Spooky Days out this Halloween – most haunted Lake District locations to visit
Do you love to be scared? Are you fascinated with the paranormal? With Halloween fast approaching we’re looking at some of the spookiest places to visit around Cumbria and the Lake District. Dare you visit some of these most haunted Lake District locations?
Muncaster Castle
Muncaster is famous far and wide for its ghosts, and with the castle known to date as far back as 1258 it’s hardly surprising it’s one of the most haunted locations in Cumbria. There’s many a tale around Tom Fool, aka Tom Skelton the castle’s jester and a powerful and sometime sinister force at Muncaster, who’s spirit is said to still play tricks on family, staff and visitors to this day.
Hauntings often occur in the castle’s Tapestry Room. Visitors complain of the disturbed nights, hear footsteps outside in the corridor, see the door handle turning and the door opening although nobody is there. A child is often heard crying near the window and sometimes a lady heard singing, comforting a sick child while a cold chill with no obvious cause if often felt by those in the room.
Other stories centre around the ‘Muncaster Boggle’ or White Lady who haunts the gardens and roads around the castle. She is supposedly the ghost of a young girl murdered in the early 1800s.
Halloween at Muncaster continues to grow year on year with family-friendly festivals and interactive castle tours. And for over 18s only, “Scarecaster” is a terrifying tour of the castle complete with poltergeist experience, jump-scares, mysteries and magic. Pre-booking is essential.
Our Duddon Valley Cottages are ideal for day visits to Muncaster Castle.
Furness Abbey
Stories and sightings regarding the hauntings of the atmospheric and ancient Furness Abbey abound.
There are at least three ghosts which have been seen numerous times around the dramatic Abbey ruins.
It is said that the spirit of a monk has been seen climbing a staircase within the ruins and walking towards the gatehouse before vanishing into a wall.
Another sighting is that of a squire’s daughter. She regularly met her lover within the ruins of the abbey. One day her lover went out to sea and never returned. Legend has it that the girl went back to the abbey every day until her death to the site she and her partner would meet; the path she walked is still known as “My Lady’s Walk.” There have also been many sightings of a “white lady” in the area.
The most well-known ghost of Furness Abbey however is that of a headless monk on horseback, who was killed during a Scottish invasion in 1316, and is said to still ride underneath the sandstone arch near what was once the Abbey Tavern to this day.
A tunnel is said to run underneath the Abbey to nearby Piel Castle on Piel Island and Dalton Castle, allowing the monks to receive supplies and keep watch upon the local settlements. There is even a rumour that the Holy Grail and King John’s missing jewels are hidden somewhere inside this tunnel, which has never been found.
Furness Abbey is located near Barrow-in-Furness in South Cumbria, around 40 minutes from Coniston Village, and is open to visitors 7 days a week.
Rydal to Grasmere Coffin Route
The “coffin route” between Rydal and Grasmere is a beautiful and scenic walk yet with a more macabre past.
In ancient times, churches insisted that the dead must be buried on consecrated ground. For rural communities this was often problematic as the nearest church could be many miles away. This led to the creation of corpse roads or ‘coffin routes’; relatively level paths where the dead could be carried from their home village to the nearest consecrated ground.
During the height of their use in the medieval period, many people were very fearful of the dead, and of the routes themselves which they considered to be haunted. Several of the routes still have large stones at points along the way where coffins could be placed allowing the carriers to rest, since placing a coffin on the ground would result in the land being cursed.
You can start the coffin route in Grasmere from Wordworth’s Dove Cottage. Follow the road as it weaves steeply up hill – the start of the route is near the top end of the road. And if you don’t happen upon any ghosts keep your eyes peeled for red squirrels and the beautiful views down to Rydal Water and the fells beyond.
Keswick Ghost Walks
The Lake District market town of Keswick is known for its stunning setting on the shores of Derwent Water and fairy-tale like crags and mountains surrounding it.
But Keswick has a darker side; another history full of murder, intrigue and tortured souls.
Keswick Ghost Walks start and end at The Moot Hall, Keswick and follow the haunted tale of “The Lady” with stories of the supernatural which have been meticulously researched and are based in local legend, myth, folklore, real events and/or eyewitness accounts.
Kirkstone Pass Inn
The third-highest inn in England, and the highest in Cumbria, Kirstone Pass Inn has a long history of hauntings and strange going-ons. Perched at 1500ft at the summit of Kirkstone Pass and dating all the way to 1496, the inn is said to be visited by several spooks thought to have met their demise on the perilous journey over the pass. These include the spirit of a young boy who was killed by a coach outside the pub, a frightening grey lady and the ghost of a hiker who once worked at the inn. One of the most frequent sightings is that of the spirit of Ruth, a young mother who froze to death crossing the pass but whose baby was found alive, and is said to now warn travellers of incoming bad-weather.
Claife Heights, Windermere
The Crier of Claife, as this spectre has been known throughout the centuries, resides on the western shores of Windermere just north of the ferry and has the surprising honour of being marked on Ordnance Survey maps.
One of the Lake District’s most famous ghosts, the rumour goes that the wailing spook is that of a Monk from Furness Abbey who was spurned by a woman and destined to forever cry.
Legend has it, a long time ago, the ferrymen who operated the Windermere boat service from Ferry Nab to Sawrey learned to ignore calls for transport from the western side of the lake after dark, as it was probably just “the monk”. Then one day a new recruit decided this was nonsense and crossed the lake to pick up the fare. The new ferryman returned the following morning, stark raving mad, and died a couple of days later without ever speaking a word of what he’s seen.
The story goes that the Crier of Claife can be heard still be heard on dark and stormy nights.
There’s a lovely footpath taking in the west shore of Windermere, Claife Viewing Station and the woods surrounding Claife Heights, so if you’re feeling brave enough it’s a great place to explore this October – or any time.
Dow Crag
Dow is known for being particularly cold, bleak and exposed, even during summer. While its steep, craggy slopes rise drastically out of the black depths of Goat’s Water below.
The raven’s immortality was a curse – a punishment for the raven’s said dereliction of duty. A long time ago a charged the raven with watching over Torver. His job was to warn his master when he saw the Roman army advancing. But the Druid awoke to find the Britons’ camp in flames and the Romans marching victoriously, with he raven perched atop their standard. On returning to his master, he master was furious about his supposed treachery. But the raven pleaded that it was in fact a terrible mistake; he had swooped down to attack and kill the yellow bird the Romans carried before them, not realising until it was too late that it was not a real bird at all but bronze effigy.
The Druid cursed the bird to not die but to “instead that shalt live, live on the topmost crag of Dow, till another army sweep away the Roman, and the yellow bird is carried southward over sands”.
Eventually the Romans left however the last legion became mud bound in a swamp on Torver Common, where the standard bearer and the bronze bird were swallowed up and it is said they still lie today. And, as the yellow, bronze bird never reached Morecambe Bay, the Dow Crag raven will forever remain. Have you heard its cry echoed around Dow Crag?
Dow Crag can be walked from Coniston Village.
