Chillingham Castle in Northumberland, England is considered one of the most haunted places in the UK. It has a long history dating back to the 12th century and was strategically important due to its location near the Scottish border. It witnessed many battles and served as a prison, with reports of torture and death of prisoners. Several ghosts are reported at the castle, including the Blue Boy said to have been bricked up alive in the walls. Despite possible natural explanations, the castle's dark past provides reasons for supposed hauntings if one believes in ghosts.

1. Post author By Charlie October 27, 2020
The Haunted Files – Case #5 – Chillingham Castle
theweeklyrambler.com/the-haunted-files-case-5-chillingham-castle/
Original Featured Photo Source: Here.
The Haunted Files explore haunted places, either that are famous or little known. I do
some research into the places history and talk about the apparent haunting and the
possible reasons for it from research collected on history and background and then
make a conclusion.
This shall be a 5-part series with one released each Tuesday. This is the 5th and final
part of this series! I am planning to make a 2nd series on this that also includes 5-parts
again!
Description of Chillingham Castle
1/10

2. Original unedited photo by Hadrianus1959 from Wikimedia. CC BY-SA 4.0.
Source.
Chillingham Castle is found in Northumberland, England, United Kingdom in the
village of Chillingham and not too far from the coast and the Scottish border
and is nearby to a number of small towns such as Wooler, Alnwick, Eglingham,
Holburn, Belford and Lucker among others.
The castle has a thick quadrangle curtain wall with four towers, one at each corner and
everything else contained within its walls, the castle is surrounded by landscape gardens
designed by Capability Brown in the 1800s.
Rooms and spaces within the castle include its armoury, where various weapons such as
cannons and rifles have been stored over the centuries, with the contents changing as
time went on and different weapons came to be and new strategies were devised. Then
there is the Still Room used for storage of preserves and liqueurs. There were the castle
dungeons used for holding prisoners, although it was also used for hiding as well.
A large medieval courtyard is at the center of the castle. Then there is the Great Hall for
dining and entertainment and for hospitality of the royals who visited the castle, with
large windows that overlooked the courtyard.
Visitors heading up the castle stairs will see the artists room and also the famous Pink
Room (a luxury royal bedroom). The Edward I room is the oldest state room of the
castle named after the visit of Edward I “Hammer of the Scots”, this room kept Lords of
2/10

3. the castle secluded and up high and safe. Another state room is the King James I room,
named after the King’s royal visit in 1603.
There is then the Plaque Room Library which currently displays family memorabilia and
furnishings, the room had also had a four-poster bed for the King to receive his family
and close friends. The current New Dining Room was once during King James I and
Charles I time as a place for them to sleep and wash.
The castle also has a Chapel which was originally a library in the castle. Then there is the
Minster’s Hall which is yet another hall for entertainment and dining. Then of course
there is the infamous torture chamber, its usage pretty self-explanatory, but very
gruesome, with the usage of such medieval implements considered very inhumane in
the modern age.
The castle also now has a museum for tourists/visitors as well.
The History of Chillingham Castle
The history of Chillingham Castle goes back into medieval times, with the castle having
been established since the 12th Century and due to its location close to the Scottish
border it became an often-important staging ground for armies preparing to defend
against Scotland but was also often besieged by Scottish armies, leading to the grounds
having seen many battles and much death.
3/10

4. The area the castle is located, Chillingham village, has had human activity since at least
prehistoric times which are not recorded, but it is known due to finds on the grounds,
such as flint and antler arrowheads and bronze-age axes, which were found during
the castle’s usage as a POW camp during World War 2, another part of its dark history.
A fort had been erected in Chillingham by the time of the Iron Age by various local
tribes and was located on Ross Hill, a hill which now-a-days gives a view of the castle’s
grounds.
The castle has far too much history to mention it all in one go, but I will pick out some
of the pivotal and important parts as well as parts important to the hauntings.
Transition into a Castle
Before it was a castle the place was a monastery constructed by monks but due to
increasing border conflict between the English and Scottish in the 1200s the manor
house was fortified and a tower and curtain wall was constructed. Wanting a point of
defense and garrison against Scottish incursions, the English monarchy gave the
monastery manor to the Grey family in 1246, this family was descended from the Croy’s
and therefore related to William the Conqueror.
Scottish Wars
The family got to work on changing the monastery into a proper castle, such as by
constructing battlements, dungeons and more. The castle would be used to hold many
prisoners of war and also spies and others who were seen as enemies. The castle came
to play pivotal roles in many wars with Scotland, such as the First Scottish War of
Independence in 1297.
In one event the forces of William Wallace, a Scottish Knight who was one of the main
leaders of the war, raided the village of Chillingham and committed atrocities such as
burning woman and children alive in the village church. After this event the castle
became the main base used against the Scottish in the war, used by Edward I who was
known as the “Hammer of the Scots”.
John Sage
John Sage is another major figure of the castle although much of his history isn’t
properly recorded and is shrouded in legend, originally said to be a soldier of Edward I,
but eventually is said to have received a leg injury which prevented him from fighting,
but he wanted another role so much that legend says he was appointed as a torturer of
the prisoners of the castle and it is said for the next three years of the war he committed
terrible acts of torture against prisoners, possibly torturing up to 50 prisoners a week.
Sage by the end of the war is said to have burned the remaining prisoners alive while
their children watched from the Edward I Room, and still apparently not feeling sated
he eventually hacked the children to death with an axe, eerily this apparent axe is still
displayed in the castle. At least 7,500 Scottish prisoners are alleged to have died at the
castle, many of them allegedly tortured to death.
4/10

