ATTEMPTING to ignore the spine-chilling atmosphere , I peered through the cobwebs and darkness into the gloomy dungeon.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as my eyes began to focus. There, on the dimly lit wall, I could see a chain and shackles embedded in the thick stonework.

As I stood in the cold, damp dungeon, 7ft under the ballroom at Walworth Castle, near Darlington, I tried to remain sceptical about the building's haunted past.

The castle, now a hotel, boasts two ghosts, including the Grey Lady, seen by staff on a number of occasions, floating past rooms 16 and 17. She is believed to have been shut in the library tower because she was a witch.

The second ghost is a stableboy, who has been spotted in the west wing.

The dungeon has never been open to the public in its 600 years, but on the spookiest day of the year, it will be opened for the first time.

Hotel owner Chris Swain has organised Halloween suppers and ghost stories by candlelight, after realising the dungeon's potential as a spooky attraction.

About 70 people will arrive at the castle tonight for ghostly guided tours.

By candlelight, they will be led into the dungeon, where they will see the remains of an escape tunnel used during the peasant's revolt led by Wat Tyler.

The revolt resulted in half of the castle being demolished in the 1380s.

Originally, the castle had four towers, but after the uprising just two remained.

Chris said: "The stonework in the dungeon is hand carved and there are Roman doorways, with little alcoves, and you can still see where the escape tunnel was.

"Walworth was a small village, so anyone who committed a crime would have been sent to the castle dungeon. We haven't come across any bones, but it's very eerie down here."