Did you know that at one time Lancashire was considered to be the third most haunted area in the whole of the United Kingdom? There are so many reportedly haunted buildings and such a rich history that it is no surprise really that the area is something of a hub for paranormal tales.
Let’s take a look at the 7 most haunted places in Lancashire!
At first glance, the four-star Mercure Dunkenhalgh Hotel and Spa looks like a luxury getaway in an old country manor house. In fact, the building can actually be traced back to 1285. It is also known to have at least one ghost, in the form of a young French woman called Lucette.
The story goes, that Lucette was a governess to the Petre family and she was beloved by the family. However, one Christmas a handsome young officer charmed Lucette and she fell head over heels in love with him.
His feelings were not so strong in return and he broke her heart. Lucette soon realised that she no longer belonged at Dukenhalgh, but she could not go home to France either.
She spent her time wandering in the glades where her lover had abandoned her until one night she threw herself off of the bridge into the water below. Since then she has been said to haunt the hotel and activity always seems to peak around the Christmas season.
Sightings have been reported by guests and staff who have seen Lucette in various different spots around the hotel. She is often spotted in photographs that guests have taken and one guest even claims to have woken to find Lucette sitting at the end of the bed!
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Preston’s Samlesbury Hall is another stop that is a must-see on any tour of haunted Lancashire! This historic home has a history that is packed full of witchcraft, mystery and intrigue!
The house was built in 1325 by Gilbert de Southworth and served as the family’s primary residence until the beginning of the 1600s. It has served a number of different purposes over the years including a spell as a boarding school for girls in 1850.
At least one death has occurred on the property when one of the owners shot himself over money worries and the building certainly has at least a couple of ghostly presences hanging around!
Both staff and visitors have spoken of being startled by the sight of a white lady floating down the corridors of Samlesbury Hall. She is believed to be the spirit of Dorothy Southworth. She is certainly not the only ghost haunting the building.
Samlesbury Hall also has a priest’s room dating back to the 1500s and it is also haunted. You see, one of the priests hiding in it was actually discovered by soldiers and they beheaded him right there on the spot.
Not only does the priest now haunt the room, but from time to time the bloodstain apparently reappears on the wooden floorboards.
Learn more about the Ghosts of Samlesbury Hall
Pendle Hill is one of the most famous haunted places in Lancashire. This isolated location is notorious for being haunted by the spirits of 12 witches who allegedly lived there in the 17th century.
The witches were accused of not only performing witchcraft but also murdering ten people. One of the witches died during the trials and all but one of the surviving witches were found guilty. They were executed by hanging. Visitors often report feeling great anger when they are on Pendle Hill and many locals fear even discussing the witch trials!
The witches are said to be responsible for various unexplained occurrences, but there could also be some other spirits at work since Pendle Hill also had a Bronze Age burial site at the summit.
Read more about the Pendle Hill Hauntings
Morecambe Winter Gardens is a Grade II listed building that originally opened in 1897 as the Victorian Pavilion Theatre. It was an extension to the existing Winter Gardens which were demolished in 1982.
These days Morecambe Winter Gardens is best known for being one of the most haunted places in Lancashire. The stage seems to be a particular hotspot for the paranormal. It is not at all uncommon for people on the side of the stage to be pushed, poked and even slapped by an unseen force!
There have also been numerous reports of shadows flitting across the stage and a man and a young boy have both been spotted regularly. There are also said to be ghosts in the bar and on the various stairwells.
Another well-known ghost includes the spirit of a seamstress who had dreams of becoming a professional dancer. However, she failed to achieve the fame that she so desperately wanted and now she haunts one of the dressing rooms and the auditorium.
View more on the ghosts of Morecambe Winter Gardens
The world-famous Pleasure Beach in Blackpool is a place where kids and adults alike go to have fun on the several impressive rides and attractions. However, by night the fun facade fades away, and the spirits make themselves known!
One spirit that’s as synonymous with the Pleasure beach as ‘The Big One’ rollercoaster, is Cloggy. He’s known to frequent the Ghost Train ride. I know, ironic isn’t it! He was once the operator of the Ghost Train, and his presence is often heard by the sound of clogs walking around the ride in the dead of night.
Maybe he’s inspecting the ride he once loved so much, or he could be a residual haunting, unaware he’s in fact deceased! Some people would say he very much knows he’s dead, as he likes to help people off the ride by grabbing their hands!
It’s not just the Ghost Train that harbours a haunting, the Sir Hiram Maxim’s Gift Shop is another hotspot, with the spirit of a little girl who likes to move things around.
The Pleasure Beach’s Ice Rink is apparently home to phantom ice skaters, who you can hear when the ice is empty!
Past performers have also reported strange goings-on in their dressing rooms, and lighting and equipment engineers have issues with equipment being moved by unseen hands!
Built in 1565 by Thomas Hoghton, this Grade I listed hilltop manor is the only true baronial residence in Lancashire. It’s rich in history and has welcomed several prominent guests, including Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare, King James I, King William III to name but a few.
However, with so much history there’s a ghost story or two to follow! One of the most haunted houses in Britain, Hoghton Tower has had so many paranormal experiences reported over the years that a special journal is kept. Beneath the manor is a host of eerie underground passages and dungeons, believed to have been used during the Lancashire Witch Trials of 1612.
The most infamous ghost of Hoghton Tower is the Green Lady, whose apparition can be seen wandering the halls, wearing a luxurious green velvety dress. Even more unsettling is her apparent chuckling as she passes by!
Borwick Hall is a Grade I listed manor house with evidence of its existence since the times of the Domesday Book. Now a residential outdoor education and conference center, the activity continues to ramp up.
Young residents complain of cries and moans from empty rooms in the dead of night. In one instance, a group of boys plucked up the courage to investigate the strange noises, only to be confronted by a man’s apparition staring menacingly at the end of the corridor.
There are tales of the White Lady who haunts the tower. She’s described as young and pretty but with a distinct melancholy demeanour. Her ghost still haunts the tower, where she was held captive by her father until she agreed to marry a man she did not love. Her heart belonged to another, so she refused the arrangement and died of starvation after her father wouldn’t set her free.
Ghosts Hunts at Borwick Hall
