Three North East castles have been named in the top 10 most haunted in the country ahead of Halloween.
Chillingham Castle in Northumberland, which dates back to the 13th century, ranked top of the list as the most haunted castle in the country, according to new research.
It is claimed the medieval castle has a ghost who begs visitors for water, paranormal activity spotted in the castle’s courtyard, and men’s voices in the chapel.
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Inbaal Honigman who claims to be a 'real life witch' said, “Chillingham Castle needs no introduction and is home to many famous ghosts.
“In our largely secular, non-spiritual society of the 21st century, the afterlife isn't really a part of normal life. Relegated to creepy anecdotes and horror films, we don't really deal in ghouls and ghosts in our day to day existence. Halloween gives us a chance to feel childlike again.
“If we're going to be watching gory films and festooning our doors with cobwebs, then why not go the whole hog and visit a haunted castle, or go ghost hunting in a stately home?”
Treasurer’s House in North Yorkshire came in third place, followed by Alnwick Castle in Northumberland, which famously hosted scenes in the Harry Potter films, in fifth place.
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Boffins from bingo firm Tombola analysed more than 134,000 TripAdvisor reviews of the most haunted castles and buildings in the UK, and came up with an overall ranking based on how many times the words ‘spooky’, ‘scary’, ‘ghost’ and ‘haunted’ came up.
The research awarded Chillingham Castle a ‘scare factor’ score of 35, the highest of all analysed due to the number of reviews mentioning the words ‘spooky’, ‘scary’, ‘ghost’ and ‘haunted’.
According to the research, there were 255 reviews mentioning the word ‘ghost’, with the castle boasting some of the highest levels of paranormal activity in the country.
The White Pantry Ghost is said to beg visitors for water, there are rumours of men’s voices in the Chapel, and ghosts spotted in the courtyard across the worn flagstones.
Other castle’s making the rankings include Tulloch Castle in Dingwall, which came second with a ‘scare factor’ score of 29, and Muncaster Castle in Cumbria in sixth place.
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