Scotland
The setting for Shakespeare’s Macbeth (a play that’s not short on its own ghosts and superstitions), Glamis is regarded by paranormal-investigator types as the most haunted castle in Britain.
Among the many alleged ghostly goings-on over the centuries have been a card game between the Earl and the devil (they are said to still play every Sunday, in a secret room within the crypt walls) and an incident a few years ago, when an Edinburgh lawyer visiting for dinner saw a lady in white float beside his car, all the way to the door. And he hadn’t even had an aperitif.
Country house haunting
Levens Hall, near Kendal, Lake District, Cumbria
Imposing old country houses were just made to be haunted, and Levens Hall, an Elizabethan manor house with a creepy 12th-century tower, fits the bill nicely.
Once again there’s a lady involved, though here it’s the Grey Lady, who was, so legend tells, a gypsy who was refused food and shelter during a harsh 17th-century winter. Sometimes a black dog accompanies her, so at least she’s not lonely.
There’s also a lesser-spotted Pink Lady, and a phantom harpsichord player, though he or she hasn’t been heard since the 1950s.
Lord Byron’s ruined country pile
Newstead Abbey, Nottinghamshire
As well as yet another White Lady (frankly, White Ladies are ten-a-penny in the world of British hauntings), the ancestral home of Lord Byron (he of “mad, bad and dangerous to know” fame) positively throngs with phantasms.
The Goblin Friar was said to appear to the head of the Byron family before an unhappy event (such as the arrival of the gas bill).
Also, look out for the Black Friar who,