Pengersick Castle

Named as possibly the most haunted castle in Britain, Pengersick Castle is no stranger to rumours and legends surrounding violence and the paranormal. Located in the village of Praa Sands, Cornwall, England, Pengersick Castle has been called both a fortified manor house, and a fortified tower house. The castle used to be much larger before falling into ruin by 1738, and so today only the tower from the 1400s remains standing. This location is definitely one of the wilder as far as paranormal claims and legends are concerned; some of which discuss mermaids, serpents, demonic horses, stolen treasure, and violence against religious folk. It seems this location is packed with ghostly activity and filled with tales which have been told over the years.

History

There is evidence that a house has existed on the site of Pengersick Castle since the 1200s. Some sources has said the 12th century, so it may be that the Pengersick family lived on the site as early as the 1100s. The Pengersick family took their name from the boggy location they lived in as Pengersick translates to mean 'the head of the marsh place'. Pengersick Castle is located in the small cornish village of Praa Sands, which is located between Penzance and Helston. Praa is pronounced as 'pray' and is an ancient cornish word which translates to mean 'hag's cove' or 'witches cove'. The castle is located 600 yards from the Praa Sands beach.

Not much is known about the location during it's original ownership under the Pengersicks. The original owner was Henry 'Le Fort' Pengersick (alternate spelling Pengrysek), and there is a legend about him and his son. It's said that Henry built the castle and then married his second wife. His wife then persuaded him to have his son kidnapped and sold as a slave. Following this event, the wife poisoned Henry and locked herself in her room having become covered in scales from her poisons. Having transformed into some sort of serpent creature, the wife then threw herself into the sea.

Meanwhile, Henry's son had escaped abroad and returned with 'a lady of great beauty thought to be a Saracen'. Henry's son would shut himself in his room for days, and both at night and during storms he would call up spirits in an unknown language. He would keep the Saracen lady locked up inside a tower and she would sit alone overlooking the sea. She rarely spoke but sang songs if her land, and the fishes would raise their heads at dawn to hear her songs. Mermaids and strange spirits of the water would also be drawn to Pengersick cove by the lady's songs. The son is also said to have rode a horse which was thought to be demonic and so he was feared by all. Then, one stormy night, Pengersick Castle burst into flames. The son and the lady were never seen again.

One source has said the legend was not about Henry Pengersick and Henry's son, but instead was of a later owner John Milliton (alternate spellings Militon, Millaton, Milton, Millington) and his son, another John Milliton. A slight deviation from the husband being poisoned is that both the husband and wife hated each other so much that they poisoned each other simultaneously, and another deviation says the husband tried poisoning his wife but she swapped their drinks. It is said that the devil claimed the souls of both the husband and wife as a result of the poisoning, but this could be metaphorically speaking. The devil could have claimed the husbands soul as he died, and could have claimed the wife's soul through the act of her killing the husband. It is all just a legend though.

As for the facts around Pengersick Castle, it is known that during 1335 Henry Pengersick was excommunicated for wounding a priest and a monk. The priest was the vicar of Breage, David de Lyspein, and the monk was Brother Thomas of Hayles Abbey, Gloucestershire. It's speculated that the monk may have been killed while visiting the castle to collect a payment, possibly tithes, but it seems he was most likely only injured. It's also said that Henry married Engrina Godolphin, a daughter of the family who owned an adjoining estate. The Pengersicks went on to be mostly wiped out by the plague of 1361, with at least twenty family members dying as a result.

One Pengersick daughter survived and married into a prominent family from Pengersick. During 1476, Isabella, wife of Thomas Worth and the last direct descendant of the Pengersicks, died. She left her inheritance to her daughter Elizabeth Worth who had married John Milliton. This event led to the Milliton's enlarging the building. It's said the castle was originally a courtyard castle and that the current tower sat in the south-east corner guarding against attack from the shore. There was great threat of coastal attack from the French and Spanish at the time, so defensive structures such as this location along the coast was common, especially in Cornwall where smuggling was rife and coastal raids were common.

A hall block sat on the east straddling two courtyards, and there was possibly another tower on the north-west curtain. The early castle has almost entirely been replaced by the tower which can be seen today. The ground floor is well defended with numerous gun loops covering the stairs and entrance, and there are a few defensive windows and gun loops higher in the building. The upper floors were of more domestic use, possibly containing a parlour. The top of the tower is battlemented and has space for a lookout.

It's unsure how the location would have looked as the early Pengersick residence as opposed to the later improved location which became owned by the Millitons. It's thought that the structure the Millitons owned was possibly built for William Worth around the year of 1510. A significant event which contributed to the development of Pengersick Castle involved the wreck of the King of Portugal's ship, the San Antonio. During 1527, John Milliton became implicated in the disappearance of valuables from this ship and it almost led to a war between England and Portugal. The ship was wrecked near Gunwalloe, in Mounts Bay, which was a few kilometres south of Pengersick Castle, and it carried £18,880 worth of cargo. The wreck, which had occured on the 19th of January 1527, also contained 86 crew members, but only 45 of them survived. John did give some of the treasure back, but it's thought that some went into improving the castle as a fortified manor house around the year of 1530 and that some was kept hidden in passages beneath the castle. A common false date used by sources is that Milliton became implicated during 1526, but as the wreck occured during 1527 this couldn't be the case.

