Ghost of Bolton Castle

The Scrope family has occupied Bolton Castle since building the castle in the 14th century. The castle was set on fire during the Pilgrimage of Grace and slighted during the English Civil War.

 

It's most famous for Mary, Queen of Scots, being held prisoner in the castle after she fled Scotland in 1568 for England. She was a prisoner here for 6 months before being moved to Tutbury Castle in Staffordshire, where she would spend almost 18 years before being executed at Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire in 1587.

It seems Mary, Queen of Scots, still frequents Bolton Castle long after her death.

Her spectral spirit has been seen wandering about its corridors and grounds. Lord Bolton has reported seeing a “Lady in the Dark Cloak” twice. First, as he was securing the castle at around 5:30 pm one evening, he saw a lady in a dark coat across the courtyard, heading into the East Curtain. Thinking it was a visitor, he waited for the lady to finish her tour.

Eventually, he went into the East Curtain to see what she was doing and discovered it was empty. The problem is that there is only one entrance in and out of the East Curtain, and he had been standing at that entrance, and no one came past him. The same thing happened again a couple of years later, but this time in the castle's Chapel. A castle caretaker has also seen the spirit, as has a local villager, who has seen it on multiple occasions.