Happy Halloween! - A Haunted Castle

I don't usually write blog entries on Monday, but in honor of Halloween, I thought I should take an imaginary bonus trip to an old haunted castle. There are many castles to choose from in Europe, most of which have had bloody histories. Time to look for some ghosts! This Halloween, I choose to visit


Old Wardour Castle, near Shaftsbury, Wiltshire, in Great Britain

Image from here.

Look at that place! Imagine walking around that building at night! The castle was built in 1393, and eventually became the home of the Arundell family. During the civil war, the castle was damaged. In 1643, an army of 1300 men came to take hold of the castle, which was held only by a woman and her 25 servants and housekeepers.

The army figured it would be a simple siege, but the woman, Lady Blanche Arundell, held the house for nine more days! She surrendered after the forces set off two mine explosions in the castle.

Image from here.

Legend has it that although Lady Blanche and her men surrendered to the Parliamentary troops, the castle was sacked and they were all executed. It is said that her ghost walks the grounds to this day. She is most often seen walking toward the river that runs by the castle.

This ghost story does not seem to be entirely true, but I am not sure that any of them are! Being in a creepy place at night makes me believe in ghosts. If I think enough about it, it's hard to keep believing, but a good ghost story now and then is exciting. And scary.  Have you ever seen a ghost? Or something that you couldn't explain? Happy Halloween!