As the popularity of 'haunted tourism' grows, we highlight some well-known spooky places in our patch..
1. Fountains Abbey, North Yorkshire
This ruined Cistercian monastery has a number of ghostly visitors. In the past a ghostly choir has been heard chanting in the Chapel of Nine Altars, and in the nearby Fountains Hall, it is believed that the daughter of Sir Stephen Proctor, who built the hall, haunts this hall and is expected to do so for the rest of eternity.
2. Scarborough Castle, North Yorkshire
The headless ghost of Piers Gaveston, Earl of Cornwall, and Edward II’s close friend, is reputed to haunt it. When the country was threatened by Civil War, Piers and his close friend King Edward II fled to Scarborough. He was captured at the castle by the earls of Pembroke and Warwick when the King escaped to York. After begging for a fair trial in London, Piers was dragged past a jeering crowd and beheaded in Warwick. It’s said that his bitterness has led him to terrorise the living ever since.
3. Burton Agnes Hall, East Yorkshire
When Sir Henry Giffith built Burton Agnes Hall, he had no idea that it would become his daughter’s final resting place. Some ten years after it was complete, Anne took a fateful journey to St Quintin Arms at Harpham and was robbed and attacked on the road. She made it home but died days later. Before her death, she told her sisters that she would never rest unless part of her remained in her beautiful home but, when she died, she was buried in the churchyard, so her ghost returned to haunt them. Traumatised, they consulted a vicar and opened her grave to bring her skull inside the house. So long as it remains undisturbed, the hall remains peaceful and Anne keeps her distance.
4. Fleece Inn, Elland, West Yorkshire
There are loads of chilling tales from this 400-year old watering hole. There have been reports of murders, secret tunnels and headless horseman at the pub, but its current landlords have their own tales of a poltergeist. From glasses falling off shelves to shadowy figures moving between rooms, it’s not for the faint-hearted whether you’ve had a pint or not.