Haunted castle hotels in the UK, and the stories attached to them

A ghost story is not a fact, and this guide treats it that way. Every legend below comes from a hotel's own website or from a named source such as Spooky Isles, Haunted Rooms or Mysterious Britain, never from an anonymous claim. Phrases such as "the hotel says" or "local tradition holds" mark out attributed folklore rather than something presented as history.

Several of the tales here do not survive close scrutiny, and we say so where a source raises that point. That does not make a story worthless: it is still part of how a hotel presents itself, and worth knowing before you book a room that carries the tale. What follows names the figure, the legend and the source for each castle hotel, rather than presenting a ghost as though it were confirmed fact.

Dalhousie Castle sits south of Edinburgh in Midlothian. The hotel's own guide to the building names its best known ghost as the Grey Lady, said to be Lady Catherine, a mistress of one of the Ramsay lairds. According to the hotel, she was locked in a castle turret and left to starve by the laird's wife, in a story the hotel dates to around the year 1500. Guests and staff have reported her walking the stairs and turrets since, and one repeated claim is that she puts bagpipes out of tune whenever they are played nearby.

Lumley Castle in Chester-le-Street tells the story of Lily of Lumley, a lady of the house said to have rejected the Catholic faith and been thrown down a well by two priests. Her ghost is said to rise from the well and move through the castle's corridors and grounds. The hotel has leaned into the legend since 2019, when an escape game based on Lily of Lumley opened in the old beer cellar. Guests have also reported a poltergeist nicknamed Black Jack, blamed for sliding glasses off tables, and the sound of children's laughter on the top floor.

Ruthin Castle includes a Grey Lady among the points on its own history trail and scavenger hunt for guests. Local tradition holds that she was the wife of Reginald de Grey, second in command when the castle was a working fortress, and that she killed a woman she found with her husband before being tried and executed. Because she was buried within the castle grounds, tradition says her ghost still walks the banqueting hall and battlements. Paranormal writers who have documented the castle also describe a soldier seen wearing a single glove and a young girl who knocks on room doors at night.

Craig-y-Nos Castle was bought in 1878 by the opera singer Adelina Patti, who added a private theatre and lived there until her death in 1919. Local tradition and paranormal writers describe a White Lady seen on the staircase to that theatre, said to be Patti's ghost, sometimes accompanied by the sound of singing in the corridors. Between 1920 and 1960 the building was a tuberculosis sanatorium, mostly for children, and it is from that period that many of the reported sightings date, including a figure said to appear at the foot of the wards' beds.

Thornbury Castle is the only Tudor castle in England run as a hotel, and Henry VIII stayed there with Anne Boleyn for 10 days in 1535. Writers who have researched its ghost stories describe two recurring figures rather than Anne Boleyn herself: one thought to be Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford and an uncle of Henry VII, and a second said to be Princess Mary Tudor, who spent part of her childhood at the castle and is reported walking the grounds with her dogs. The hotel's own website does not promote either story; it focuses instead on the building's Tudor history.

Tulloch Castle names its hotel bar after its best known ghost, the Green Lady. Paranormal researchers identify her as Elizabeth Davidson, a member of the family that once owned the castle, whose portrait hangs in the Great Hall. According to the story, she found her father with a maid, fled in panic and fell to her death before reaching her room. Guests and staff report seeing her most often in the Great Hall, and some say the eyes in her portrait appear to follow visitors. A second figure, a maid pacing the Great Hall and the Pink Room, has also been reported by ghost writers.

Ballygally Castle was built on the Antrim coast in 1625 by Lord James Shaw and his wife Isabella. The hotel's own website names Lady Isabella Shaw as its most famous ghost: it says she fell out of favour with her husband after the birth of a daughter, was locked in a turret room and died falling from a window while trying to escape. The hotel has turned that turret into a dedicated Ghost Room, and says she is still heard knocking on corridor doors at night, as if searching for her child. A second reported figure, a 19th-century resident named Madame Nixon, is said to be heard through the rustle of silk skirts.

Hazlewood Castle's own history page tells the story of the Vavasour family, who held the estate for centuries, but it does not mention a ghost story. The haunting is documented instead by named paranormal writers such as Spooky Isles, who describe a black-habited monk reported in the Tansy Room, and a dark figure seen crossing the courtyard near St Margaret's chapel before disappearing into a yew tree. These accounts are treated by the writers themselves as long-standing local tradition rather than as a story the hotel promotes.

Langley Castle was built in 1350 by Sir Thomas de Lucy, and its best known ghost is a Grey Lady seen sobbing at an upper window before appearing to jump. For decades the story named her as Maud de Lucy, waiting for her husband to return from war, and some writers have suggested the tale inspired J. K. Rowling's Moaning Myrtle. During a review of the family's own archives, the hotel concluded that the story could not be Maud de Lucy, since she outlived her husband, and it now suggests the figure may be Agnes de Beaumont, born in 1323 and the second wife of the castle's founder.

Walworth Castle near Darlington is said to be haunted by a Grey Lady, thought locally to be the ghost of a maid. According to the story documented by researchers at Mysterious Britain, the maid became pregnant by one of the lords of the house, who had her bricked into the wall of a spiral staircase during renovation work to hide the evidence. Former guests, including members of wedding parties, have reported seeing her in one particular part of the hotel, and some say they have photographed the shape and shown the prints to staff. Staff at the hotel have also spoken of seeing ghostly children elsewhere in the building.

Amberley Castle has stood on the same site for more than 900 years, moving from a hunting lodge to a fortified manor house by the 14th century. Its best known ghost, documented by writers including Spooky Isles, is a servant girl named Emily, said to have become pregnant by a bishop who lived at the castle and to have jumped from the battlements after he rejected her. Her presence is most often reported near the Herstmonceux Room, which gives access to those battlements, with some guests describing a calm feeling and others finding the story unsettling. Other reported activity includes disembodied voices and the sound of footsteps running towards the battlements.

The Coachman's Quarters at Muncaster Castle sits on the Muncaster estate near Ravenglass, not inside the castle building itself, so guests here are close to the hauntings rather than sleeping among them. The castle's own website describes itself as reputedly one of the most haunted buildings in the United Kingdom, and names Tom Fool, the 16th-century jester Thomas Skelton, as its most persistent figure. Tradition also names a White Lady and a crying child nicknamed Maggie, most often reported in the castle's Tapestry Room, once a nursery. Visitors can book the castle's own overnight Ghost Sit in that room, run separately from a stay at the Coachman's Quarters.