Dubbed as the ‘tallest castle in France’, the Château de Brissac is said to have originally built as a castle by the Counts of Anjou during the 11 th century. During the 15 th century, the château was rebuilt as a fort-like structure by one of Charles VII’s ministers. During the French Wars of Religion, which broke out during the 16 th century, the château was made into his possession by Henry of Navarre (who would later reign as Henry IV of France). When Henry became the King of France, the château was given to Charles II of Cossé as a reward for his support. Charles was also awarded the title ‘Duke of Brissac’.
She was also the half-sister of King Louis XI. In 1462, a marriage was arranged between Charlotte and Jacques de Brézé, a nobleman. It has been claimed that the marriage was politically motivated, and that the two did not love each other. Additionally, it has been said that the two individuals had quite different characters. For instance, Jacques is said to have enjoyed outdoor activities such as hunting, whist Charlotte was more inclined to a sophisticated life.
On May 31, 1477, Jacques is said to have returned from a hunting trip, had dinner with his wife, and then went to his room. It seems that the couple did not sleep in the same bed, and in the middle of the night, a servant woke Jacques up to inform him that his wife was having an affair with a man by the name of Peirre de Lavergne. Jacques caught his wife and her lover red-handed, and in a fit of rage, murdered the adulterous couple. Apparently, Jacques moved out of the château shortly after the murder, as he could not stand the moaning of his late wife’s and her lover’s ghosts.
2. Monte Cristo Homestead, New South Wales, Australia
In Australia, in New South Wales, you can find the Monte Cristo Homestead. At first sight, the story about this house is one of success, good fortune and happy people. But looks can be deceiving. Behind closed doors, things happened that could not bear the daylight. No wonder that the Monte Cristo Homestead has the reputation to be Australia’s most haunted house.
Christopher William Crawley (1841 – 1910) was a farmer who bought two parcels of land in the town Junee to build his family home. The first few years were a struggle for the Crawley’s. They lived in a slab hut and Christopher had trouble feeding his family. But his fortunes changed in 1878, when the Great Southern Railway Line opened. He scraped all the money he could find together and bought a license to build the Railway Hotel right opposite to the soon to be opened railway station. A very smart move indeed! The village of Junee only consisted of Crawley’s hotel, the adjoining Railway Store and some scattered slab huts.
Prior to the construction of the new homestead (1885), the family (father, mother and 7 children) lived in a small brick cottage. The original slab hut was demolished and turned into a big stable for his prized horses. The small brick cottage, also referred to as the original homestead, still exists. That house was turned into the servant’s quarters. The new home, a two-story house built in the Late Victorian Style, became an ultimate status symbol, and because it was built on a hill, it was overlooking the entire town.
Christopher Crawley died in his own homestead on December 14, 1910, from a combination of heart failure and blood poisoning. The latter was caused by a carbuncle on his neck. It got infected from rubbing against his starched collar. His wife, Elizabeth Crawley, couldn’t cope with her husband’s death; she locked herself inside the house. She spent most of her time up in the attic where she had built a small chapel. In her remaining 23 years she only left her house twice. She died at the house at the age of 92, August 12, 1933, due to a ruptured appendix.
Christopher Crawley’s ghost now haunts the room in which he died. His spirit is as kind as ever. His wife, on the other hand, hasn’t changed much after death. She still rules the house with an iron fist, judging everyone who dares to enter her house. If she doesn’t like you, she’ll try to scare you out with ice cold air falling on your skin.
The coach house is haunted by a young stable boy named Morris. He didn’t feel well one day and decided to stay in bed at the coach house. His master didn’t approve the fact the boy slept in, so he decided to teach him a lesson. He put the boy’s straw mattress on fire, thinking he would jump up and get to work. But Morris was too ill, and he couldn’t get up. He died in his bed. People hear his screams up until today.
The house has been featured on several paranormal television shows. It has been featured in Scream Test, Ghost Hunters International and My Ghost Story. You can visit the Monte Cristo Homestead on Friday to Monday from 10 am to 4 pm. Every Saturday evening, from 6 pm, there’s a ghost tour. Brave souls can even spend the night here.
