The UK, with its charming fondness for overcast skies, crumbling castles, and unresolved ancestral trauma, is naturally one of the most haunted places on Earth. Here are the top five haunted locations you absolutely shouldn’t visit – unless you enjoy being mildly terrified, mildly cursed, and wildly disappointed that none of the ghosts look like Tom Hiddleston.
1. The Ancient Ram Inn, Gloucestershire
“Not just haunted – practically Airbnb’d by Satan.”
Welcome to the Ancient Ram Inn, where the décor is 80% original woodwork and 20% human suffering. Built in 1145, this former inn boasts the kind of atmosphere you’d expect from a place allegedly built on a pagan burial ground, which is to say, a solid 3/10 on TripAdvisor for comfort, but a 10/10 for the likelihood of being screamed at by something invisible.
Guests have reported everything from child ghosts to demonic entities. And if that’s not enough to make you sleep with the light on forever, there’s allegedly a “witch’s room.” Because every home needs a feature room for hexes and digestive biscuits.
2. Pluckley Village, Kent
“Where the ghosts outnumber the residents, and most of them are more fun at parties.”
Officially listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the most haunted village in the UK, Pluckley is essentially a retirement home for phantoms. It features no fewer than 12 active ghosts, including a screaming man, a highwayman pinned to a tree, and a schoolmaster who hanged himself – but probably still grades you on grammar.
Residents are mostly unfazed. When asked about the ghosts, one local man replied, “Oh yeah, Harold’s still screaming in the library. Just pop your headphones in. He gets tired eventually.”
The pub is also haunted. Of course it is. Even the beer has a slight aftertaste of the Victorian era and regret.
3. Chillingham Castle, Northumberland
“A fortress of screams – and that’s just from the guided tour prices.”
If your idea of a fun weekend is sharing a corridor with a disembodied sobbing boy and a “radiant white lady” who doesn’t sparkle like in the movies but more like a radioactive seagull, Chillingham Castle is for you.
The castle has its own torture chamber, naturally – because what British aristocrat didn’t dabble in recreational pain? Instruments on display include a stretching rack, an iron maiden, and whatever they used to explain taxes back then.
Tourists often report sudden cold spots, ghostly whispers, and the crushing realization that if ghosts are real, their sex lives might be better than yours.
4. The Tower of London, London
“Home to centuries of executions, betrayals, and very British queueing.”
You can’t mention haunted Britain without the Tower. This architectural panic attack has housed tortured traitors, bored queens, and possibly a raven who’s been dead since 1602 and just refuses to accept it.
Among its spectral guests: Anne Boleyn, who walks around holding her own head, presumably because no one’s ever told her to let it go. Then there’s the two little princes who disappeared in the 1480s. Modern scholars debate who killed them. The ghosts, however, are just thrilled they still get mentioned in ghost tours.
Visitors regularly claim to feel an icy grip on their shoulder, though this is often just the ghost of your budget begging you not to pay £30 for a lukewarm sandwich at the cafe.
5. Edinburgh Vaults, Scotland
“A romantic getaway for you and your inner demons.”
Beneath Edinburgh lies a series of vaults so haunted, they make your student loans feel spiritually manageable. Built in the 18th century, the vaults were once used by tradesmen, then squatters, and eventually… well, let’s just say whatever creeps lived down there, they didn’t believe in fresh air or telling the truth on census forms.
Visitors claim to encounter “Mr. Boots,” a ghostly figure with heavy steps and even heavier judgment. Some also report seeing a little boy named Jack, which is exactly who you don’t want to bump into in a dark corridor – especially when he’s transparent and hissing.
Guided tours are offered nightly, which is the most Scottish thing imaginable: profiting from your own supernatural problems.