Another rumour is that John Milliton murdered a man in cold blood in London and that he came to Cornwall to hide and escape justice. Due to the lack of dates and information on this rumour, I would assume it to be untrue. The same goes for the rumour that one Milliton is said to have drowned his wife. Another dark detail relating to the rumour around John Milliton is that he was thought to be the Dark Lord of Pengersick, and so dabbled in the black arts and summoned a demon in the top room of the castle. This, just as certain other dark details, is purely rumour though. As for more true details, Job Milliton was made the governor of St Michaels Mount during 1547, and William Milliton married Honor Godolphin during 1535. William went on to become the Sheriff of Cornwall during 1565. William and Honor had a large family of daughters with one son who died during 1571. John Milliton died during 1570, and his wife died during 1579. Some sources have said that John Milliton did serve as the High Sheriff of Cornwall during one point in his life.

When William Milliton died during 1556, the estate was divided amongst his seven daughters. The castle begun to decline into ruin following this event, and was in ruin by 1738 with only the four-storey tower from the 1400s remaining. Most of the castle was demolished for use in nearby farms, but today it stands as a grade I listed private residence. An annexe was added between 1927 and 1928, and the location was repaired and altered during 1968. During the late 1900s, the castle was in possession of Angela Evans and before she died, she set up the Pengersick Historic and Education Trust to manage and restore the castle. The castle has a capacity of up to forty people and is open at certain times for ghost tours.

A diver did explore the wreck of the San Antonio, and as a result 300 artifacts were recovered and donated to the Pengersick Trust. For parts of the restoration of the location, an oak tree grove has been planted, a reconstruction of a medieval garden has occured, and a knot garden in the tudor style has also been added. It's also said that the castle sits on the site of an ancient monument which is looked after by the trust, and that the site dates back to the bronze age. With this detail, and the untrue rumours of monks being killed here, it's easy to see why Pengersick Castle is known as possibly the most haunted castle in Britain.

Hauntings

Although there are local tales of devil-worship, demon dogs, and black magic; there is no historical basis to any of this. There are, however, hauntings relating to the history of this location. It is thought that the monk that was assaulted, or maybe killed, by Henry Pengersick haunts the castle. One source has described the monk as a hooded figure that wanders the castle and grounds, but other sources specifically say this monk is not the typical hooded and brooding monk usually seen in haunted places. Instead, it's commonly said that this monk is happy in nature and wears a wide brimmed hat. The monk, who may be Brother Thomas, is said to be seen around the small forest at the end of the medieval garden smelling flowers before slowly fading away.

It's thought that three female spirits haunt the main bedroom. One is Engrina Godolphin, Henry Pengersicks wife who appears as a lady in white, and the other two are a previous resident and her servant. The previous resident appears by the window in the early hours of some mornings, stares into the night, turns and walks to the Jacobean four-poster bed, lies in the bed, and then suddenly clutches her stomach while writiphing in agony. It's thought this previous resident was a former lady of the house, but there is no historical evidence of this. It's also thought that she is reinacting an event where she was poisoned. While this happens, the servant spirit appears through a wall and stands by her bedside. It's thought that this servant may have nursed the poisoned woman during her final times alive.

Pengersick Castle is also believed to have two children spirits present. One is a thirteen year old girl who was blown over the edge of the battlements by a strong gust of wind while she danced, and the other is a four year old boy. It's thought that the girl tries to push people over the edge of the battlements if she disapproves of them, and that the boy pulls on women's dresses or attempts to hold their hands before running off giggling. Other hauntings include a white mist that writes towards witnesses, a black cat called Alexander who chases ghost rats, and a man who sways in a corner. It's thought that tales of a black dog with fiery red eyes was invented by smugglers during the 1800s to keep away the curious.

It's also said that the spirit of a knight is here, plus a lady in a grey dress, a man who was stabbed and strangled during 1546 by the fireplace, and a woman who was stabbed to death in the castle. It's also thought that a young girl haunts the basement, that there is a shaking man on the first floor, that Richard de Pengersick is here along with Henry Pengersick, and that the sailors from San Antonio roam the grounds looking for the stolen treasure.

It's also been said that Pengersick Castle is filled with activity aside from apparitions. There are white orbs and wierd shapes which show up in some pictures, but are absent from others which are taken seconds later. Electrical equipment is also known to fail here, and the temperature drops are said to be massive. Tapping occurs, as do strange smells, and there are reports of footsteps, doors slamming, keys rattling, alarms going off, objects being moved and thrown, and people are heard shouting and whispering.

