Visit Castle Rising, Exploring Haunted England
I love a good story, here is the story behind the haunting of Castle Rising, near Norwich England. Queen Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer plotted to kill her husband King Edward II and seize the throne. Isabella’s son, Edward III, had Mortimer captured, imprisoned in the Tower of London, and killed. Queen Isabella was briefly imprisoned at Berkhamsted Castle before she bought the rights to Castle Rising in 1331. She resided there until her death in 1358. She was not a prisoner in the castle and continued to lead a royal lifestyle with maids, knights, and entertained often. However, she was not allowed to show her face in the community. The King’s chamber overlooked a deer park and her son visited during hunting season.
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Isabella is famed for having a temper and was nicknamed the ‘She-Wolf of France’. She developed dementia in her old age and roamed the grounds at night howling at the moon. It is believed Isabella haunts the upper floors of the castle. Castle visitors have heard hysterical laughter coming from the top floor and villagers report hearing screams and hysterical laughter coming from the castle at night. Paranormal investigators have caught Isabella with a dog shape at her feet on camera. The investigators also report hearing a dress moving over the castle’s stone walkways and a wolf’s howls that later were not on their recordings. There are other ghosts said to be in residence at Castle Rising. Visitors report seeing figures dressed in monks’ clothing. There are weekly reports of visitors being pushed. Other reports include hearing footsteps in the great hall, shadows, temperature changes, tapping on the glass, the strong smell of tobacco, and children playing.
Castle Rising is an English Heritage site. The gift shop and entrance are quite far from the castle. Like, questionably far. So I asked. The clerk stated an awareness that Castle Rising is said to be haunted but denied ever hearing or seeing anything personally. Not sure I believe her. I read incidents have caused staff to resign. Maybe that is why the entrance is set back so far. I was the only one at the property and I’m a scaredy-cat. You enter the castle through an arched doorway and walk up a stone staircase to the Great Hall. There were temperature changes as I walked up the stairs. I stopped several times on the way up and turned to go back down but pushed myself to continue. I told myself it was all stone and I was in England, of course it’s chilly, but I didn’t believe it. There is no roof on the property and a large number of birds took off as I stepped out of the staircase. I froze. I went a little bit further before I turned and ran back down the stairs to the safety of the lawn. It is definitely an eerie place.
Hysterical laughter, footsteps, shadows, temperature changes, tapping on glass, strong smell of tobacco… is England’s Castle Rising haunted? This is a 30-year snippet of Castle Rising’s history. Castle Rising is an English Heritage property in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, England. This would be a great Halloween day trip for those who enjoy a little spook.
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