Get spooked! 7 haunted places to go in Lincolnshire

Do you shiver with delight at the prospect of spine-tingling adventures? Do you fancy yourself a ghost hunter or have a keen interest in the supernatural? These 7 haunted places to go in Lincolnshire are excellent choices for otherworldly encounters on your holidays.

Lincoln Castle

Lincoln Castle served as a prison for a period of time and the prison chapel is reputed to be haunted, with some people claiming to have felt a cold sensation as an invisible being brushed past them. People claim to have heard noises such as doors being slammed and heavy footsteps within the prison, as well as seeing strange figures on the prison’s upper balconies.

There have also been reports of a cold sensation and sightings of strange figures at the castle’s observatory tower, while a ghost dog has also allegedly been seen near the castle walls. In addition, a phantom horse and rider were supposedly seen charging through the castle gates, accompanied by a voice shouting for the gates to be opened and the sounds of a horse’s hooves on the cobblestones.

Bradley Woods

Bradley Woods are reputed to be haunted by a spirit known as the Black Lady. The most widespread explanation is that this spirit is the ghost of a young woman who was married to a woodsman. The woodsman had to leave his wife and young son behind when he left to fight in a war, possibly at some period during the Wars of the Roses. The woman would wander in the woods while waiting for her husband to return and one day she was attacked and raped by three enemy soldiers who also stole her son. It is said that the woman continued to wander the woods after the attack, looking for her husband and her son, but eventually died from grief and her spirit remains in the woods today, still searching for her family.

Gunby Hall

Gunby Hall is an attractive country house that was built in 1700 for Sir William Massingberd. However, a dark tale accompanies this building. Sir William Massingberd’s daughter was reputed to have fallen in love with a servant and in order to prevent his daughter running away with the servant, her father shot the man and disposed of his body in the pond. Ghostly sightings have been reported on the path known as Ghost Walk which runs beside the pond. Some reports include the ghosts of the couple, while others claim that only the spirit of the servant was seen. There have also been reports of people feeling very cold on the path, which reputedly means at least one spirit is present.

Thornton Abbey

Thornton Abbey is reputedly haunted by the ghost of Thomas de Gretham, an abbot at the abbey during the 14th century. The abbot was accused of practising witchcraft and black magic and was bricked up, still alive, within the abbey dungeon and left to die. His spirit has reportedly been seen wandering around the abbey’s ruins and grounds.

Thorpe Hall

The spirit of a Spanish woman wearing a green dress has allegedly been seen walking in the gardens at Thorpe Hall. The spirit woman is reputed to be Donna Leonora Oviedo who was supposedly in love with the owner of Thorpe Hall, Sir John Bolles. In one version of the tale she rescued him from a Spanish prison and was desperate for Sir John Bolles to take her to England with him but he was already married and refused to do so.

Another version is that it was the woman herself who was a prisoner and the kindness that Sir John Bolles showed her caused her to fall in love with him but when she asked him to take her to England and he refused, she spent the rest of her days in a nunnery with a broken heart. Before he left Spain she gave him a portrait of herself wearing a green dress which was hung in Thorpe Hall but is now lost.

The Ruskington Road Ghost

This is one to avoid/look out for while driving. There are several reports of a ghostly figure appearing to drivers on the A15 near Ruskington. Depending on the sightings the figure is sometimes male and sometimes female. Some reports claim a male figure appears on the side of the road and raises its hand, while another report is that a female figure appeared on a car windscreen and raised its hand.

Chapman’s Pond

Several children have drowned in Chapman’s Pond in Cleethorpes and a number of reports claim that a young girl has been seen splashing within the water and crying out for help. However, she disappears during the process of people being alerted and the sightings have led people to believe that the girl is a ghost of one of the children who drowned in the pond.

Be brave and beware

Exploring haunted places is not for the faint of heart, so keep your wits about you and be brave as you discover the spooky delights of these haunted spots in Lincolnshire. Who knows who may make an appearance, perhaps a friendly ghost or a menacing spirit, so keep your eyes peeled and your ears open!