Bamburgh Castle
Visited 14 September 2004
Bamburgh Castle, dating back to the 11th century is an awesome sight on the North Eastern coastline atop a massive rock. There are numerous ghost stories surrounding the castle but unfortunately the castles owner’s frown upon talks of ghosts and ghouls haunting their castle so won't allow ghost hunts. Fortunately, however, the surrounding sand dunes are said to be every bit as haunted as the castle itself. This was my fifth visit at a haunted location in under a week and I had high hopes that these mysterious dunes would deliver.
Bamburgh Castle is very famous and rumour has it was once the home of Sir Lancelot. I paid a visit to the castle last summer during the day, I didn't see or experience anything but it is a great way to spend a day out. It has an amazing torture chamber and a fascinating armoury.
Visitors to Bamburgh Castle have been known to report the sight of a young woman with a bundle in her arms descending the steep steps from a small postern gate north of the clock tower. As she descends she stumbles and cries out, falling down the narrow stairway. From above the sound of heartless laughter. Upon rushing to her aid, visitors have reported that there is no sign of either the young lady or the bundle she was carrying.
The best explanation for this occurrence is that the young lady is the ghost of a local girl called Jane who was sent by her impoverished family to beg for food at the Castle. After being abused and then turned away by the guards Jane, overcome with weakness, stumbled and fell to her death along with the baby that she carried in her arms. This phantom is often called 'Green Jane' because of the striking colour of her cloak.
Many visitors to the Castle have reported sensing something in the air or even feeling that they have been touched, then turning to discover no one there. Others have seen or heard furniture being moved around when there was no one in the room. An armour clad knight is also often heard stomping about the castle, sometimes rattling his chains.
Visitors to Bamburgh Castle have been known to report the sight of a young woman with a bundle in her arms descending the steep steps from a small postern gate north of the clock tower. As she descends she stumbles and cries out, falling down the narrow stairway. From above the sound of heartless laughter. Upon rushing to her aid, visitors have reported that there is no sign of either the young lady or the bundle she was carrying.
The best explanation for this occurrence is that the young lady is the ghost of a local girl called Jane who was sent by her impoverished family to beg for food at the Castle. After being abused and then turned away by the guards Jane, overcome with weakness, stumbled and fell to her death along with the baby that she carried in her arms. This phantom is often called 'Green Jane' because of the striking colour of her cloak.
Many visitors to the Castle have reported sensing something in the air or even feeling that they have been touched, then turning to discover no one there. Others have seen or heard furniture being moved around when there was no one in the room. An armour clad knight is also often heard stomping about the castle, sometimes rattling his chains.
The dunes have a lot of great stories as well, to the untrained eye they just seem like any other sand dunes, but they have a horrific and gruesome history. In the days when the castle was used for defence and killing, witch covens lived amongst the dunes preying upon people, killing them and setting them on fire as a tribute to Satan. When people brought goods to the castle by ship, thieves would hide in the dunes and ambush people carrying supplies or treasure to the castle, hacking them to pieces then stealing whatever they were taking to the castle. There is also a series of secret tunnels underneath the castle leading out to the sand dunes.
During the filming of Roman Polanski's version of Macbeth, the actors saw hands crawling through the dunes, they originally thought it was part of the special effects but they weren't!
A school trip to the castle went on the dunes and since the weather was fairly bad they linked hands as they walked along the beach, the young girl at the back turned to see who's hand she was holding and was terrified to find it was a hacked off human hand which then vanished. She was subject to several months of therapy after her experience.
There are also often dark shadows seen moving in amongst the dunes and on the beaches.
There has been a Christian (although it is possible it is Pagan) burial site dating back 1500 years found in the sand dunes by archaeologists. Deep below the sand where we would be walking could be the remains of people who died in early post-Roman times.
I was joined on this cold, wet, windy, September evening by Harry Dalton and my younger brother, Thomas Kirkup. We arrived at Bamburgh at 10pm and the approach to the castle is a breathtaking sight. We drove along a quiet country road and as you drive around a bend the castle is suddenly right in front of you, a staggering sight, imposing beyond belief, especially after dark.
A school trip to the castle went on the dunes and since the weather was fairly bad they linked hands as they walked along the beach, the young girl at the back turned to see who's hand she was holding and was terrified to find it was a hacked off human hand which then vanished. She was subject to several months of therapy after her experience.
There are also often dark shadows seen moving in amongst the dunes and on the beaches.
There has been a Christian (although it is possible it is Pagan) burial site dating back 1500 years found in the sand dunes by archaeologists. Deep below the sand where we would be walking could be the remains of people who died in early post-Roman times.
I was joined on this cold, wet, windy, September evening by Harry Dalton and my younger brother, Thomas Kirkup. We arrived at Bamburgh at 10pm and the approach to the castle is a breathtaking sight. We drove along a quiet country road and as you drive around a bend the castle is suddenly right in front of you, a staggering sight, imposing beyond belief, especially after dark.
