The Spookiest Places To Spend Halloween - In The UK And Abroad

There's no shortage of pumpkin-carving contests and spooky attractions over Halloween, but those in search of actual ghosts or a truly out of the ordinary experience need  to be  a bit more selective.

We tracked down the most heavily-haunted parts of Britain and a few places abroad guaranteed to be awash in chills and thrills on October 31.

Yorkshire

Possibly Britain’s most haunted region, with well-documented ghosts in York Minster and many other locations, this is the perfect county to ghost-hunt over Halloween.

Listen to bone-shivering tales of spectral residents in the Minster, take a guided ghost-walk around the city and hear costumed characters telling their own gruesome stories at Whitby Abbey, the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula, where a coach pulled by headless horses has been sighted plummeting through the grounds.

Yorkshire’s Tulloch Castle, with its own “Green Lady” ghost, offers two nights b&b over Halloween including a complimentary Bloody Mary for £240 double.

Suffolk

Hintlesham Hall, a 16th century haunted mansion turned hotel near Ipswich, offers the possibility of multiple spectral sightings at its overnight party on Halloween.

Ghostly childish chatters and giggles have been reported in the upper stairways and halls, while a couple in elegant Regency gear have been seen strolling across the entrance hall and disappearing into a wall.

Dinner, dancing, bed and breakfast £117.5p pp: FI Hotels

Kent

Charles Dickens was inspired by the plethora of ghosts in his home county, and  the spectral lady who haunts the reception area at Eastwell Manor may well join guests at Kent’s Spooky Ball.

Not far away, a lady in red and a Napoleonic drummer boy haunt Dover Castle, while Kent Life, the most haunted museum in England, also welcomes Halloween visitors with special activities.

Spooky Ball £60 pp with dinner and drink; b&b at Eastwell Manor from £75 pp: www.prideofbritainhotels.com

Warwickshire

Ettingon Park Hotel, a neo-Gothic mansion dating back to the 12th century, houses a terrifying number of ghosts according to its night manager, who had a close encounter with all of  them before retiring.

They include a man and his dog seen crossing the reception into the library, servant girl Mary who died after a fall and is often seen in the staircase and restaurant, a monk who lurks in the tower and an army officer who haunts the Long Gallery accompanied by an elderly lady.

Awash in towers and turrets, the hotel was the location for the 60s movie The Haunting, and is offering a two-night Halloween break from £412: www.handpickedhotels.co.uk

Scotland

Twilight fans keen to live out their own vampire fantasies can join what organisers claim is the world’s first vampire vacation at spooky Fenton Tower near Edinburgh.

Feather beds will be replaced by silk-lined coffins, blackout curtains will keep out daylight, and blood-sucker epics will screen from dusk to dawn to complement a feast with absolutely no trace of garlic

Two days and nights £600 per person for 12 sharing:  http://www.oliverstravels.com/blog/vampire-weekender

Wales

Newton House in Carmarthenshire, once the Dinefwr Castle and surrounded by its ruins, is haunted by  a wronged 18th century maiden known as the White Lady.; she not only spooked, but struck down a succession of nervous television editors working at the National Trust’s fourth most haunted property in the 1980s.

A sleepover is offered on October 31 for those with enough nerve to stay up and watch for the spectre of the beautiful girl who took sanctuary in the castle to escape a suitor she was being forced to marry.

From £27 per person, including dinner and breakfast:  www.nationaltrust.org.uk/dinefwr

Belfast

Ireland claims to be the home of Halloween, originally a pagan festival celebrating the end of harvesting.

Ghosts aplenty haunt the Grand Opera House in Belfast, where the Northern Ireland Paranormal Research Assocation has discovered stage hands and other workers, while publican Grace Neill, who died at 98, is said to be still haunting her pub of the same name in County Down.

An “immersive” Halloween adventure, Fright Night is being offered at outdoor activity centre The Jungle nightly from October 23-November 1.   Advance booking essential for a range of activities including a horror house, scary maze and zombie paintball:  www.thejungleni.com

A Little Further Afield

USA

New Orleans, reputedly the most haunted city in the States, is home to the Anba Dio VII festival, which kicks off Halloween with live bands, DJs, buskers and burlesques in aid of homeless youth at the New Orleans Healing Center.

Elsewhere, magnificently spooky cemeteries, haunted mansions and the city’s voodoo temple make perfect outings for ghost-hunters - this IS, after all, the birthplace of Anne Rice, who wrote Interview with the Vampire.

Five-night breaks departing October 28, 29 and 30 from £1195, including flights from London, Manchester and Glasgow, rooms at haunted Bienville House in the French Quarter,  ghost walk, cemetery tour and day trip to haunted Oak Alley plantation: www.bon-voyage.co.uk

Mexico

Our preoccupation with ghosts at Halloween is related to Mexico’s Day of the Dead, celebrated on November 1 with food, drink, parties and especially sweets.

The festival is universal and can be enjoyed everywhere in the country, but The Barcelo Maya Beach Resort is marking the celebration with giant altars on which pictures of the dear departed can be posted, and buffets of traditional Mexican dishes including the “pan de muerto” the Aztecs used to place on  tombs as an offering.

Rooms from £88 per person inclusive: www.barcelo.com

Denmark

Halloween is new to the Danes, who celebrate a festival in the same spirit in February and have only recently started donning scary costumes on October 31.

However, this country which loves to party is a great choice for a Halloween break with more than one haunted castle.

Dragsholm claims more than 100 spooks, most famously  the White Lady whose father imprisoned her in the castle walls to keep her away from the labourer she lusted after.  Her skeleton was unearthed centuries laster wearing a white gown, and her ghost has been seen wandering ever since.

Rooms at Dragsholm, now a hotel noted for its food, from £131 pp including dinner, breakfast and a castle tour: www.dragsholm-slot.dk/en/accommodation/saesonal-stays

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