3. Bhangarh Fort, Rajasthan, India
Popularly known for being the Most Haunted Place in India, Bhangarh was, in fact, a flourishing town of ancient times. Built for his son, Man Singh I, in the 17th century by Madho Singh, one of the nine ratnas of Emperor Akbar’s court, Bhangarh Fort was once a thing of beauty and power. It is believed that over 10,000 people used to reside in Bhangarh before it was allegedly deserted overnight! Spooky. Standing in ruins, this 400 years old grand edifice and the spread town around it owe their present state to the pitiful Bhangarh Story that sealed its ill-fate.
Now, there may not be ‘Haunted’ written in neon on the information boards at the site, but surely the constant urging by ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) to leave the premises before sunset clearly indicates something. The boards clearly say it again and again that it is prohibited to stay within the environs of Bhangarh before sunrise and after sunset. There have been quite many incidents of getting lost and even deaths in the area, hence the precaution.
Paranormal activity
When you are here, you might marvel at its majestic architecture, yet many say they are burdened with a sense of anxiety, and they often feel anxious and restless. Some visitors even pointed out that they get a weird sense of paranoia as if somebody is following them around. Reason why, despite its popularity, visitors avoid hanging around the premises of the fort for long.
4. Myrtles Plantation, USA
one of America's most haunted homes", the plantation is supposedly the home of at least 12 ghosts. It is often reported that 10 murders occurred in the house, but historical records only indicate the murder of William Winter. William Drew Winter is also a very popular character in the plantation. According to local myth, this Deep South plantation was home to multiple murders and other tales of great suffering, inspiring ghost sightings that continue to this very day.
The Beginnings Of The Myrtles Plantation
The Myrtles Plantation started out as a piece of land purchased by David Bradford, a general of the American Revolutionary War. Here, he built a house in 1796 and named the place “Laurel Grove.”
Fleeing justice for his role in the so-called Whiskey Rebellion of 1791-94, Bradford built the house in what was then a Spanish colony. He lived there alone for several years until he was officially pardoned by U.S. President John Adams in 1799. He then brought his family to live on his new plantation.
After Bradford’s death, the grove passed to his daughter and her husband, Clarke Woodruff. But their life there wasn’t a happy one. Of their three children, only one survived to adulthood. It was during the time that the Woodruffs lived on the Myrtle Plantation that we get the first glimpse of alleged paranormal activity.
The Legend Of Chloe
As the popular story goes, Clarke Woodruff was known as an honest man. Yet, he had one fatal flaw: an insatiable appetite for sex. It wasn’t long before he focused his attention on one of the slave girls on the plantation: Chloe. The young girl knew that refusing Woodruff’s advances would not be wise: she’d immediately be punished by working long hours under the blistering sun, or worse. So, not having much choice in the matter, she began a sexual relationship with Woodruff that lasted for a few years.
The Paranormal Activity Begins
It would take until the 1970s when Myrtles Plantation was purchased by the Meyers family, that its reputation as a haunted house would come about. The family opened the plantation as a bed and breakfast and it didn’t take long for strange things to take place. For starters, guests at Myrtles Plantation reported hearing strange noises. Others saw ghostly apparitions, often of a young girl wearing a turban.
Many suggested that this might be the spirit of Chloe, which by this point had become a full-blown local legend. Then, in 1992, the owner of Myrtles supposedly caught her on film. That year, she took a photo of the property to help get an insurance policy for the house. The photo was quickly forgotten until three years later when a researcher asked to use it for a postcard. After blowing it up, he allegedly noticed the figure of what appeared to be a young girl. According to the owner, there was no one in that spot that day.
The Ancient Ram inn has a rather interesting past with multiple former “lives” to tell. Before the building’s construction in 1145, the site was home to a multi-millennia Pagan burial ground that lies on the Ley Lines, which trace directly back to the ancient and mysterious site of Stonehenge. This connection gives rise to legend that the strange paranormal happenings documented on the property relate to its unique past.
The building that stands today was constructed in 1145 as the home for slaves, masons, and other workers building the St. Mary’s Church nearby. Streams on the grounds had to be diverted around the church’s site, which, according to many, opened up the portal for the dark energy once used in rituals performed by Pagans in the area. After the masons and other workers moved out, the house became home to a priest. Later, it was made into an inn and public house. In 1968, however, someone new bought the Ancient Ram Inn and made it his home. John Humphries bought the place in the late 1960s to preserve it from destruction. The first night he stayed on the property, he says he met the spirits that make the Ancient Ram Inn one of the most haunted spots in England. He claims that demonic forces grabbed him by the arm and dragged him across the room from his bed. Since that time, he’s found evidence of ritual sacrifices and devil worship on the inn’s grounds. Even more horrifying? He’s come across the skeletal remains of children he believes were stabbed with daggers.
