Would You Be Convinced by These 5 English Hauntings?

Have you ever wondered if a house itself could become a ghost?

Folklore claims that that's the case with Knighton Gorges, a demolished manor (with a sordid history) that springs back to a semblance of life each New Year's Eve.

That's just one of the quirky hauntings found in England - if you have a taste for the paranormal, you might also want to visit...

• Beaulieu Abbey: Cistercian Monks and a Spectral Countess
• Bramshill House: The Tragedy of a Ghostly Bride
• Treasurer's House: An Obsessive Owner and Roman Soldiers
• Thorpe Park: A Headless Monk at the Theme Park
• Knighton Gorges: The Ghost of the House Itself!

Beaulieu Abbey: Cistercian Monks and a Spectral Countess

There's something very eccentrically British about Beaulieu, an abbey that became a manor house and then a motor museum - but retained a cast of resident ghosts!

The Beaulieu estate in the New Forest contains a hodge-podge of ancient and modern collectibles. As I mentioned, it's home to a motor museum, a 13th century gatehouse-turned-manor and the remnants of Beaulieu Abbey built in 1203-1204. Though open to the public, the palace house is home to Lord and Lady Montagu (whose ancestor Sir Thomas Wriothesley bought the property during the dissolution of the monasteries.)

The estate has quite a reputation for hauntings. For one thing, the ghosts of the long dead Cistercian monks are said to still walk the ruins, often accompanied by Gregorian chanting and the scent of incense. One particular monk known as brother Augustine is said to haunt the Domus area of the ruins, a place now hired out as a function room!

It's not just monks that haunt the property - visitors have reported seeing a blue or grey lady wandering through the walls. Ghost hunters have suggested that this is the shade of Isabella, Countess Beaulieu, who died in 1786. There's even been a photo taken of the apparition (link at the end) though I'll leave it up to you to decide how believable it is.

Either way, the Beaulieu estate has had a long association with the paranormal - and sir Arthur Conan Doyle (creator of Sherlock Holmes) once held a séance at the palace house!

Bramshill House: The Tragedy of a Ghostly Bride

Bramshill House in Hampshire is considered one of the most haunted places in Britain, boasting stories of up to fourteen separate ghosts.

The site appears as Bromeselle in the Domesday Book of 1086, but the "haunted" property was a later construction by Lord Zouche in the 17th century. It's served as a home, hospital, police college and even the residence of exiled Romanian royalty.

Specters said to frequent the building include a grey lady, a green man, an invisible child and many more, but the saddest one of all has to be the white lady, or the Bramshill House Bride.

The story goes that 17th century noble Anne Cope was to be married to Lord Hugh Bethell in Bramshill. She and her suitor had just said their vows, but decided to play a game of hide-and-seek before heading off to the marital bed.

The guests gave her a five-minute head start and then the game was on... but not a trace of the bride could be found. Though Anne had been in seemingly high spirits, the guests started to wonder if she had fled. Eventually the gathering dispersed without finding Anne.

Fifty years later, Hugh was still searching his home for any clues about what happened... when he discovered a large wooden chest tucked away in the attic.

The resident of the chest was none other than his missing bride, skeletal but still holding the remains of her bouquet. Scratches on the lid hinted at a futile attempt to escape from the trunk.

The story goes that her ghost still wanders the halls, often announced by the scent of lily-of-the-valley flowers. Apparently she even dropped in on the Romanian royalty mentioned above!

Treasurer's House: An Obsessive Owner and Roman Soldiers

Do you think it would be hard to work around an obsessive-compulsive ghost?

Treasurer's House in York was originally established in the early 12th century, built on the site of an ancient Roman road and acting as the residence of (shockingly) the Treasurer for York Minster. It was later sold off during the Reformation of the English Church, being extensively rebuilt in the 17th century, then was split into separate tenements as the years went by. It finally ended up in the hands of industrialist Frank Green, who bought each section hand had the house reassembled.

Green eventually moved away from York and donated the house to the National Trust for display and safe keeping. He also noted that, should the rooms be changed form how he had set them out, he would return to haunt the property. Given that Green had a reputation for extreme neatness (anecdotally he emptied an entire cutlery draw onto the floor as he didn't like the way the implements had been stacked) the Trust took him at his word.

Despite attempts to keep the house as it was, a fair number of paranormal event have been reported at the site. Events like all the clocks stopping (not broken, just... paused) and rearranged furniture are common features, as are the presence of unexplained and unclaimed animals.

