Whittington Castle

Castle Street
Whittington
Oswestry SY11 4DF

History

Whittington Castle has changed a lot over the hundred years since it has been built such as the addition of the 16th Century Elizabethan dwelling to the northern outer bailey gatehouse tower, which dates back to the 12th Century. William Peverel built the Norman Motte and Bailey castle after the demolition of the previous stronghold and his daughter Mellet inherited the castle and held the castle in her husband’s name, Fitzwarines, until 1420. In 1643 the castle was taken by force by Oliver Cromwell’s Roundheads and at the time of Queen Mary II ownership of the castle was granted to Fitz-Alan, Earl of Arundel. The castle was later sold to France William Albany Esq, a London merchant and when his granddaughter Sarah married Thomas Lloyd Esq of Aston, the two estates were united. The last owners of the Lloyd lineage were that of Mrs A Hamilton-Hill and the Lady Newborough before it was owned and run by the local community today.

Paranormal Activity

Unexplained light anomalies have been caught on video camera at this ancient castle, seemingly travelling along a landing and disappearing into a wall with its shape changing as it moves. Stone-throwing noises have also been heard here by investigators to the castle as they attempted to contact spirits near an old dungeon.

Skibo Castle

Castle Street
Dornoch
Highland IV25 3

History

Records from Skibo Castle date back to as far as 1275 when an ownership dispute took place but it is believed that the castle itself dates back a further 100 years. The castle is now operated as the Carnegie Club, which is a member’s only hotel and country club.

Paranormal Activity

Ghost reports vary at Skibo Castle with a confusion of legends. The general story is that a local girl, who once visited the castle, was murdered by the Castle’s keeper or groundskeeper for whatever reason and was buried in the grounds of the Castle and it is said her ghost now walks the castle. Recent renovations led to the discovery of a skeleton behind a castle wall but the identity was never determined. The ghost, known as the White Lady, has been spotted by visitors in the top floor bedrooms with one such witness being that of Rosewell Miller III, the grandson of the American millionaire Andrew Carnegie who bought the ruined estate and rebuilt it to the standard we see today. Rosewell is said to have seen the ‘white lady’ drifting along a corridor and turning into a bedroom. When he followed her into the room she had disappeared.

Oxford Castle

Oxford
OX1 1AY

History

Oxford Castle was a classic motte and bailey castle dating back to Saxon times and still has its motte today. Below ground can be found St George’s Chapel Crypt with its Romanesque columns, within is a 13th century vaulted Well Chamber and Oxford Castle is also home to a prison which dates back to the 18th century and was still used until just recently.

During the Civil War, Oxford Castle was used to detain parliamentarian prisoners and during the 18th century was home to many executions as well as stories of bodies being used for anatomical research.

Paranormal Activity

Oxford Castle is host to many strange happenings. The murderer Mary Blandy was tried and hanged at the castle in 1752 and it is said that her ghost has been seen wandering around the castle mound.

Poltergeist activity has also been reported and is believed to have originated after a séance took place during the 1970’s by a group of inmates. A priest was eventually called in to calm the spirits and perform an exorcism.

In recent years activity at the castle has included a photograph which captured a dark figure within the underground Crypt. Keiron Brown from Alton in Hampshire was astonished to see the dark shadow of a figure at the end of the corridor leading into the Crypt.

A strange white mist has also been witnessed by prison guards, rising up a flight of stairs and fading in front of their eyes and one guard reported the incident of when he was once on patrol with his dog and the dog stopped and growled and the apparition of black figures appeared in front of him.

Screams and shouts have also been heard echoing around the main buildings and security guards at the castle have long been uneasy doing the rounds at night.