Tynedale's haunting top 10 for Halloween

Dilston Castle and chapel

James Radcliffe, the 3rd Earl of Derwentwater, was a peace-loving man who lived at Dilston Castle with his young wife, Anna Maria, and their child.

But during the Jacobite Rebellion, Anna Maria pressed him into taking up arms to reinstate a Scottish king, a Stuart, to the throne.

He duly rounded up around 300 local men and off they rode to war. The plan failed however and James was forced to surrender. Aged just 26, he was sentenced to death on January 10, 1716. Strange things happened as he awaited the executioner’s axe on February 24. The night before, the Aurora Borealis showed brightly and in Northumberland, the Northern Lights became known ever after as Lord Derwentwater’s Lights.

The following morning, hundreds of adders were seen swimming in the River Derwent and locals believed every one represented a spirit of Radcliffe’s fallen men.

Following his execution, the Earl was brought back to Dilston and laid in the chapel near the hall. Ever since, he is said to have haunted the surrounding area. In his book, Ghostly Northumberland, author Rob Kirkup talks about “a lonely headless man walking in the woods near the Devil’s Water”.

* Please note, the site is not accessible to the public, unless by prior arrangement with the Northumbrian Jacobite Society on (01573) 470746.

Langley Castle

The Langley Castle we know today is a luxurious hotel near Haydon Bridge.

But in bygone times, it witnessed its fair share of tragedy. Sir Thomas de Lucy, who built the distinctive four-storey, H-shaped tower, was slain at the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403 by Henry Bolingbroke, who was to become Henry IV. But it isn’t Sir Thomas who still stalks the tower.

After hearing of her husband’s death, Thomas’ wife, Maud, was so overcome with grief that she walked up to the battlements in an almost trance-like state and threw herself over the side.

Poor Maud de Lucy is now rumoured to repeat her tragic death over and over again, seemingly for all eternity.

Otterburn Battlefield

It may be 600 years since 10,000 soldiers lost their lives during the Battle of Otterburn, also known as the Chevy Chase, but that doesn’t mean their souls are at rest.

August 19, 1388 has gone down in history as a black day for Northumbria and a triumph for the Scots.

Led by the Earl of Douglas, the Scots raided against a much smaller force headed up by Harry Hotspur and the Percy army.

In the aftermath of the raid, Hotspur gave chase, but the Earl lay in wait at Otterburn. Hotspur decided to attack under the cover of darkness but the Scots were alerted by the trumpet calls and battle cries. Hotspur was captured and ransomed. The English survivors made it as far as Elsdon before they were taken prisoner.

Centuries later – in 1888 – one Percival Hall and his fellow shepherd, John Ellesden, were out late driving their sheep when they witnessed what they later claimed to be a ‘spectral replay’ of the battle.

“They claimed to have heard the sounds of galloping horses, getting louder as if nearing them, then the sound of trumpets,” says Rob Kirkup in Ghostly Northumberland. “Then, upon a ridge above them, they saw cavalry appear in fourteenth-century armour.”

Haughton Castle

Tales of the Border Reivers are many and varied, but one of the most gory is that of Archie Armstrong – a prominent member of the Armstrong Clan of Liddesdale.

In one ambitious raid on Tynedale, he was captured and flung into a dungeon in Haughton Castle.

The castle’s owner, Sir Thomas Swinburne, had other things than Archie on his mind. He had received an important summons from the Lord Chancellor, Cardinal Wolsey, to go to York as a matter of urgency.

He was well on his way when he clocked a large key hanging from his belt. It was the only key to the cell where Archie had already been languishing for three days without victuals.

Sir Thomas was faced with the choice of returning to Haughton and incurring the cardinal’s displeasure or allowing Archie to die a painful death.

A compassionate chap, Sir Thomas turned his horse around and galloped home. But when the dungeon was opened, there was Archie Armstrong – dead.

Understandably perhaps, the reiver’s ghost returned to haunt the castle. Fearful shrieks would emanate from the dungeon and despite a priest being brought from Simonburn to exorcise Archie, once the bible was taken away for repair, the shrieking returned.

