Haunted Castles: Edinburgh Castle In Scotland
Scotland's Edinburgh Castle is famous for its high levels of paranormal activity stemming from a dark history of torture and executions.
The castle was originally built as a military fortress in the 12th century and later turned into an estate. Like any 900-year-old castle, it boasts a slew of dungeons where a number of notorious figures were once held.
Some of the haunted castle's ghosts include the Grey Lady, a noblewoman who is sometimes seen weeping in the hallways. It's believed that she may be the spirit of Lady Janet Douglas, who was imprisoned at Edinburgh Castle in the 16th century and burned at the stake for witchcraft. There's also the apparition of a man who smells like manure and tries to push visitors off the castle's battlements.
Another ghostly figure seen at the fortress is a headless drummer. When Oliver Cromwell attacked the castle in 1650, the spirit was spotted giving a warning signal, and it's now considered an omen of approaching danger.
Notably, Edinburgh Castle was the site of an extensive paranormal experiment in 2001. As The Guardian reported at the time, psychologist Richard Wiseman led the study, which involved over 200 people roaming the halls and reporting any supernatural activity they witnessed.
Wiseman didn't tell the participants which parts of the castle were rumored to be haunted, but the experiment still found that "people reported far more experiences in the vaults which were allegedly haunted... It shows there is something going on."
"Quite a lot of the experiences reported by members of the public were fairly extreme," stated Wiseman. "[S]ome saw figures, a lot felt they were being observed, and some felt their clothing was being grabbed or touched." One woman "reported hearing breathing from a corner of the room which was getting louder. She thought she saw a flash or some sort of light in the corner but didn't want to look back."
As such, some people may claim Edinburgh Castle is one of the most haunted castles in all of Europe — but it's clear that competition for that honor is incredibly stiff.
The Little Girl That Haunts Castello Di Montebello
Nestled in the Italian hills just outside of San Marino sits Castello di Montello, a medieval fortress originally built around 1000 C.E. to guard a key route between the historical region of Montefeltro and Tuscany. It later became a residence for nobles — including the little girl who gave the castle its haunted reputation.
As the legend goes, according to the castle's website, the feudal lord who lived in the fortress in the second half of the 14th century had a daughter who was born with albinism.
At the time, the condition was sometimes associated with witchcraft, so the little girl's parents tried to dye her hair black to hide it. Instead, it turned a bright shade of blue, and the girl was nicknamed "Azzurrina," or "Little Blue One."
When this attempt to hide Azzurrina's condition failed, her parents decided instead to keep her locked inside the castle's walls for protection. On June 21, 1375, as she was playing with a ball in one of the tunnels that ran beneath the fortress, she vanished and was never seen again.
Now, Azzurrina's ghost is said to appear every five years on the anniversary of her disappearance, making Castello di Montebello one of the most haunted castles in Italy.