The ghostly spirits never discouraged Humphries from maintaining his residence there. Though his wife and daughters left him at the inn, he remained, preserving the building. Night after night, the spirits returned, but Humphries stuck it out for more than 50 years until his death in late 2017.
Who Haunts This House?
There are several entities believed to haunt the inn-turned-home. Perhaps the most famous is a witch that was burned at the stake in the area during the 1500s — the height of witch-hunting. The woman fled from potential “trial” by government-sanctioned witch hunters and took refuge in the Ancient Ram Inn. She was soon captured, however, and burned at the stake. Of course, she lives on in legend. The room where she hid has been dubbed The Witch’s Room and her spirit is believed to be haunting it to this day.
There are also stories of the former innkeeper’s daughter hanged in the attic, the spirits of ritually murdered children, exorcisms, and other dark, haunting events in the millennia-old inn. Orbs of these spirits have been photographed by paranormal investigators and the curious. Strange lights have terrified visitors hoping for a peek into the afterlife.
The Bishop’s Room is considered the most haunted in the Ancient Ram Inn. This is where bishops stayed in days past and the room is supposedly haunted by the spirits of several bishops today. Dark monks and evil spirits — including the spirits of these bishops — are said to be seen here on the regular. Even a Roman Centurion has appeared on horseback riding through the walls toward plumbers who were minding their own business. An Incubus and Succubus supposedly haunt the room that John Humphries selected for his sleeping quarters, mistreating those brave enough to stay overnight.
On March 25, 1647, a Dutch Indiaman, De Nieuwe Haerlem, on its way to Holland from the East Indies, ran aground in the vicinity of present-day Milnerton – and although there were no casualties, its sinking was destined to change the course of history.
A junior merchant named Leendert Janszen was instructed to stay behind with about 60 crew to look after the cargo while fellow crew members boarded other ships in the fleet and continued their journey to Holland. While waiting to be picked up, Janszen and other members of the party grew vegetables, caught fish and bartered fresh meat from indigenous inhabitants.
It proved to be a trial run for something more permanent.
On his return to his homeland, Janszen and a fellow officer, Nicolaas Proot, were asked by their employers, the Dutch East India Company, to compile a report on the suitability of the Cape to serve as a refreshment station. Their report, known as the “Remonstrantie”, highly recommended the idea. They were supported by Jan van Riebeeck, a member of the fleet that picked them up.
In 1651, Van Riebeeck, accompanied by 79 men and eight women, set sail for the Cape – to set up a refreshment station. The first commander of the Cape built the first “permanent” structure – a fort – on the site of the present-day Grand Parade. It was built out of clay and timber, and it was not very secure, making the word “fort” seem like a misnomer. Van Riebeeck was well aware of the need to have something more secure, and he called on his principals to give the go-ahead for the construction of something more secure. The Dutch East India Company eventually did say “Yes”, but four years after Van Riebeeck’s tour of duty had ended.
The Castle had other faces too.
Over the course of time it was the administrative centre of the Cape, a garrison, a prison (its dungeons served as temporary holding cells for troublesome chiefs of indigenous groups from the Cape and much further afield).
Some of its purposes, though, were even more sinister…
For example, it – or rather a section of it – served as a torture chamber (Die Donkergat) and a place where people were executed. And it also housed a gallows.
In this regard, one of the more fascinating stories associated with the Castle involved the ghost of an 18th century governor, Pieter van Noodt, who had been cursed on the gallows by one of seven men he had condemned to death for desertion. The curse did not take long to kick in. Van Noodt died on the same day he was cursed. Legend has it he died with a look of surprise on his face. One of the earliest “hangmen” was married to a slave “owned” by one of the Cape’s best-known 18th century socialites, Lady Ann Barnard.
Barnard was most impressed at the way the hangman performed his duties, but she felt nothing but contempt for his wife. As part of the Castle’s 350th anniversary celebrations, the Department of Defence has commissioned statues of four African leaders who fought to maintain the independence of their people during various eras of dispossession.
Zulu King Cetshwayo also spent time as a prisoner at the Castle. This was after he had been captured in the Ngome Forest (near Nkandla) after his forces had suffered horrific losses against the British at Khambula and Gingindlovu. Despite angry protests from whites in the colony of Natal, he was granted permission to travel to England to plead his case to British politicians.