Hastily, the bible was returned to its place in the castle and the shrieking ceased. Archie was finally at peace.

Featherstone Castle

A true Romeo and Juliet love story lies behind the legend of Featherstone Castle, near Haltwhistle.

It was on January 17, 1540, that Abigail Featherstonehaugh was forced down the aisle to wed her neighbour, Thomas Blenkinsopp.

Poor Abigail was already in love with Richard Ridley, the son of another influential local dynasty, but not so popular with her dear papa.

Richard reputedly gathered his cronies to ambush the bridal party as they left the church and as the groom drew his sword to defend himself, a distraught Abigail leapt between them, only to be cut down in the fray.

Old Lord Featherstonehaugh, waiting to welcome the wedding party to his castle, saw a troop of horses approach, ridden by silent riders, some limbless and dripping gore.

The phantoms took their seats at the table fulfilling their pledge to celebrate the union of Featherstonehaugh and Blenkinsopp – and some say they still do.

Winter’s Gibbet

Ghost hunters might do well to visit Winter’s Gibbet at Elsdon. If you’re lucky you may see the ghost of the eponymous William Winter who was executed on August 10, 1792 in Newcastle after slitting the throat of a kind-hearted old lady, Margaret Crozier, before robbing her home at Raw Pele Tower.

The crime was so heinous, it was decided his body should return to Elsdon and be hung up for all to see in a gibbet cage. As Ghostly Northumberland tells us: “His lifeless body was fed upon by birds, pecking out his eyeballs and feasting on his rotten flesh. Eventually all that was left was his bones.”

The most common spot for sightings of his spirit is at a cattle grid near Harwood Forest, about 100 metres from where today’s replica gibbet stands.

Lord Crewe, Blanchland

Daring Dorothy Forster was a devoted sister who sprung her brother, Thomas Forster MP, from Newgate Prison, three days before his planned execution.

He had been one of the leaders of the Northumbrian Jacobites.

Dorothy took him to Blanchland and hid him in the priest’s hole at the family home – now the Lord Crewe Arms at Blanchland.

She then staged a mock funeral which enabled him to escape to France.

Dorothy is reputed to haunt one of the rooms of the hotel, although since its refurbishment, the new owners have been eager to play down the spooky tale.

Bellister Castle

A HAPLESS minstrel from medieval times was allegedly murdered after being caught up in an inter-clan feud at Blenkinsopp and Bellister Castles.

The musician, who had spent a night entertaining the folk of Blenkinsopp, was suspected of being a spy when he travelled to Bellister the next night. Sensing something was amiss, he decided to make a break for it, but simply confirmed the suspicions.

Bloodhounds were released to track him down and he was reportedly hung from the giant sycamore tree that stands behind Bellister Castle to this day. Why not go and visit him?

Matfen Hall

Every serious country house should have a ghost and a standard sighting is a grey lady. Matfen Hall is no exception, and whilst not well documented, nor seen for many years, there was a tale of just such a phantom that was surmised to have been manufactured to frighten junior servants. However, recently, a photographer was commissioned to take some promotional pictures, including one of the monumental fireplace in the Great Gothic Hall. He saw nothing untoward through the lens, but when the film was developed, there was a figure of a lady on the grand staircase, her face obscured by the hood of her cloak. The photograph features in The ships That Came Home – the Story of a Northern Dynasty by AW Purdue.

Haltwhistle

It’s not a good idea to venture onto the moors around Haltwhistle alone at night, for a haunted hunt is reputed to roam this way.

Baying hounds with slavering jowls and eyes burning with fire, led by the devil himself and leading a group of dark riders, all mounted on black steeds, are said to stalk the night.

Locals tell of a farmer who had one too many on market day and came across the wild hunt on his way home. As the lead huntsman approached, the farmer drunkenly called out, asking if they’d had a good hunt.

“Aye,” replied the huntsman. “We have had good sport.” With a hideous laugh, he dropped a bundle of rags onto the ground and rode off. When the farmer unwrapped the bundle, he found it contained the corpse of his baby son.

** Ghostly Northumberland by Rob Kirkup is published by The History Press at £12.99.