Chillingham Castle

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Widely regarded as one of the most haunted places in Europe, Chillingham Castle’s chief torturer was a cruel and sadistic man called John Sage. He met a grisly end when he made the mistake of accidently killing his girlfriend Elizabeth Charlton when a sex game on the wrack went wrong. Elizabeth’s family demanded Sage’s life or they would mob up with the Scottish Middle March families to annihilate Chillingham. English King Edward ‘Longshanks’ gave the Charltons what they wanted and had Sage strung up, with the crowd at his hanging cutting pieces off his body as souvenirs when he was still dancing on the end of the rope.
The castle hosts ghost tours today with a number of famous spectral apparitions said to haunt the atmospheric 12th Century building which was once owned by the prominent Grey family.
In 1516 Chillingham was descended upon and fired and robbed by 200 Scottish riders led by John and Hob Burn, Thom Minto, Dand Moffat, Thom and James Young and Jock and Henry Tait.
With many Scottish prisoners suffering tortures such as being rolled around in a barrel full of spikes, the raiders probably went into the raid with a ruthless sense of retribution.
There is also a herd of wild white cattle at Chillingham that are reckoned to have been in the area for at least 700 years – one can only wonder at how many were lifted during the raiding days, but around 90 beast still exist today.
Chillingham Castle is available for weddings, private functions and has self-contained apartments. The Castle is open to visitors from March to October with prices of £9.50 for adults, £8.50 for concessions, £5.50 for children (under 5s free) or £23 for a family ticket for 2 adults and up to three children. Opening times are 12.00 – 5.00 with a last entry time of 4.30pm. Night-time ghost tours, at a cost of £20 per person, take place at various times throughout the year. Check the website at www.chillingham-castle.com for further details.

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