the Scottish, and this led to the original house being destroyed in 1296.
The Scottish wars of independence play a large part in Chillingham's history. These wars were fought because the Scottish people did not want Scotland to be owned by England. The first war of independence was fought between 1296 and 1328, and the second war of independence was fought between 1332 and 1357. As Chillingham Castle was in a strategic location near the border, it was used as a defensive stronghold which underwent heavy attack and constant improvement. By 1298 the new manor house had been built and so King Edward I used it as ccommodation while on his way to fight William Wallace in the Battle of Falkirk.
Along with the Grey family, Chillingham Castle was also owned by the Bennet family. No less than eighteen family members belonged to the Most Noble Order of the Garter which protected the most powerful nobles to the king. Despite this, eight members of the family were executed, due to their rebellious behaviour, by being hung, drawn, and quartered. Their heads were impaled on the city gate as a warning to others.
By 1344 the castle had become fully fortified, with battlements installed by royal permission. The location has remained mostly the same since then, with the walls and architectural detail remaining unchanged. Once the Scottish wars of independence ended, the castle was no longer needed to serve defensive duties. This meant the forest around it could be created where the special Chillingham Wild cattle are found.
The main difference to the castle is the addition of the galleries which were added during the Tudor era for the visit of King James VI of Scotland. He stayed there while on his way to be coronated as King James I of England in 1603. The castle commander during that visit was Queen Elizabeth's godchild. King Charles I has even stayed at the castle for three nights shortly before he was imprisoned. During the 18th century the grounds were relandscaped according to Capability Brown's ideas and Robert Adam's pupil, Paterson, worked on the East Wing. In 1832 another royal visit occured with King Louis Philippe of France staying at the castle and gifted fine urns from his Versailles Palace. Sir Jeffry Wyatville laid out extravagant gardens and avenues for this visit. Edward VIII used to hunt at the castle during 1936. Now, you can not only visit the castle but stay there too as part of the castle and coach house have been converted into holiday apartments.
John Sage
John Sage is the individual who bridges the history of this location and it's many alleged hauntings. To hear that over one hundred spirits roam this castle, it's easy to be in disbelief, even when knowing how old the location is, but not when you know the history regarding John Sage. During the Scottish wars of independence, John Sage was an executioner at the castle and he killed many Scottish people here. He was nicknamed 'John Dragfoot' due to the leg he had injured while serving as a lieutenant, and 'The Butcher of Scots' due to the amount of Scottish people he brutally killed. He really hated the Scottish and during his three years at the castle, he tortured over fifty people a week. This meant he probably tortured and killed over a thousand people at the castle.
The torture chamber you can see at the castle is filled with all of the equipment John would have used on his victims, but this room is not the original torture chamber. The original chambers are located beneath the tea room, which is the castle's restaurant. I've found two reasons why the original room is sealed of to the public, the first being because a seance was performed here which 'had a pretty terrifying ending, to to keep the danger inside it was closed up.' That source also says there are many human remains still down there, which I believe there could be from the torturing days of John Sage. The second reason for it being inaccessible to the public I've found is because the current owners, Sir Humphry Wakefield and the Honorary Lady Wakefield, didn't want tourists gawping at the misery which occured in that room. Personaly, I believe the second reason. I tried finding more information about this alleged seance but I can't find anything on it, but I have emailed the person who wrote about this to see how they know about it, so hopefully they can shed some light on the lack of details. I will update this post when/if they reply.
At the end of the Scottish wars of independence, John Sage disposed of the remaining prisoners by burning them all in a large fire in the courtyard while the younger children watched. These remaining children were then taken back into the castle and hacked to death in the King Edward's room out of fear they may rebel. John Sage was publicly hanged after this, and it is said his spirit haunts the courtyard.
Hauntings
1. The White Pantry Ghost
2. The Ghost In The Chamber
3. Voices In The Chapel
4. Ghosts In The Courtyard
5. John Sage
6. The Blue Boy
7. A Dark Spirit In The King Edward Room
8. Lady Mary Berkley
9. A Little Girl In The Chapel
10. A Spanish Witch/Curse
11. Monks
12. Dungeon Prisoners
The White Pantry Ghost
The inner pantry used to be used as a storage area for silver which meant a footman would be employed to sleep in this room to guard all of the silver. The footman would enter the room, lock the door behind him, and then go to sleep for the night. One night, the footman was awoken by a pale lady in white who asked him for some water. He agreed as he thought she was one of the castle's guests and left the room to get her some water. While he was gone, he realised that no one could have been in the room with him due to the door being locked from the inside, and when he returned the lady was gone. This lady is still seen today and the request for water suggests that she had been poisoned, perhaps in this room.
The Ghost In The Chamber
This is one of two least active hauntings I will discuss on this blog. No one sees anything in The Chamber, but they feel like they are being watched and as though something is moving about around them.
Voices In The Chapel
The Chapel is an incredibly active area as not only is it where the little girl I will discuss later haunts, but it is also where you can hear disembodied voices talking to one another. If you go to find the location of the voices, you will be at no avail, and if you try hard enough then they will stop talking all together.
Ghosts In The Courtyard
In this location, shadows are seen in the moonlight. Disembodied voices and full bodied apparitions have also been reported in this area, quite possibly due to all the prisoners brutally killed by John Sage.
