Many of the historic houses holding special events during Spookyshire have ghost stories of their own – guaranteed to make your spine tingle and your toes curl!
Here are just some of their tall tales, courtesy of the book, Haunted Places of Derbyshire by Jill Armitage, published by Countryside Books (www.countrysidebooks.co.uk). Read on if you dare...
Some visitors have heard horses trotting and Civil War soldiers marching. A ‘grey lady' is said to walk through an archway in the wall of the fountain garden, where ‘ghostly knights' and a ‘little boy' have also been seen. Mrs. Robbins, a housekeeper who lived there in the late 19th century, is said to haunt a room in the Little Castle.
Staff and visitors are said to have experienced doors closing, strange opaque mists, a feeling of tightness in the chest and breathing difficulties (Mrs Robbins is said to have died of pneumonia). All around the castle, there are said to have been incidents involving people being slapped, pinched, tickled or having their clothes tugged.
A ‘presence' has been felt in the basement. Visitors have reported seeing a white knight standing near the ramparts,
a phantom dog and a horse, and some claim to have heard an ‘ethereal lady' singing a soft lament from the castle ruins.
Some claim the house is haunted by the ghost of Evelyn, the wife of the late 9th Duke of Devonshire. A talented needlewoman, for 50 years the Duchess restored many rare embroideries and tapestries, and now her ghost is said to be carrying on the good work. Others say Bess of Hardwick (who built the original Chatsworth) haunts the building, and that Mary Queen of Scots haunts Queen Mary's Bower.
Other strange goings-on are alleged to include doors opening and closing by themselves, footsteps, muffled voices, banging, clattering and thumping noises, and ghostly ladies wandering along corridors and through various rooms, including the library.
A hooded monk is reported to haunt the toilet block (the site used to be home to a medieval religious house of the Augustinian canons). An ‘elderly man in a long flowing coat' is said to have been seen in the Old Brewhouse. Other ghosts are said to be Lady Caroline, wife of Sir Henry Harpur, the 5th baronet, and Nanny Pearce, former nanny to the Harpur Crewe family.
Said to be haunted by Henry Sacheverell, a sickly child who died in 1726, and also a ‘grey-haired woman wearing a white cap and crinoline dress'.
Thought to be haunted by Mrs. Garnett, the housekeeper, who from 1766 to 1809 would show visitors round, and took a great pride in the hall. The gardens are said to be haunted by English poet Thomas Chatterton (1752-70).
The Great Staircase is said to be haunted by Queen Adelaide, wife of King William IV, dressed in black. The ‘Green Lady', said to wear an old-fashioned green velvet dress, is also thought to haunt the upper chambers of the house.
Some say they have seen its original owner, Bess of Hardwick, wandering around, especially in the state rooms of the south wing. There have also been reports of a ‘presence' in the doorway by the chapel, and a lady dressed in blue wandering about the building. A ghost cat is said to haunt the Needlework Room and Chapel landing.
The Blue Bedroom is said to be haunted by a ‘presence' that is often icy cold, and a young woman dressed in grey has allegedly been sighted standing by the fireplace. Some people say they have seen a Royalist Cavalier, complete with the ruff collar and large plumed hat they typically wore during the Civil War, and also a monk-like figure with a white, featureless face, wearing a black cowl.