5. John Sage would soon meet his end though after apparently killing his lover Elizabeth
Charlton in an apparent sex game gone wrong in the torture chamber. This act angered
the leader of powerful border outlaw gangs (her father) that helped play a vital part in
the fight against the Scottish and therefore to maintain relations Edward I handed John
Sage over to the gangs who sentenced him to be hung in the village, but instead he was
torn apart.
Again, much of the history on John Sage should be taken with a grain of salt as it is not
properly established.
License to Crenellate
In the 1340s the Grey family was given a license to crenellate by Edward III, which
means they were given permission to further fortify the castle, which was often only
given by King’s to families they considered most loyal. The castle transformed into a
quadrangle curtain wall which was at least 10-feet thick and towers and a moat were
added to the castle.
The castle fortifications and new defenses came just in the nick of time for the Second
Scottish War of Independence in 1345 which was headed by King David II. For
hundreds of years more the Grey family would continue to remain strongly loyal to the
English crown and act as a defense against incursions from the Scottish. The castle also
hosted King James VI of Scotland as he was on his way to be crowned as an English
King.
The original document of the license is still at the castle.
The castle went on to produce a number of Knights of the Garter, more than any other
castle in the United Kingdom. Members of the Grey family also fought wars in France
for the English crown and they even helped capture a Norman castle and they became
Earls of Tankerville.
There was a period in 1536 when the Percy family from nearby Alnwick castle sieged the
Chillingham castle during a rebellion against King Henry VIII called Pilgrimage of
Grace.
Entering the Modern Age
As time went on and things begun getting more peaceful the castle eventually became
more of a luxury country house for royalty rather than a castle used for defense and
war. Landscape gardens were eventually designed to surround the castle. Louise Phillip,
King of France, visited in 1832 and he gifted a pair of garden urns from Versailles.
As costs rose higher and higher to upkeep the castle it was eventually abandoned by the
Grey family in 1932, it was then used as a POW camp during World War II which played
a part in damaging the castle further and losing much of its luxury furnishings and
compromising the castle to the elements and after this it fell into disrepair and ruin
until 1982 where it was bought by Sir Humphry Wakefield, 2 Baronet, and restored tond
5/10

6. what it is today where it is now used as a tourist attraction, which offers historical and
ghost tours as well as a museum and also has some suites that tourists can book a
holiday stay in. Wakefield was married to a member of the Grey family although she has
since died in 2002. Wakefield’s son Maximillian is heir to receive Chillingham Castle
upon his father’s death.
Interesting and Eerie Discoveries
In the 19 Century renovators discovered the skeletons of a man and child hidden near
to a trap door of the underground vaults. It is speculated that the skeletons may have
been forgotten victims of a border Reiver attack.
More terrifying yet was a discovery in the 1920s during work in a bedroom known as the
Pink Room the skeleton of a young boy was discovered bricked up behind a wall which
eerily gives credence to a legend of the blue/radiant boy ghost, said to be the ghost of a
child who discovered sensitive documents in the castle related to the Spanish Invasion
of 1588 and to keep the boy silent he was bricked up behind a wall with the papers.
There was even evidence that the boy had attempted to scratch his way out of the wall.
Although the discovery cannot prove the legend, it certainly is still something creepy to
think about as to just exactly why this poor young child was walled up.
The wife of George, Earl of Tankerville, Leonora Van Marter, believed in the ghosts of
the castle and even claimed to witness activity herself, she told of her ghost stories in a
pamphlet that she published in 1925.
The Haunting of Chillingham Castle
th
6/10

