Spine-chilling ghost tours to be held at creepy Somerset castle
Visitors to Dunster Castle will be given the chance to explore its unused corridors and dark corners during candle-lit, late-night guided tours.[1]
The National Trust ghost tours will offer a wealth of creepy stories, including the grimmest which surrounds the oubliette which adjoins the old gateway.[2]
Many medieval castles would have had a means of holding their prisoners in an underground cell beneath a gatehouse, and this dark, damp space is reputed to be a pit dungeon where prisoners would have been lowered in through a trap door, forgotten about and left to die.
Sir Walter Luttrell told the story of a skeleton being found here in the 19th century, creating the legend of an excavation which unearthed a 7-foot-tall skeleton manacled to the wall by his wrists and ankles. Dogs seem particularly troubled by this sinister site and sometimes refuse to climb the steps near to where the body was found.
Many of the historic houses that the National Trust look after have their fair share of dark and grisly tales and the hilltop at Dunster, home to a castle for more than 1,000 years, is no exception with many reports of ghostly sightings and sensations.
Ghost in leather gallery at Dunster Castle, Somerset (Image: The National Trust)
David Moore, house and collections manager at Dunster Castle, agreed that working at the castle can sometimes be eerie: “When we are closing up the castle at night, especially at this time of year, it is difficult not to see strange shadows in windows and hear footsteps or keys rattling.”
Each ghost tour will be led by an expert storyteller who will relay a wealth of haunted tales from the castle’s long and fascinating history, including recent reports of men’s voices and loud marching footsteps in areas of the castle known to be empty.
Jill Schofield, senior programming and partnerships officer at Dunster Castle, added: “We can’t wait to welcome you to this year’s Ghost Tours at the castle. They’ve always been such a popular event here, though definitely not for the faint-hearted, it’ll be such a pleasure to welcome visitors again for two nights of jumps and chills.”
The ghost tours will take place on Monday, October 30, and Tuesday, October 31, and last approximately 50 minutes. Tickets cost £25 per person and must be booked in advance here[4] or by calling 0344 249 1895.
References
- ^ late-night guided tours. (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
- ^ adjoins the old gateway. (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
- ^ Glastonbury Festival 2024 headliner odds include Worthy Farm legends Coldplay and Barbie movie star (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
- ^ advance here (%20https)