Then there's the grey lady. This spook is usually reported as sitting in various antique chairs around the property, while apparently inviting children to do the same. The shade of Frank Green himself is also said to periodically drop in to check on the status of his house - usually heralded by an unexplained scent of cigar smoke.

Perhaps the weirdest ghosts said to haunt the location are a squad of Roman legionnaires. One of the best accounts is that of Harry Martindale, who encountered the spooks when fixing plumbing in the lower levels. He was rather surprised when a bunch of scruffy-looking soldiers marched through the wall, armed with spears, round shields and short swords.

Now, Romans are better known for their rectangular shields... but later researchers found that the withdrawing 6th legion was replaced with round-shield equipped troops in the 4th century. Archeologists also found the remains of a Roman road around eighteen inches below the floor!

Thorpe Park: A Headless Monk at the Theme Park

England may not have anything on the scale of Disneyland, but it does still have theme parks... and when the owners of Thorpe Park broke ground on a new ride, the resulting claims of eerie feelings and headless monks must have seemed like a Scooby-Doo knock-off!

The ride ("Storm Surge") was supposed to be built on an area known as Monk's Walk, a stretch of land between the ruins of Chertsey Abbey and Thorpe Church. Apparently the foundations of the 20m tall ride are 15m deep, meaning that they had a fair chance of disturbing old stone coffins - apparently some have been previously found on the site.

It seems that the park's owners took the reports seriously, bringing in paranormal investigators and a forensic geologist to investigate. To be honest, I'm surprised they didn't work the haunting into a ride somehow!

Knighton Gorges: The Ghost of the House Itself!

So haunted houses are one thing, but in this case the property itself is said to be the ghost!

Knighton Gorges once stood on the Isle of Wight, an island separated from the rest of Britain by the Solent and sitting in the English channel. The manor house was constructed in the 12th century and pulled down in the 19th - but during the intervening time, it had a sordid history.

One the first owners was Hugh de Morville, a knight with a rather dark claim to fame. You might have heard of Saint Thomas Becket? He was assassinated by a group of four staunch royalists after getting into a conflict with King Henry II. De Morville was one of those assassins!

When the property was renovated in 1565, the owners chose to keep a section with the engraving "The Room of Tears" above the door. The story goes that a previous occupant (Sir Theobald Russell) died of wounds sustained in battle in that room - with Lady Gorges perishing of a broken heart in the same room.

In 1721 owner (and MP for Newport) Tristram Dillington is said to have shot himself after a run of bad fortune. One version of the story claims that he had lost his wife and children to smallpox - another claims that he had just gambled his townhouse in Newport... and lost.

Either way, as a suicide his possessions and property would be forfeit to the crown - so his quick-thinking steward tied the ex-MP to his horse and sent it running into the Manor's pond. Tristram had a habit of nighttime rides, so his death could be passed off as an accident!

Local legend claims that Tristram's shade rides through the grounds each July 7th, the anniversary of his death. It's thought that a large skeleton buried in the walled garden may have belonged to the MP.

The property was demolished in 1821 by Maurice George Bisset. There are two theories as to why, one being that he went insane after catching syphilis during an affair with Lady Worsley and blamed the "cursed" manor for his misfortune. The other is that Bisset didn't want his manor falling into the hands of the clergyman who married his daughter Jane, so had it pulled down out of spite. People have claimed to have seen the ghost of Jane wandering the site in a blue and purple dress.

Not to be outdone by human ghosts, passers by have reported seeing large stone animals on the still-standing gate posts... even though there's nothing on them. Local folklore also claims that the house briefly reappears on New Years Eve, seemingly with a ball in full swing!

Thanks for reading - you might also be interested in...

• Disturb These 5 Real-Life Vampire Graves at Your Peril... on Vocal
• The Roman Shrine That Kills (and 4 other Ancient Wonders) on Vocal

Sources and Further Info:

• The ghosts of Beaulieu Abbey and Palace House
• Hannah Broughton claims she has photographed Beaulieu's ghostly Lady in Blue
• The Bramshill House Bride, or the Legend of the Mistletoe Bough
• The ghost stories of Treasurer’s House
• 'By the look of you, you’ve seen the Romans!'
• Bosses Move 'Haunted' Theme Park Ride
• The History and Hauntings of Knighton Gorges