As we got out of the car and started getting equipped for our night ahead, I had a new torch after the happenings at Dunstanburgh Castle two nights previous. Two dark figures appeared up ahead of us "There are people" whispered Harry "Should I torch them?" I had visions of him running up and setting them on fire until he shone his torch in their faces and I understood what he had meant.
We walked around the outer perimeter of the castle. There were lights on in some of the rooms but that is because a lot of the castle is used as apartments.
We walked around the outer perimeter of the castle. There were lights on in some of the rooms but that is because a lot of the castle is used as apartments.
We hadn't even made it onto the dunes and into the darkness, away from the well lit castle, and Tom's brand new torch was broken, this was nothing paranormal, simply because he'd been a bit tight fisted and bought his torch from Poundland*.
We found what seemed to be the best spot to clamber down to the sand dunes a fair way below where we currently were. We slowly and carefully made our way down the steep, sandy embankment. We all made it down safely and decided to head towards the beach, within seconds I'd managed to fall down a hole. I picked myself up and dusted myself down and we set off in search of the shadow creatures and the mysterious hands that are said to roam this area after dark.
The ground was covered in snails so we had to be careful where we walked, we also found a frog. We wandered around the maze like dunes but saw and felt nothing. We reached the highest point overlooking the darkened, deserted beach, the floodlights from the castle cast our long shadows across the sand and out towards the sea.
We found what seemed to be the best spot to clamber down to the sand dunes a fair way below where we currently were. We slowly and carefully made our way down the steep, sandy embankment. We all made it down safely and decided to head towards the beach, within seconds I'd managed to fall down a hole. I picked myself up and dusted myself down and we set off in search of the shadow creatures and the mysterious hands that are said to roam this area after dark.
The ground was covered in snails so we had to be careful where we walked, we also found a frog. We wandered around the maze like dunes but saw and felt nothing. We reached the highest point overlooking the darkened, deserted beach, the floodlights from the castle cast our long shadows across the sand and out towards the sea.
We walked along the beach near the dunes away from the castle into pitch black, Tom was still without a working torch so had to rely on Harry and I for light til we got our bearings and turned off the torches to allow our eyes to adjust to the darkness.
We heard a whistle, not sure where it came from. Harry shone his torch towards the dunes and onto a person standing watching us! "There's someone there" I whispered, "what on earth is he doing out here in the dark watching us?" "Yeah a person with a round rubber body and a wooden head!" said Harry pointing out that it was a wooden frame with a safety flotation ring on it for when people are drowning. We walked until we were it total darkness, we could no longer see the castle, the only light we could see were lighthouses in the distance. I had earlier explained how it's easier to see spirit out the corner of your eye and demonstrated how by holding my fingers out in front of my eyes then moving my fingers out to the sides of my head so you can just see them out the corner of your eyes. We weren't having any luck seeing anything or hearing anything. Harry pointed out that he wasn't at all uncomfortable and felt he could walk around here all night long alone with no problems apart from the freezing cold wind that chilled us all to the bone. We decided to make our way back into the dunes in the hope of having more luck.
We wandered through the dunes for about an hour without experiencing anything, I felt fine as did Harry, Tom at the back, however, had a feeling of being followed and kept turning around to check there was no one there. We headed back to the castle and stood in the car park looking out to the beach for a while but saw nothing. We got back into 'The Mystery Machine' and bid Bamburgh Castle farewell.
We heard a whistle, not sure where it came from. Harry shone his torch towards the dunes and onto a person standing watching us! "There's someone there" I whispered, "what on earth is he doing out here in the dark watching us?" "Yeah a person with a round rubber body and a wooden head!" said Harry pointing out that it was a wooden frame with a safety flotation ring on it for when people are drowning. We walked until we were it total darkness, we could no longer see the castle, the only light we could see were lighthouses in the distance. I had earlier explained how it's easier to see spirit out the corner of your eye and demonstrated how by holding my fingers out in front of my eyes then moving my fingers out to the sides of my head so you can just see them out the corner of your eyes. We weren't having any luck seeing anything or hearing anything. Harry pointed out that he wasn't at all uncomfortable and felt he could walk around here all night long alone with no problems apart from the freezing cold wind that chilled us all to the bone. We decided to make our way back into the dunes in the hope of having more luck.
We wandered through the dunes for about an hour without experiencing anything, I felt fine as did Harry, Tom at the back, however, had a feeling of being followed and kept turning around to check there was no one there. We headed back to the castle and stood in the car park looking out to the beach for a while but saw nothing. We got back into 'The Mystery Machine' and bid Bamburgh Castle farewell.
Conclusion
The simple answer is no, we didn't see, hear, or feel anything. I don't doubt the stories of people experiencing things here but I guess tonight just wasn't to be our night. I wish I had something more exciting to write about, but I don't want to make things up, I promised the truth and nothing but.
Maybe next time...
*Disclaimer - I'm not saying the torch broke because it was from Poundland, I personally think Poundland is great so please don't sue me.
Maybe next time...
*Disclaimer - I'm not saying the torch broke because it was from Poundland, I personally think Poundland is great so please don't sue me.
