A bulky veil of sea mist hides ghost stories around the ruins of the once magnificent Dunstanburgh Castle in Northumberland, England. From the legends of the brave knight to the queen from the Wars of the Roses, the abandoned fortress is not completely empty.
High on the storm-ravaged cliffs of Northumberland, along the bleak, windswept shores of the North Sea, the abandoned ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle rise against the misty sea horizon. It was once the largest castle in Northumberland and a garrison against Scotland, but only fragments remain of its glorious past.
Today, the skeletal remains of the 14th-century castle provide a hauntingly lovely backdrop for coastal walks – but for those who linger too long after murky, this crumbling fortress whispers tales of bloodshed, betrayal and restless spirits.
The grim legacy of Thomas Plantagenet
Dunstanburgh Castle was born out of ambition and rebellion. Built in 1313 by Thomas Plantagenet, second Earl of Lancaster, it was intended as both a symbol of rebellion and a personal refuge from his increasingly hostile cousin, King Edward II.
But Plantagenet's rebellion ultimately proved fatal. Captured and tried for high treason, his fate was sealed on a chilly March day in 1322. Due to their relationship and the royal blood of Lancaster, the king commuted the sentence to beheading, instead of hanging, drawing and beheading,[5] and Lancaster was executed on March 22 near Pontefract Castle.
But even death offered no dignity. Legend has it that it took the inept executioner a gruesome eleven blows to decapitate Thomas, and eleven blows were needed to decapitate him. Locals say the Earl's tormented spirit never left Dunstanburgh.
Visitors have reported seeing a headless figure wandering the grounds of Dunstanburgh Castle, with its severed, disfigured head held under its arm. Witnesses say his face still shows the contorted agony of those final, harrowing moments before his death.
The Wars of the Roses and the Queen's Ghost on the Beach
Dunstanburgh did not die with Thomas Plantagenet. In the bloody confusion of the Wars of the Roses, Dunstanburgh Castle changed hands between the warring Lancastrian and Yorkist factions no less than five times, with each siege leaving it even more devastated by cannon fire. Amidst the ruins of these violent decades, another ghost emerges.
Just below the castle is Queen Margaret Bay. It is said that Margaret of Anjou fled here to France, lowered in a basket behind a cliffside to a boat waiting below in 1460.
Margaret of Anjou, wife of King Henry VI, is said to wander the crumbling ramparts and deserted beaches below. Desperate to defend her son's claim to the throne, Margaret's final days in the north were marked by betrayal and defeat. Her specter, clad in royal robes now faded by the centuries, is often seen at dusk, gazing glumly out to sea.
Although the guards of Dunstanburgh Castle favored the Lancastrians and Queen Margaret, this led to the castle being associated with her, most of which are historically improbable and we don't actually know if she was ever there. He is also said to haunt Owlpen Manor in Dursley, Gloucestershire.
Locals say that on stormy nights her sorrowful figure walks the shoreline, her ghostly figure sometimes accompanied by the distant echo of battle cries and the ghostly glow of lanterns flickering in empty towers.
The Ghost of Sir Guy the Seeker
One of the more hidden ghost stories said to haunt Dunstanburgh Castle tells of the brave 16th century knight Sir Guy the Seeker. He was driving along the coast and was caught in a terrible storm. He found the ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle and went there to take shelter under the ruined turrets of the gate tower. He stayed overnight, there was a storm and the wind howled.
Suddenly, a terrible figure in white appeared, urging him to follow him because he would be rewarded beauty dazzling.Night, fearing nothing, followed the figure up the stairs to a chamber full of a hundred sleeping knights, their horses sleeping. A lovely woman also slept in a crystal coffin in the center of the room. Images and carvings of snakes guarded both sides of the coffin. On one side was a sword, on the other a horn. The character said that the knight could save her by using his sword or horn, but he could only choose once. He took the horn and blew it. The sleeping knight got up and attacked him. The figure in white taunted him as Sir Guy fainted.
When he woke up, he was back at the gate. He was obsessed with the sleeping maiden, whom he tried to find again. He searched every stone in the ruins, but found nothing. A lonely and broken man died. But on stormy days it is said that his spirit can still be heard with the waves thundering against the walls, wandering through the ruins in search of dazzling beauty.
Local haunted legends
Where did the story come from? Although there are slight differences in the legend, it has been told at least as far back as the 19th century. Similar stories, possibly inspired by Arthurian legends, also existed near Hexham and Eildon Hills.
There are also said to be tunnels beneath Dunstanburgh Castle, stretching and winding from Craston Tower to Embleton and nearby Proctor Steads.
Even in daylight, Dunstanburgh Castle is eerily peaceful. The ruined gate, ruined walls and isolated cliffs exude a sense of melancholy, as if the land itself remembered every act of bloodshed committed upon it.
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Ghosts haunting the ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle
A bulky veil of sea mist hides ghost stories around the ruins of the once magnificent Dunstanburgh Castle in Northumberland, England. From the legends of the brave knight to the queen from the Wars of the Roses, the abandoned fortress is not completely empty.
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