Dubbed “The Ladies Man” because of his striking good looks, even more so in tailored European clothing, he inspired what was described as “some very bad verse”:
“White young dandies get away-o,
Clear the way for Cetewayo….”
Another “guest” of the Castle was Sekhukhune, the king of the Pedi, who like so many other African leaders throughout southern Africa was forced into war by land-hungry white invaders. In his case, it was strife with the Boers in the 1870s that proved to be the beginning of his downfall. Although he was able to hold his own against the Boers, the British proved to be a different proposition. Theophilus Shepstone, the administrator of the Transvaal (after the first Anglo-Boer war), was scathingly critical of the Boers for not being able to defeat the Pedi.
This, he said, had seriously undermined the authority of the white man in Africa.
The notoriously cynical Shepstone pushed Sekhukune into war by instituting a series of taxes and fines that the Pedi were unable to comply with – until the only option open to them was war. Also to be featured will be Langalibalele, chief of the Hlubi, who was also forced into a war he didn’t want by the white authorities. The Hlubi people were driven into conflict because they proved to be much more successful at farming from their base in the foothills of Natal than their white counterparts.
8. Hell Fire Club, Montpelier Hill, Ireland
The Hell Fire Club is the common name given to the ruined building on top of Montpelier Hill in County Dublin, Ireland. In the 1700s it was home to the Irish Hell Fire Club however after numerous reports of paranormal activity and haunted goings-on, the group relocated away from the lodge and it was left abandoned. Today it remains accessible to the public and is maintained by the Irish forestry board, Coillte.
The building was constructed in 1725 as a hunting lodge by William Connolly who was the speaker of the Irish parliament. The lodge was quite luxurious with a hall and reception rooms on the first floor and this is where the entrance was, reached by stairs which are now missing. The servants quarters and kitchens were on the ground floor. The official name for the building at this time was Mount Pelier, named for the hill on which it sat. The architecture is of a Palladian design which was a popular style among Ireland’s wealthy with examples including Strokestown House in County Roscommon. William Connolly’s primary residence, Castletown House in Celbridge, was also built in the Palladian style.
Before Mount Pelier lodge was constructed, there was a cairn with a prehistoric passage grave on the summit of the hill. Some of the stones were used in the construction of the lodge and an ancient standing stone from the locality was also used. Shortly after completion, the roof was torn off the building in a storm and superstitious locals said it was the work of the devil for disturbing the cairn. The roof was replaced with an arch stone roof which remains in place to this day. William Connolly died in 1930 without ever putting the lodge to much use.
The Irish Hell Fire Club was founded in the late 1730s by Richard Parsons, 1st Earl of Rosse, and James Worsdale, a portrait painter and actor. Not much is known about the secret organisation however it certainly included many wealthy and important men amongst its membership. It was said to be a meeting place of persons of quality who wished to take part in socially perceived immoral acts. The earliest meetings of the Irish Hell Fire Club took place in the Eagle Tavern on Cork Hill, near Dublin Castle. Activities moved to the hunting lodge on Mount Pelier Hill after it was left to the club by the Connolly family. William Conolly had originally purchased Mount Pelier Hill from Philip, Duke of Wharton, founder of the first Hell Fire Club in 1719 so it is possible he may have been a member.
Not much is known about the Hell Fire Club’s activities on Mount Pelier Hill. Its remote location added to its appeal for the group. Stories exist of drinking sessions and black masses. There are rumours of animal sacrifices and even one occasion in which a dwarf was sacrificed. One story recounts the tale of Simon Luttrell, Lord Irnham, later Earl of Carhampton, who was, at one time, Sheriff of Dublin. He made a deal with the Devil to give up his soul within 7 years in exchange for settling his debts however when the Devil arrived at the Hell Fire Club to claim his prize, Luttrell distracted him and fled.
Another tale tells of a stranger who arrived at the lodge on a stormy night. In the midst of a card game, a player dropped his card on the floor and upon retrieving it, discovered the stranger had a cloven hoof. Upon this revelation, the visitor burst into a ball of flames and vanished. What’s interesting is that there is a similar story to the one told about Loftus Hall in Wexford and coincidentally, the Loftus family also owned the nearby Dolly Mount lodge, also on Mount Pelier Hill.
