10 Haunted Castles Around The World

All around the world, there are various different locations that claim to be the site of a haunting of some sort. There are often stories attached to these houses, hotels, castles, and other venues that lead lovers of the paranormal to believe that they're definitely haunted. Are they? That's hard to say but for people that believe in ghosts and all things spooky, staying at one of these places to find out for themselves would be a dream vacation.

There are castles all over the world, many of which were built hundreds of years ago. Considering the fact that these locations are all so old, it's no surprise that they have quite a bit of history within their walls. Not all that history is going to be so happy, either. That leads a lot of castles to get a reputation for being totally haunted.

To see 10 allegedly haunted castles around the world, keep reading!

10 Ballygally Castle, Ireland

Ballygally Castle is located in Ireland and although that name may be fun to say, the stories associated with this castle and the spirits that people claim live within its walls are not fun.

The most common ghost that people experience in Ballygally Castle is the ghost of a woman named Lady Isobel Shaw who once called this castle home. According to stories, Shaw's husband locked her in a room and she fell from a window trying to get out. She now wanders the castle and knocks on doors.

9 Himeji Castle, Japan

Himeji Castle is a castle located in Japan and is a very famous example of Japanese architecture. It was originally built in the 14th century and has been expanded on several times over the past several hundred years. Himeji Castle has appeared in several movies and has quite a few legends and ghost stories attached to it.

According to the main ghost story associated with this castle, a servant named Okiku lived in one of the lowest dungeons of the castle. Okiku worked for a well-known samurai named Tessan who fell in love with Okiku. Unfortunately, Okiku didn't return Tessan's feelings and Tessan framed Okiku for losing a valuable item in the castle. Okiku drowned herself in the well on the castle's property and, to this day, people claim that Okiku's ghost haunts its halls.

8 Bran Castle, Romania

Dracula is just a story and definitely not real, right? Technically yes but according to some beliefs, Bram Stoker was inspired by Vlad the Impaler to write his famous vampire novel. And some people believe that Bran Castle in Romania is the castle that inspired the one that Dracula himself lived in.

Although many historians argue that Bram Stoker had never even heard of Bran Castle, this castle has plenty of other spooky stories attached to it. There are many local legends that claim that the spirits of medieval people that lived in the area still haunt this castle's halls.

7 Raynham Hall, England

Back in 1936, Raynham Hall first became famous because a photograph of an alleged ghost was published in Country Life magazine. The photograph shows a ghostly figure standing at the foot of a set of stairs in this castle and has inspired generations of ghost hunters.

According to the legends that surround this castle, the Brown Lady of Raynham Hall as the ghost is called is Lady Dorothy Walpole. She was married to the first Prime Minister of Great Britain and, after being accused of having an affair, she was locked in her room and not let out for the rest of her life.

6 Moosham Castle, Austria

When most people think of witches and witch hunts throughout history, people typically think of the Salem Witch Trials. Although that is a famous example of people coming together to try to take out the supposed witches that live among them, it's not the only place that's been the home of such an event.

The Salzburg Witch Trials took place over a 15-year period in the 17th century in Salzburg, Austria. Over 100 people lost their lives during this time period and they were all taken to this castle in order to be dealt with. Considering this castle has such a brutal history, it's no surprise that it has quite a few alleged hauntings attached to it.

5 Arundel Castle, England

Arundel Castle's name may remind you of Frozen, but trust us when we say that this castle is far from the home of Elsa and Anna. This castle was built back in the 11th century and was expanded and renovated several times over the next few hundred years. This castle is notable because it's home to several different ghosts that people have spotted over the years.

From the Earl of Arundel to The Blue Man and the strange spirit of a white bird-looking figure, there are several different ghosts that people have seen in the halls of this castle. Much of this castle is now open to tourists and people have reported seeing these ghosts wandering the halls during their visits for centuries.

4 Leap Castle, Ireland

Leap Castle is a castle located in Ireland that was built back in the 12th century. This castle has quite a history, primarily focused on the O'Bannon and the O'Carrolls. These are two families that had control over this castle in its early days who battled it out over control of the castle. The O'Carroll family is said to have used this castle as a site for eliminating their enemies, giving this castle a dark history.

Paranormal investigators that have visited this privately-owned castle have claimed to see multiple ghosts within its walls. Most notably is the Red Lady, the spirit of a woman who was allegedly held in this castle by the O'Carrolls. According to legend, she lost her baby and now wanders the halls, trying to find it.

3 Frankenstein Castle, Germany

Frankenstein Castle is a castle located in Germany that many people believe was the inspiration behind Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. Although there's no real evidence that Mary Shelley was inspired by this castle, the fact that she visited Germany and was only miles from it before writing the novel leads people to believe she may have been.

One of the famous residents of this castle was a man named Johan Conrad Dippel, a professional alchemist. According to legends about Dippel, he would bring the bodies of people that had passed away back to this castle to perform experiments on them. Many paranormal investigators have checked out Frankenstein Castle and experienced some pretty strange events which isn't shocking considering the stories about Dippel.

2 Dragsholm Castle, Denmark

Dragsholm Castle was built in the 13th century and is home to several different spirits that people claim to see in the castle and on its grounds. One of the most famous ghosts that is said to haunt this location is known as the White Lady and she has an especially eerie story.

According to legend, the White Lad was a noble girl who lived in this castle and fell in love with a commoner that lived nearby. Her father, so upset with her for her choice, locked her away in her room. Centuries later, while expanding on the castle, her body was found inside the castle's walls. People who stay here claim to see her roaming the castle, probably trying to find her love.

1 Castle Fraser, Scotland

Castle Fraser was built in the 16th and 17th centuries. It has had several renovations over the years, but one of them is attached to a particularly spooky legend about this castle.

According to stories about Castle Fraser, this castle is haunted by the ghost of a young princess who was staying in the castle's Green Room. After she was attacked, she was dragged down the stairs and through the castle by her attacker before her body was left outside. Although the castle's staff tried to clean the blood off the stairs, the stains just wouldn't come up. Eventually, wood paneling was installed to cover them up and that same wood paneling still covers the stairs today while the princess' ghost roams the staircase at night.

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