7. Original unedited photo by TSP from Wikimedia. CC BY-SA 4.0.Source.
There are a number of ghosts said to haunt the castle, pretty much they are believed to
be the former historical inhabitants of the castle or in the case of John Sage, a soldier or
other servant of the castle itself. Those who run the tourist operations of Chillingham
Castle itself claim that the castle is the most haunted in the country, although this is
most likely just a way of attracting curious tourists to the site, I’m sure numerous other
castles could claim such a title if they wished.
Visitor accounts have claimed to feel invisible forces touching them as well as seeing
and even capturing ghostly orbs on camera and also hearing disembodied whispering in
places such as the King Edward I room.
There are several prominent ghosts that some believe to reside in and roam the castle,
such include one called the white pantry ghost said to be seen in that area where the
silver was stored, there is a legend from long ago during the castle’s operation that a
guard of the inner pantry was sleeping in the pantry only to suddenly be awoken by a
lady in white with very pale skin who begged him for water, the guard fooled for a
moment thinking it was a guest of the castle went to obey but then realized he was
locked in the pantry with no possible way for a guest or anyone to get in.
The above ghost is still said to be seen by some people in that area even now. Some have
theorized the ghost could have been someone poisoned which is why she was asking for
water.
7/10

8. In or near to the castle’s chapel it is said sometimes the voices of two men can be heard
talking and it is impossible to track their voices to a location and if one tried for long
enough the men’s voices will eventually stop.
Another is the apparent ghost of Lady Mary Berkeley who was the wife of the Lord Grey
of Wark, but her husband ran away with her sister Henrietta in 1682 leaving her behind
in the castle with her baby daughter, she died at the castle in 1710 and her spirit is said
to roam, perhaps still waiting for her husband or is simply too restless to pass over after
such a betrayal of love. It is said the rustling of silk and a drop in temperature signals
her ghostly presence.
And another ghost of one already mentioned is that of a blue/radiant ghost of a young
boy who, as already explained, is said to have been bricked up behind a wall to die due
to finding sensitive documents in the castle. The ghost haunts the Pink Room and is said
to cry out in fear or pain most often at the stroke of midnight, cries were also said to
emanate from a passage that led to an adjoining tower and eventually the cries would
fade and a halo of light would appear and then the apparition of a young boy dressed in
blue would appear and then start moving towards those sleeping in the room.
The above phenomena are said to have stopped after the skeleton was found bricked up
in the wall of the Pink Room and given a Christian burial, although reports from guests
staying in the room since the castle’s renovation after 1982 claim to sometimes see
flashes of blue emanate from the wall.
The Conclusion
8/10

9. Original unedited photo by TSP from Wikimedia. CC BY-SA 4.0.Source.
I decided for the final edition of this ‘series’ of the Haunted Files that I wanted to do a
supposedly haunted historical castle in the United Kingdom, with the idea of that
coming to me after I saw the announcement by the I’m a Celebrity Get me Out of Here
team saying that instead of doing the show in the Australian jungle like usual, they are
instead filming the show in an old castle somewhere in the United Kingdom. And so that
made me want to also feature a castle in this series.
One has to take into account that even despite the castles renovation and restoration it
is still an old structure and so the environment can play tricks on people such as by
draughts possibly making people think they are being touched by an unknown force or
make it feel like the temperature dropped for no reason as well as affecting the general
mood of the room and the large echoey spaces likely carry noise easily, leading to some
people being tricked into thinking they are hearing ghostly voices, but in actuality are
just voices of others in the castle being carried through the large rooms or cracks and
holes in the old structure.
Of course, that cannot entirely put the matter to rest, if it is haunted then it has much
reason to be haunted due to its history of having been besieged and the death that has
happened and if legends are to be believed on John Sage, many, many prisoners may
have been killed in gruesome and torturous ways which could, if one believes in such
stuff, certainly bring about a dark haunting in and of itself.
9/10

10. As well as that there are the unusual discoveries of skeletons in odd places that leave
many untold stories and possibly restless spirits wanting people to know what
happened to them so they can finally feel free.
Bibliography
https://historycollection.com/the-chilling-history-of-chillingham-castle/3/ – castle
history and haunting information
https://chillingham-castle.com/history-of-the-castle/ – Historical information
https://chillingham-castle.com/inside-the-castle/ – castle contents
https://chillingham-castle.com/ghosts/ – some haunting information.
https://great-castles.com/chillinghamghost.html – some more ghost information.
Thank you for reading the last part of one of my most ambitious series on the Weekly
Rambler so far. Stay tuned as there is much more yet to come, such as the already
mentioned Unexplained Files which will be released some time in the near future
hopefully, although I am still working on it, we may at this point not see it until the
beginning of next year.
As well as that I still have many other plans yet as well. And I will certainly be doing a
series 2 of Haunted Files as well at some point.
Thank you for reading this post, if you have any queries please Email me, you can find
my Email in the Contacts & Community section. Please also follow The Weekly Rambler
on Twitter, Reddit, Pinterest and Facebook which you can access through the buttons at
the bottom of this website. You can also use the social media buttons under each
blogpost to share with your family, friends and associates. You can also subscribe to
Email notifications at the right-side of this website to know whenever a new post goes
up (you can easily unsubscribe from this at any time through a button in each Email
notification), or alternatively you can use an RSS Feed Reader. Please also join my FB
Group The Weekly Ramblers Readers Group where readers can more easily talk with
each other and also with me whenever I am on, you can also find it in Community.
10/10