HAUNTED HOUSES IN ENGLAND

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 108, 8 May 1937, Page 27

HAUNTED HOUSES IN ENGLAND

There are in Britain quite a number of strange.old houses, about which ghost stories are told, writes Obidiah North in the "Adelaide Chronicle." Up and down the land many an ancient palace, grim' old castle, and grey manor house, possesses a phantom, or in some cases a legend of a queer family curse.

From the Tower of London to Eden Hall in Cumberland, and historic Glarriis Castle in Scotland, these grisly tales abound. There are scores of such haunted human dwellings and eerie old ruins where spectres walk.

One such place is Hampton Court, beloved by all sightseers. Some folk believe that the ghosts of both Jane Seymour and Katherine Howard haunt this wonderful old palace, which that haughty churchman, Cardinal Wolsey, built in the early part of the sixteenth century. Then the ghost of, Queen Elizabeth is said, to haunt Richmond Palace, where she died on March 24, 1603.

Among the many haunted castles of England is Ripley Castle, in Yorkshire, where the ghost of a nun, it is said, walks still in the dead of night. Bisham .Abbey; overlooking the lovely Thames Valley, is the historic mansion which Henry VZtl gave to his queen, Anne of Cleves. Tradition declares that this mansion is haunted by the gnost of Lady Hoby, widow of a former owner, Sir Thomas Hoby. This energetic woman lived to the age of 81, and died in 1609 in the reign of James I. ' ■

Rushbrook Hall, near Bury St. Edmunds, is said to be haunted by a mysterious "White Lady" who floats along in an uncanny way on stormy nights.

In the north of England, .and especi-

nlly along the Scottish Border, we find a number of haunted castles and mansions. Among these is Wallington Hall, the famous Northumberland home of the Trevelyans, and it is said that not one, but a whole family of ghosts, move eerily about this northern mansion, all night long.

Another stately but haunted northcountry mansion is Seaton Delaval Hall, near Blyth, which was once the most splendid place in Northumberland. Over a hundred years ago this palatial house was gutted by fire.

Ballechin House, Perthshire, figured in an interesting book published about forty years ago, in which was related the many queer things which happened in this Scottish mansion.

The house was let for the season in 1896, to a wealthy family, who, however, only occupied it for a few weeks. ■ So many weird things happened, while strange sights and sounds upset the tenants that they were driven forth.

It had been the home for over forty years of a most eccentric man, who declared that he would return to earth as a black spaniel. People say that they have felt the presence of phantom dogs in this queer house.

. The . most famous of Britain's haunted houses is the historic Glamis Castle, in IJorfarshire, the ancestral home of the Earls of Strathmore. What is the mysterious ghost that has been the subject of much controversy? Some assert that a long-dead earl, who was killed in a duel, still haunts the ancient castle, with its many turrets. It is difficult to get at the truth, however, about the ghost, and the mysterious secret chamber built into the old grey walls.. The secret of Glamis has been jealously guarded throughout the long centuries and is known to few. Such is the belief of many.