From vampire-infested Victorian graveyards to desolate moors prowled by mysterious beasts, get in the (ghostly) spirit of Halloween with our list of Great Britain's most spooktacular spots...

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The desolate battlefield of Culloden looks much as it did on 16 April 1746, when Bonnie Prince Charlie's rebel army was crushed by government troops led by the Duke of Cumberland. This final confrontation of the Jacobite Uprising of 1745 resulted in the casualties of over a thousand soldiers and many more people were executed in subsequent crackdowns on Jacobite sympathisers.

Today, visitors can roam this windswept patch of ground marked by stone clan graves and explore the NTS Visitor Centre. Many visitors have claimed to see visions of the battle or apparitions of the dead at the memorial cairns.

Perched on a hill overlooking the city and nearby cathedral, Glasgow Necropolis is a Victorian garden cemetery and the final resting place of some 50,000 individuals. In 1954, the graveyard became the centre of a hysteric panic when it was rumoured a 7ft tall vampire with iron teeth prowled amidst the tombstones. It was believed the vampire had kidnapped and eaten two local boys, prompting a group of children armed with sharp sticks and knives to begin patrolling the graveyard.

To this day, Glasgow Necropolis is still considered one of Scotland’s spookiest spots. Visitors have reported seeing a ghostly white lady floating around the cemetery and hearing faint disembodied whispers.

Dominating the skyline, the hulking figure of Edinburgh Castle looms over the city from its perch on top of the basalt core of an extinct volcano. Though today the castle is the city’s most popular tourist spot, it has a storied and bloody history. It is reputed to be haunted by many ghosts, including that of a headless drummer boy whose appearance is said to be a warning that the castle is about to be attacked. This ominous apparition was first spotted in 1650 before Oliver Cromwell and his English army attacked.

At first glance, this small Yorkshire fishing town may appear unassuming but the charming red roofed cottages, pretty cobbled streets and picturesque harbour conceal an undertone of gothic horror. Immortalised in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Whitby becomes a site of terror when the bloodthirsty titular character shipwrecks off the coast on his way to London from Transylvania. The vampire comes ashore in the guise of a black dog and wreaks havoc on the unsuspecting town.

Stoker found inspiration for his iconic novel in Whitby’s magnificent abbey ruins, the eerie graveyard at St Mary’s Church, and the salty tales traded by seafarers across the harbour.

Once home to wolves and wild boar, this untamed wilderness is most famous for the 1612 Pendle Witch Trials. At the time, the Pendle Hill area was seen as a lawless periphery where religious non-conformism thrived and village healers performed magic for money. The trials led to ten of the accused being hanged, based on little more than local gossip and the testimony of a nine-year-old. The condemned were buried at Pendle Hill and it is said they haunt the surrounding buildings and villages to this day.

Built between 1576 and 1658 by local landowner Robert Wynn, Plas Mawr is a grand Elizabethan town house. Tragically, it is believed that Wynn’s pregnant wife lost her balance on the stairwell while her husband was away. The story goes that a doctor was called but he was unable to treat Wynn’s wife. The household refused to let him leave, however, locking him in the room with the patient who eventually died. The doctor fled up the chimney and was never seen alive again. When he returned home and discovered what had happened, Wynn was grief stricken and swore to take revenge on the doctor. It is said that Wynn, his wife, and the doctor all haunt the house to this day.

The infamous Tower of London has been a source of terror for over 900 years. Historically, those who committed treason or were seen as a threat to the throne were held within its dank walls. Many prisoners did not get out alive, and some were tortured before meeting violent deaths on nearby Tower Hill.

Even Queens weren’t safe from the Tower, as King Henry VIII’s second wife Anne Boleyn discovered when she spent her final days here before her execution. Now a popular tourist spot, visitors have reported seeing Anne Boleyn watching them from the room where she was held captive or even wandering the grounds with her head tucked beneath her arm.

Built by the Pomeroy family in the 15th century on the edge of a wooded ravine, Berry Pomeroy Castle was abandoned 200 years later. Today, only an eerie shell with a ghastly repuation remains. The castle is said to be haunted by the White Lady and the Blue Lady.

The White Lady is the restless spirit of Margeret Pomeroy who was held captive in the dungeons by her own family until she starved to death. The Blue lady is believed to be the ghost of a Norman castle lord’s daughter whose soul is condemned to wander the castle where she strangled her own baby.

Now fallen to ruin, Tintagel Castle was once the mighty fortress of Earl Richard of Cornwall. The eerie vestiges of the castle sit high on a hilltop surrounded by slate cliffs, accessible via two steep staircases that cling to the cliffside. The earl chose to build in this isolated, windswept spot due to the popular belief that this was the birthplace of the legendary King Arthur. According to legend, Arthur's shade haunts the ruins of Tintagel Castle, while the ghost of Merlin lurks in a dark, dank cave below.

Bodmin’s wild landscape and history of wrecking and smuggling has inspired countless thrilling tales. At night, the enraged wails of Jan Tregeagle can be heard howling across the rugged coastline and bleak moors. The restless spirit of Charlotte Dymond, who was murdered by her lover, is reportedly seen roaming the slopes of Roughtor, dressed in her Sunday best. The moors are also said to be the hunting ground of a huge panther-like cat known as the Beast of Bodmin Moor.

The 18th-century Jamaica Inn, made famous by Daphne Du Maurier’s novel written after her stay, is located right in the middle of Bodmin Moor. Guests and workers have reported strange incidents occurring in the dead of night, including hearing phantom coaches in the courtyard, whispers in old Cornish, anxious footsteps pacing the corridors, and even of seeing a strange man in a tricorne hat and cloak who walks through solid doors.

Weird and wonderful places to visit in Great Britain

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