Ghosts of Cumbria: The best haunted places to visit in the Lake District this Halloween

The Haunting of Calgarth Hall

Calgarth is an infamous manor house from the sixteenth century. It was owned by Kraster Cook and his then-wife, Dorothy. Little did they know the treachery that was about to unfold in their lives. Their long-time neighbour, a local Justice by the name of Myles Philipson, set his sights on Calgarth Hall, despite being spurned at every turn.

Justice Philipson decided to take the law into his own hands, accusing the Cooks of theft. As a justice he managed to push through this wrongful conviction, condemning them to death. Right before they died, Dorothy Cook put a curse on Calgarth Hall. She promised that their screaming skulls would haunt the manor while Philipson drew breath in the building.

And sure enough, when the Philipsons took up residency in the hall, two screaming skulls did too. They tried everything they could to be rid of them, including drowning the skulls in the lake, but their screams always returned to reverberate around the manor. Upon Myles’ death, his son sold the hall and the skulls haven’t been seen since.

The Crier of Claife

Lake Windermere has a number of fiendish myths of its own. Centuries ago, when the winds whipped the trees and rain lashed down into the lake, the ferrymen at Ferry Nab would swear they could hear ethereal calls pleading with them to bring their boats across the water.

One young ferryman scoffed at their fears, thinking he was braver than the rest. He jumped into his boat and rowed across. When he returned he was so terrified at what he’d encountered that he could no longer speak. He died the very next day. The superstitious locals asked a monk, who resided on one of Windermere’s islands, whether he could exorcise the ghost.

On Christmas Day itself, he took his bell and bible across the lake. Unable to truly exorcise the ghost, he managed to confine it to the quarry and woods “until men should walk dry-shod across the lake”. There are stories to this very day of walkers being followed by a sinister figure in a hood when they approach the heights of Claife at dusk.

The White Horse of Windermere

The White Horse of Windermere is, as legend has it, a warning.

It’s said that whenever there is imminent danger to the surrounding area, a ghostly white horse will walk from one shore of the lake to the other. Take heed of the horse’s warning at your peril!

The mysterious Tizzie Whizie

Bowness has an extraordinary creature of its very own; the Tizzie-Whizie. This tiny terror was first spotted by a boatman around 1900. The boatman entertained the tourists staying at the Stag’s Head Hotel with anecdotes about his encounter with the creature. The shy creatures are said to love the water and, supposedly, have the body of a hedgehog, the tail of a squirrel and a pair of wings, like those you’d find on a bee.

A quote from “A Boatman’s Grandson” stated:

“This one was captured in 1906, struggling and squealing, it was rushed to Louis Herbert’s Photographic Studio, opposite St Martin’s Church. Having calmed it down with some warm milk and morsels of ginger biscuit he took this immortal portrait of the Tizzie Whizie, before it jumped off his table and flew out of the window to regain its freedom.

It had a very faint cry, which could just be heard if you had your ear at water level. Many thousands of postcards were sold from this one photograph. The boatmen used to conduct Tizzie Whizie hunts and the evasive Tizzie Whizie would invariably finish under one of the piers and one of the tourists engaged in the hunt would be ‘accidentally’ pushed into the lake. Sometimes the boatmen would say that it had escaped to Belle Isle and if any of the hunt followers wished they could be taken across the lake to look for it. When asked why they couldn’t see it flying across the lake, the reply was ‘because it was a very good underwater swimmer’.”

Kirkstone Pass Inn

Spoken of by many as one of the most haunted hotels in Britain, the Kirkstone Pass Inn is said to be the home of Ruth Ray’s ghost.

Ruth was said to have been caught in a sudden and deadly change of weather when she was walking along the pass from Patterdale. She sadly lost her life in the heavy snowfall and, when her frozen body was found, they also discovered her baby. The baby had, miraculously, survived and was taken back to the inn. It’s said however that Ruth haunts the inn itself, forever warning visitors of the danger they face when walking the pass.

Moresby Hall

Now a hotel, Moresby Hall has seen many owners and has many a story to tell. Originally built on the site of an old fort, the church next to it was built on the site of a Roman fort.

There were three skeletons unearthed in the living room a number of years ago, and it’s said a dark shadow has been seen in the room. The current owner has said he’s seen the ghost of an old Cavalier walking the hallways and the tunnel that connects the house to the nearby church has had a number of unusual phenomena occur. There’s been enough activity that the TV show Most Haunted came for a visit.

Location: Whitehaven CA28 6PJ

Bricked in at Carlisle Castle

Carlisle Castle is nearly 1000 years old, and a building as old as that, with such a turbulent history, is bound to have a story or two to tell.

In the 1800s, when the castle was still being actively used for military purposes, walls were being put up and taken down to house more soldiers. On one such occasion, the body of a Scottish lady was discovered in the wall crevice. Or at least, her skeletal remains. She was believed to have been bricked into the walls whilst she was still living and breathing, then left to starve. She was only recognisable as Scottish due to a piece of tartan and some rings that were on her fingers.

It’s said that since her remains were unearthed she has haunted the castle. Appearing as a woman in the night to guards and visitors.

The Grey Lady of Levens Hall

“No son shall inherit the hall until the River Kent doesn’t flow and a white fawn is born in the park” – A gypsy curse

It’s said that a gypsy woman was turned away from Levens Hall in the 18th century when she sought shelter from the cold. Before her dying breath, she cursed the hall and all who resided in it. For nearly two centuries, no man was born into the family. In 1896 the river froze over and the white fawn was born to the herd of black deer. That same year Alan Desmond Bagot was born into the family.

The ears of the fawn have been kept by the family as an omen. In the years since it’s been said that men have only been born into the family when the temperatures reached freezing point. A Grey Lady has been seen walking the halls and many passing motorists have had to brake to avoid a disappearing woman in the road.

Location: Levens Hall, Kendal, Cumbria LA8 0PD