Haunted Castles: Chillingham Castle

Chillingham Castle is situated in the medieval village of Chillingham, in the northern area of Northumberland, England. The castle is a grade 1 listed building, and was originally built as a monastery in the late 12th Century. The castle sat in a strategically imperative position in medieval times, located on the border of two feuding nations. It was used as a staging post for the English army entering Scotland and was also repeatedly attacked by the Scottish armies heading south.

Throughout the years a number of restorations and enhancements were carried out to upgrade the stronghold to a fully fortified castle. It was during the Second World War that the castle started to fall into disrepair whilst it was used as an army barracks. Lead was stripped from the roof allowing water to penetrate causing a huge amount of damage. In 1982 when the castle was purchased by Sir Humphrey Wakefield, 2nd Baronet, who set out on a painstaking restoration of the castle which is now open to the public. There are also a number of self-catering apartments available for hire should you want to stay too!

Some consider it the most haunted castle in Britain, and has been investigated on television shows ranging from ‘Most Haunted’ to ‘Scariest Places on Earth’. Chillingham Castles unaltered dungeon and torture chamber remain almost intact, which ultimately house the restless spirits of those tortured and incarcerated in years past.

These spirits like to remind people of their presence as both staff and visitors have reported hearing strange noises, disembodied voices and cold spots. The most famous ghost of the castle is that of the ‘blue boy’. It’s believed he was bricked into a ten foot thick tower wall in the Pink Room, and in the 1920s the bones of a young boy and bits of blue clothing were discovered, when workers were cutting through the walls to make a passage to the tower rooms. His wails and cries would be heard throughout the night and a blue halo of light would be seen around the grand four poster bed. The wails and cries of the ‘blue boy’ stopped after the discovery and his remains were buried in the church, however, the blue flashes of light are still seen in the Pink Room.

Lady Mary Berkeley is another spirit who walks the castle in search of her husband, a war leader and an Earl, who escaped at least three death sentences to die in his bed at an old age. The rustle of her dress can be heard as she passes by in the south west turret stairwell.

These are a few examples of the reported ghostly activity that plagues Chillingham Castle, along with many more lost and tortured souls who refuse to move on. In this video the Most Haunted team spend 24 hours in the castle gathering evidence of the spiritual activity that has been reported throughout the years.

This video takes a tour around the castles hotspots including the torture chamber!