“Straight from a fairy tale” calls to mind pictures of little bridges, flowering woodland floors, and canals that carve through cities, but don’t forget that there is also a dark side to a fairy tale. Villains are almost as important to such tales and their wicked lairs or headquarters. What will Sleeping Beauty be, after all, without the palace of Maleficent? There are dungeons once packed with ghosts, haunted ballrooms, grotesque tales in this series of haunted castles, and even tigers terrorizing a nearby village: these are the haunted castles of the world, from New Zealand to Romania and beyond.
Bran Castle
Halloween doesn’t get any better than this: Dracula’s House. Bran Castle is closely related to the historical figure who inspired author Bram Stoker, better known as Vlad the Impaler, Vlad III Dracula, and indeed, you correctly concluded that he impaled his victims instead of sucking blood. Some claim that Bran Castle was one of the places where fear reigned over Transylvania under Vlad III. (Nevertheless, most historians will plead for evidence.) Now a museum, a golden casket containing the heart of Queen Marie of Romania, has other frightening sights inside its walls.
Bhangarh Fort
A deserted 17th-century abandoned fort town lies deep in the state of Rajasthan at the foot of the Aravali mountain range. A sadhu who lived atop the nearest hill allowed the fort to be constructed on the condition that it did not cast a shadow on his own home, says one piece of local lore. He cursed the city until his mandate was disobeyed. Considered to be the most haunted place in India, after sunset, entry to the famous tourist destination is strictly prohibited. Nearby residents talk about ghost activities, but sceptics suggest the real purpose of the after-dark ban is to shield people from the adjacent tiger reserve dwellers. However, Bhangarh Fort’s dark aura and negative energies are accepted upon by believers and non-believers alike.
Casa Loma
In midtown Toronto, there is a Gothic Revival style castle that, whether you know it or not, you’ve almost definitely visited. That is, on-screen. In Scott Pilgrim vs. the Universe, X-Men, Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast, and as Hogwarts in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Casa Loma made appearances. This is in part due to the distinct architectural qualities of the mansion, but also because of its legend. Ghost sightings have been recorded for decades, including the ghost of Sir Henry Pallat, its original inhabitant, and his companion, Lady Mary, for whom the castle was built. The appearance of a maid from the early 1900s, when 60,000 people died from the flu in Toronto, is much more widely seen.
Castle of Good Hope
Cape Town’s Castle of Good Hope once housed a windowless jail, one of the oldest and biggest of the surviving colonial buildings in South Africa, where convicts drowned while bound to its walls. The other spooky things? A huge black dog who jumps at tourists before vanishing, a bell that rings on its own (thought to be rung by a guard who once hanged himself with the bell-rope), and lights turned on and off in the Buren bastion without any human support.
Edinburgh Castle
One of Scotland’s capital city’s best sights is perhaps one of the most haunted, according to many. “The ancient dungeons of the medieval fortress have prompted tourists to the castle with pieces dating back more than 900 years to record” visits “from colonial prisoners from the American Revolutionary War, French prisoners from the Seven Years War, and even the ghost of a dog roaming the graveyard on the grounds of the castle.
Castle Fraser
Castle Fraser, built-in eastern Scotland between 1575 and 1636, is known for its intricate architecture, magnificent farmland, and gardens, and a very horrifying myth. According to legend, a young princess was brutally assassinated in her sleep while she was living at the palace. Her body had been dragged down the stone steps, leaving behind a trail of blood. The owners couldn’t clean the bloodstains off the stairs as much as they tried, so they opted to cover the staircase with wood panelling, which remains to this day. Some claim that the princess’s spirit still roams the castle’s halls at night.
Himeji Castle
Himeji Castle dates back to 1333 and is considered one of the best surviving examples of the architecture of Japanese castles. It has some very creepy folklore associated with it as well. Okiku, a legendary character from ancient mythology who was wrongly accused of missing precious dishes. She was killed in the castle and thrown into a well. In the evening, her ghost now haunts the castle, counting dishes in a mournful tone; she reaches nine before she screams and heads to the well.
Predjama Castle
Designed inside a cave in the middle of a sheer cliff, by most standards, Predjama, which dates back to 1274, is formidable. Throw in local folklore and you’ll be hard-pressed not to get spooked: Predjama has secret passages once the home of Knight Erazem Lueger and was reputedly a place of torture and treachery. Lueger was betrayed and murdered in the castle by his servants, and it is said that he still haunts it today.