9. Jazirat Al Hamra, United Arab Emirates
In the still Ghost Town of Ras Al Khaimah, the bronze, rusty coloured coating over Al Jazirat Al Hamra is a remaining symbol of the once flourishing pearl fishing village, whose name in Arabic translates into ‘Red Island’ for the kind of sand upon which it was built. Eerie remnants of houses, schools, a mosque and marketplaces are now nothing more than derelict empty shells – a window into traditions and trades, abandoned when oil wealth gave rise to rapid urbanisation in the creation of the UAE.
By 1968, Al Jazirat Al Hamra became nothing more than an abandoned town.
Al Jazirat Al Hamra, now a filled-in patch of land in the south of Ras Al Khaimah, remained abandoned and untouched while elsewhere in the Gulf, old towns were repurposed and new cities were born. This ghost town now stands as one of the best examples of a ‘pre-oil village’.It’s as fascinating as it is haunting; where legend has it, you are not the only visitor who roams here. We left just as the sun was setting, avoiding any spooky encounters within its sandy pockets and passageways.
Part of the Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, the hotel has 560 rooms and 44 suites and is considered the flagship property of the group; it employs 1,600 staff. The hotel is made up of two different structures: the Taj Mahal Palace and the Tower, which are historically and architecturally distinct from each other (the Taj Mahal Palace was built in 1903; the Tower was opened in 1972).
The hotel has a long and distinguished history, having received many notable guests, from presidents to captains of industry and show business stars
The Taj Mahal Hotel was commissioned by Jamsetji Tata and opened its doors to guests on 16 December 1903.
An oft-repeated story concerning the reasoning behind the construction of the hotel was Tata being refused admission into Watson's Hotel, as it was reserved for Europeans. However, the validity of this has been challenged by writer Charles Allen, who wrote that Tata was unlikely to care about such a slight to the extent that he would construct a new hotel. Instead, Allen writes, the Taj was built at the urging of editor of The Times of India who felt a hotel "worthy of Bombay" was needed and as a "gift to the city he loved" by Tata.
The original Indian architects were Sitaram Khanderao Vaidya and D. N. Mirza, and the project was completed by an English engineer, W. A. Chambers. The builder was Khansaheb Sorabji Ruttonji Contractor, who also designed and built its famous central floating staircase. The cost of construction was £250,000 (£127 million in 2008 prices).
Originally, the main entrance was on the land-facing side, where now the pool now sits.
During World War I, the Taj Mahal Hotel was converted into a military hospital with 600 beds.
Between 1915 and 1919, work proceeded at Apollo Bundar, to reclaim the land behind the hotel where the Gateway of India was built in 1924. The Gateway of India soon became a major focal point in Bombay.
The original clientele were mainly the Europeans, the Maharajas and the social elites. Many world-renowned personalities from all fields have since stayed there, from Somerset Maugham and Duke Ellington to Lord Mountbatten and Bill Clinton.
When it opened in 1903, the Taj Mahal Hotel was the first in India to have: electricity, American fans, German elevators, Turkish baths and English butlers. Later, it also had the city's first licensed bar, India's first all-day restaurant, and India's first discotheque, Blow Up. Initially in 1903, it charged Rs 13 for rooms with fans and attached bathrooms, and Rs 20 with full board. During World War I the hotel was converted into a military hospital with 600 beds.
Ratanbai Petit, the second wife of the founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, lived in the hotel during her last days in 1929; her sister-in-law, Sylla Tata, had born into the Tata family, builders and owners of the hotel.
The Taj Mahal was opened in 1903 and has since attracted many well-known guests ranging from movie stars with celebrity status to high-powered world leaders. Its past hasn’t always been a pleasant one though. It was used as a military hospital for some time during WWII and sustained a vicious terrorist attack in 2008. This saw a number of guests held hostage within the hotel, resulting in 137 deaths, with 31 of these deaths occurring within the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. Despite the turbulent and traumatic past of the hotel, the ghosts said to be haunting the premises might surprise you.
Though there have been plenty of events at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel one might suspect of leaving behind paranormal energy, it is an unlikely one that has sealed this hotel’s notoriety of being haunted. A man named W.A. Chambers was to take over as head architect partway through the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel’s construction. He is said to have approved blueprints before going on a short trip to the United Kingdom. Legend has it that upon his return he was shocked to discover a huge error in what he had approved.
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