Summary Of Hauntings

1. Monk, Brother Thomas (?), happy, wide brimmed hat - small forest, medieval gardens

2. Engrina Godolphin, woman in white - roams, main bedroom

3. Former lady of the house, appears by window, lies in bed - main bedroom

4. Servant/maid, walks through walls, stands by bed - main bedroom

5. 13 year old girl, died by falling, pushes people - battlements

6. 4 year old boy, pulls on dresses, holds womens hands, giggles

7. Swaying man in corridor

8. Alexander the cat

9. Demon dog, fiery red eyes (made up by smugglers?)

10. A knight

11. A man, stabbed by fireplace during 1546

12. A woman, stabbed in castle

13. Young girl - basement

14. A shaking man - first floor

15. Richard de Pengersick

16. Henry Pengersick

17. Sailors of the San Antonio, looking for stolen treasure

18. White mist

19. Electrical equipment fails

20. Massive temperature drops

21. Tapping

22. Strange smells

23. Footsteps

24. Doors slam

25. Keys rattle

26. Alarms go off

27. People shouting

28. People whispering

29. Objects moved

30. Objects thrown

My Thoughts

With this location being close to the sea, I will mark it as a location of interest as this seems to be yet another location close to water which is seemingly extremely haunted and without a great deal of reason as to why. The history for Pengersick Castle was quite messy to research, and I'm not confident on how correct certain pieces of information are as a result. The hauntings all seem somewhat generic, although I do like the emphasis certain sources have placed on the fact the monk isn't the typical monk haunting, but is instead quite pleasant in nature. The hat is a good deviation from typical monk details too, which makes the think that haunting is likely to be more legitimate. I don't trust anything with little detail to it, such as the knight, but I do believe poltergeist activity and temperature drops are likely to occur here.

Something I always mention with locations is the tourist potential behind the hauntings. Interstingly, Angela Evans herself has addressed this in an article by The Guardian, in which she says the following:

"There is more work now keeping the place going. The ghost nights only pay for half a gardener. We'll be launching a garden trail in the spring, covering 5,000 years of garden history, and hope that it will keep us going. Really, it's the damned ghosts that have carried us for the past few years, because people go mad on the paranormal experience. But I'm interested in the magic and mystery, rather than ghosts."

I find the paragraph interesting for two reasons; the first that the ghosts have carried them for a few years, and the second that the ghost nights only pay for half a gardener. This means even though the tourism has carried them, it hasn't paid for a great deal. The acknowledgement of the ghosts bringing tourism is exactly why it's always important to be skeptical when it comes to hauntings attached to a venue which has a reputation for being haunted and profits on it. The more haunted a place is, the more tourism potential; and the more tourism potential there is, the more money there is to be made.

It seems Pengersick Castle differs a little from that logic though as Angela admits they don't make much money, but are reliant on the ghost business. This makes this location interesting because if they have leaned into the ghost tourism angle, and as a result possibly emphasised hauntings, it hasn't worked very well for them. It could very well explain why there are so many reported pieces of haunting activity with so little details on them though. I also find it odd how many animals are said to be here as so far in my research I've found that to be quite rare. Who knows, perhaps these obscure deviations from what I've found in my research indicates a greater case of these hauntings being more legitimate than most.

Thank You!

Thank you for reading to the end of this article! I hope you've enjoyed learning about Pengersick Castle and it's numerous hauntings. As said earlier, it was quite a messy one to research due to no clear dates and no clear passing down of the location between families. The legends also served to muddy the truth quite well. It was interesting to research though as I've been to Cornwall many times, but have never been to this location.

A special thank you goes to Damain, Nicolette, Kerry, GD, Chris Willcx, Nicola Jada, Nita Raveling-Hamilton, David Lee Jones, The Cornish Ghost Whisperers, Beardo Gets Scared, Starlight Phoenix Paranormal, Paranormal Penny Pinchers, the Australian Paranormal Society, Codegas Codex of Curiousity, Phantom Detectives LLC, Shadow Walkers Paranormal Investigators, South Of Spooky, and Don't Scare Claire for your continued support of The True Paranormal. If you want to be thanked in an article, or in the monthly appreciation post I make across social media, then please share my articles and tag 'The True Paranormal'. If I see that you've shared, then I will publicly thank you!

If you want to follow The True Paranormal you can do so on Facebook, Tik Tok, Instagram, YouTube, X (formerly known as Twitter), Tumblr, and Pinterest. You can also subscribe to The True Paranormal on YouTube, or directly to this website through the bar on the left which will give you email notifications. That bar also lists all of the links which will take you to The True Paranormal's various social media platforms. If you want to contact me about your own experiences, or about anything at all paranormal, you can email thetrueparanormal1@gmail.com

A Donation Message

At the moment I don't have any ads running on anything, and I intend on the blog always being free for everyone to view because I believe knowledge should never be kept behind a paywall. I do, however, still need an income in order to continue writing articles. If you would like to donate towards The True Paranormal, you can do so via PayPal. If you are interested, my username is Daniel Carr and my paypal email is danielcarr130913@gmail.com. If you donate, I will be sure to thank you across social media and in my articles. Anything donated is much appreciated.

Sources I Have Used

5. Haunted Rooms

6. Kilden Mor

7. Ecastles

8. Cornwall Tour

9. Cornwall Calling

10. Kiddle

11. Gatehouse