Britain's 10 most haunted historic homes unveiled by National TrustBy NICK MCDERMOTT
Last updated at 23:27 28 October 2007
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If your idea of a happy Halloween is being frightened out of your skin, the National Trust is happy to oblige.
It has released a list of its ten most-haunted properties, guaranteed to chill the spine.
Undisputed number one is Blickling Hall, near Aylsham in Norfolk.
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Blickling Hall
Britain's most haunted house: Blickling Hall in Norfolk
It is described as a 'magnificent Jacobean house famed for its fine tapestries and rare books'.
More to the point, it is also said to be the home of Anne Boleyn's headless ghost.
The hall was built on the site of a former manor owned by Sir Thomas Boleyn, Earl of Wiltshire, and believed to be his daughter Anne's birthplace.
Henry VIII's second wife was beheaded in 1536, and her apparition is said to manifest itself every year on the anniversary of her execution with her head in her lap, sitting in a coach drawn by a headless rider.
Sadly for Halloween thrill seekers, the anniversary is May 19.
Headless Queen: Anne Boleyn is said to appear every year on the anniversary of her execution with her head in her lap
For good measure, however, the hall has two other souls wandering its corridors for eternity.
Sir Thomas is said to have been cursed for taking no action to save his daughter.
Each year, his spectre has to attempt to cross 12 bridges before **** crow.
The phantom of Sir John Fastolfe, the 15th-century knight who became the model for Shakespeare's Falstaff and sold the hall to Sir Thomas, is also believed to visit his old home.
Jan Brookes, Blickling's house manager, said some visitors report sightings, especially around May 19.
'One or two of our volunteers report little bits too: the "Grey Lady", someone coming through the wall and disappearing again - but then, this is a very old house with a lot of clanking in the pipes.'
National Trust officials based the top ten on how often the spirits appeared, the infamy of the ghost, and whether the haunting offered 'something that little bit different'.
Haunted: Blickling Hall staircase, where guests have reported seeing ghosts
The list was drawn up with the help of Sian Evans, the author of Ghosts: Mysterious Tales from the National Trust.
Other properties to make the top ten include Dunster Castle in Somerset, which boasts several spectres including a man in green.
Visitors to Powis Castle in Welshpool-have witnessed a mysterious lady in black seen sitting in a chair beside the fireplace, while staff have spotted her in other parts of the building.
According to a poll of more than 2,100 adults for the National Lottery, 37 per cent believe in ghosts and, of those, almost half have tried to make contact with the spirit world.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-490268/Britains-10-haunted-historic-homes-unveiled-National-Trust.html
