Five of the most haunted castles in Europe!

People have been fascinated by castles for thousands of years, offering a gothic allure, being surrounded by myths or supposedly frequented by ghosts. In Europe, numerous castles are recognized as being haunted by ghosts, vampires or witches. If you would like to experience how real these ghost encounters really are, here are five of the most haunted castles in Europe!

1. The Bran Castle, Transylvania, Romania
Situated deep inside the Carpathian Mountains, the castle which is over a thousand years old is best celebrated as being Dracula’s Castle. In the 1400s. Vlad III Dracul is probably among the most infamous images of cruelty, due to his preferred method of torture, the impalement. Only the cruelness does not end here. Dracula preferred some even more gruesome tortures, including pounding nails into the thief’s head, hacking off limbs, blinding, and strangulation, burning or boiled alive, scalping or skinning alive. The castle is filled with instruments from the time of Vlad, being a museum for over forty years now.

2. Windsor Castle, London, England
Home of the present Queen of England, the Windsor castle is over 900 years old, and it is host to several ghosts from England’s past. King Henry VIII has been seen walking the hallways of the castle. Many guests said they heard footsteps, agonizing moans on several occasions coming from the castle’s corridors. Some people said they even saw Queen Elizabeth I in the Royal Library, in a black gown walking about. The first Duke of Buckingham, Sir George Villiers, is known to haunt one of the castle’s bedrooms, while the Long Walk is filled with wondering spirits.

3. Dragsholm Slot, Sealand, Denmark
Constructed in the twelfth century, the Dragsholm castle was home to kings and noble families has now been converted into a hotel, home to three ghosts: a gray lady, a white one and the ghost of the Earl of Bothwell. The gray lady is said to be a maiden that worked in the castle, while the white lady is the daughter of one of the owners of the castle. Her father caught her in love with a common man and imprisoned her in the castle’s dungeons. In 1930, while building new toilets for the castles, the workers found a skeleton with a white dress imprisoned in the wall.

4. Edinburgh Castle, Scotland
Located on a volcano that turned into a rock, the castle is the center of Scottish history for over 800 years now. After a terrifying plague, officials decided to build the new city over the remains of the old one. The Underground city was discovered in 1990 perfectly preserved while some people were renovating a home. There have been stories of people grabbed by icy hands, shows of light of unknown origin or voices heard throughout the grounds.

5. Ballygally Castle, Ireland
Built in 1625, the Ballygally Castle has now been turned into a hotel, occasionally haunted by Lady Shaw, a former lady of the Castle. She loves knocking at the doors of various hotel rooms and finds it amusing when guests find no one there. Ballygally is located near the Giant’s Causeway, offering superb views of the Antrim Mountains and the Irish Sea.