The Blue Boy/The Radiant Boy
It is said that a young boy haunts The Pink Room in the castle. The skeletal remains of a young boy were found in the walls, and as his fingers and fingernails were broken, it is implied that he was still alive when he was bricked in. He is very friendly, and appears from the wall. Before he appears, a blue halo appears. You can read an account of this haunting be told by Richard Jones, author of 'Haunted Castles of Britain and Ireland' below:
'Several ghosts are known to wander the castle's timeworn interior. The most famous is that of the "Radiant Boy," a childish wraith seen in the castle's Pink Room, whose heart-rendered cries of either fear or pain echo through the corridors upon the stroke of midnight. In the past, cries always seemed to emanate from a spot near where a passage is cut through the 10-foot thick wall into the adjoining tower. As they faded away, a bright halo of light would appear, and the figure of a young boy dressed in blue would approach those sleeping in the room.
Later, the bones of a child, surrounded by decaying fragments of blue cloth, were found behind the wall. They were given a Christian burial, and thereafter the "Radiant Boy" was seen no more – until, that is, Sir Humphrey began letting the room. Some guests complain of a blue flash that shoots out of the wall in the dead of night. Although they attribute it to an electrical fault, Sir Humphrey is quick to point out that there is no electrical wiring in that particular section of the wall.'
A Dark Spirit In The King Edward Room
This is the same room that the young children were hacked to death in, so it is no wonder that it is said to be haunted. This room, however is not said to be haunted by a spirit of a child, but instead of something far darker and malevolent. Apparently the spirit is very violent and aggressive to the point of having attacked several people.
Lady Mary Berkley
It is said Lady Mary Berkley is still looking for her husband who ran off with her sister. The rustling sound of a long skirt is heard before she appears. Cold spots can occur, and footsteps plus whispers have been heard. People have even been pushed down the stairs, but I'm unsure if this is attributed to Mary. Below you can read another account of Richard Jones:
'Another unquiet soul to stalk the castle is the spirit of Lady Berkeley, wife of Lord Grey, whose husband ran off with her sister, Lady Henrietta. Lady Berkeley was abandoned at the castle, with only her baby daughter for company. The rustle of her dress is sometimes heard as her invisible revenant sweeps along the rambling corridors, searching for her husband and leaving a cold chill, not to mention unsettled witnesses, in her ghostly wake.'
A Little Girl In The Chapel
As I said earlier, the Chapel is thought to be highly active. This could be because three skeletons were found here. Two were found beneath the stained glass window, and are possibly the cause of the disembodied conversation you can hear. The other skeleton was found in the back corner beneath the floorboards and is that of a little girl. Her spirit has interacted with women who visit the Chapel. She likes to talk to them, and she likes to play with their hair. Apparently people feel overcome with sadness when they sit where she was found.
A Spanish Witch/Curse
I'm unsure if the witch actually haunts the castle, but she definitely seems to have cursed it. She was killed in the dungeon and cursed the castle before she died. It is said that anyone who steals from the castle experiences bad luck, and people have put this to the test. As a result, the castle has received many items from people along with notes apologising for taking what they've sent back and asking to be forgiven so that the bad luck can end. The castle has these items, along with the notes, on display.
Monks
The gardens are said to be haunted by monks who tried saving the prisoners who would be hung there. When the monks were caught, they were hung along with the prisoners.
Dungeon Prisoners
It would be to no surprise if the dungeons were haunted. I haven't found accounts of specific hauntings here, but in the dungeon there is a murder pit where injured prisoners were thrown in and left to die. Human remains are still in this pit.
My Thoughts:
From looking at the history of this location and all twelve kinds of haunting, some of which featured multiple spirits, I'm not surprised that this castle is held in such high regard to its haunted potential. Both 'Most Haunted' and 'Help! My House Is Haunted' have investigated here, and I'm sure it's a location many investigators would like to investigate. The hauntings all make sense too. So much tragedy has occured here, whether it be the Scottish raids, or the brutality of John Sage. Many have died both in and around this castle, so I would definitely think at least one hundred spirits would be here.
One haunting I find particularly interesting is that in the King Edward room. You would think the story is about one of the children haunting the room, but for it to be something dark intrigues me. I would suspect it to either be a child who is angry at what they've witnessed and how they've died, or something demonic which has been drawn to the room and in a way summoned there by all of the carnage of young children. It wouldn't surprise me if investigators were to encounter a number of negative spirits in this location due to all the suffering. Personally, I'm on the fence when it comes to the demonic. I think the demonic could just be human spirits which use the negative energies of a place or person to interact. I don't know about the summoning side of it all, but this room definitely fits the right description for a more classical view on the demonic.
Due to the many hauntings, it's good to see that there are many different types of haunting experienced here. There are accounts of voices, of apparitions walking through walls, of full body apparitions, of hearing items of clothing rustle, of getting odd feelings in certain areas, and of being pushed. It really seems like an active location from what I've read about it. There is even talk of hauntings occurring at particular times of day, and of a haunting stopping to then start once more even though a proper burial had been given. If this story is true, and if people can get good evidence of The Blue Boy still haunting that room, I would consider that good evidence of there being something off with Christian mythology. If a proper burial has been given, in theory the haunting should just stop as the child's spirit is residing in the afterlife; especially as it did stop for a short while. It will be interesting if there are similar stories to this in other locations. In terms of a rating, I would give it a 9/10 because, from the sounds of it, this location gives you more or less everything you could want to experience as an investigator.
I really hope you enjoyed this blog post. If you have any comments whether that be about the blog, experiences of your own, or even places you would like for me to investigate, then you can comment and follow on here, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or Reddit, and you can email thetrueparanormal1@gmail.com for a quick response to any questions.
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