Sunday 14 March 2021

THN's Top 5 Haunted places: England

We come to the main part of the country now, I could split this up into areas like some of the others but I'm sure that would just take too long. Instead i'll select a few scary or spooky places from the lists around the middle of the country.
This will allow me me to just come back and do multiple entries on just England now, this will be the format I'll go with unless I decide to do more focused areas such as Orkney, Isle of White or even Jersey, or in Ireland's case it will still be split into Northern and Southern.

So, Spooky places in England, just like the rest of the UK the mainland is steeped in history, a lot of old buildings and areas surviving until this day and age, either renovated or left dilapidated but protected by status. Here THN takes a look at FIVE of the most scary places you could see, stay at or visit in England starting with:


1. Pluckley Village in Kent


Yeah that's right A WHOLE DAMNED VILLAGE, this places as an extreme plethora of ghostly and ghastly goings on. From haunted buildings to ghostly sightings in nearly every area.

One such ghost is the Watercress Lady, an elderly lady who sit on Pinnock bridge apparently smoking pipe, unsurprisingly she's known for her name due to picking the plant and selling it to the villagers.
She was said to have fallen asleep while smoking her pipe and it dropped upon her setting her ablaze which she died from.

There's also the Church of St Nicholas, which is said to be haunted, a group of people waaaaaaay back in the 1970's did an overnight there and were disappointed that all they caught was the vicars dog coming to see them. That would be when the vicar told them he didn't own a dog.


2. Pendle Hill, Lancashire


This wouldn't be a list of English places if it didn't include Pendle Hill, it's one of the most widely known places even outside of the UK. Mainly due to it's horrific witch trials and killing of 12 'Witches' back in the 1600s for the death of 10 people. !0 of them were found guilty, subsequently executed and buried there. Their restless spirits are now said to haunt the place they were buried.

Some genuinely scary stories from some people who've stayed there or just visited include a lot of them saying it feels like invisible hands were around their throats.

Before Covid-19 many ghost walks or overnight stays were available in Pendle Hill, lets hope this starts up again in 2021 when we are vaccinated.


3. The Ancient Ram Inn, Gloucestershire


One of the oldest buildings still in use, built in 1145 the building is used for tours and can even be rented for overnight stays!

It is said to built on two ley-lines which directly draw energy from stone henge, which attracts spirits and also traps them there. This makes this one of the most haunted buildings in ALL of England.
One of the most famous ghosts is of a woman, who hid there from witch hunts in the 1500's though she was caught eventually. Her spirit has been felt there by people, in fact she has her own room.

The house has been shown on a LOT of  ghost TV shows such as, Most Haunted, Ghost Adventures. Theres the Vicar and also children too, so if your looking for a (supposedly) spooky night this might be one for you.


4. Samlesbury Hall, Lancashire


Another one from Lancs, and another 'most haunted house' also home to one of the most typical ghosts a white lady. This lovely stately home has root back to the 14th century, it has some picturesque white and black fronting to the building too.

The difference between this white lady and many others is that she is named, so many in other areas are only guessed at or are totally unknown. One Dorothy Southworth, a former resident of the halls, her story is tragic. She had to meet her lover in secret due him being of a different religion, He was ambushed and killed one night then Dorothy was sent to a convent. Despite this convent being in a different country, it's said Dorothy returned to mourn in her own halls.

A tour of Samlesbury is free, or at least was before Covid hit, hopefully they start up again soon, it's closed on Saturdays, which is an odd day to be shut!


5. Buckland Abby, Devon


Originally a monastery from before King Henry the VIII, the king disbanded it in his rule, then in 1581 it was bought by Sir Francis Drake after his 'travel around the 'then known' world.

Drake was well known for supposedly diddling with the Devil, allowing him to perform some of his amazing feats. Winning wars, returning from travels to distant lands and most spookily for Buckland it's apparent renovation that only took 3 days.
The place is now open and people claim to see Drake himself walking the halls, trapped there in the daytime but able to ride the moors in a black coach drawn by a headless horseman in the nights. Finally one of the more interesting things on offer here is the drum of Drake.
This drum is said to sound in Englands darkest hours, the last time anyone heard it sound was at the beginning of WW1.


Hope you've enjoyed this Top 5 Haunted places edition, we'll going to Jersey next a small island off the bottom of the UK, how scary are the places there?

Stay tuned and see!

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