Women in white, lovelorn French maids and cursed skulls - when it comes to ghost stories, it seems that in Lancashire we have a great pedigree in frightening fables. But how many of these top terrifying tales do you actually believe?
1. Samlesbury Hall
The lady in white at Samlesbury Hall is perhaps one of the most commonly reported ghosts in East Lancashire. The apparition is said to be Dorothy Southworth, the doomed daughter of Sir John Southworth who lived in the Hall in the seventeenth century.
According to the popular story, Dorothy was desperately in love with a protestant neighbour.
Her family, however, were staunchly catholic and forbade the union. They continued to meet and even planned to elope. But on the evening of their escape Dorothy’s brother discovered their plans and murdered her lover.
It is believed that he killed not just her beloved but his brothers also. Dorothy was sent to a foreign convent where she went mad and died alone from her grief.
@lancstelegraph my 8yr old son went on a school trip there and was ended up in tears because he was so scared by something he said he saw!
— lesley bannister (@ravylesley) September 16, 2015
Can you spot the ghost in this footage from Samlesbury Hall?
2. Whalley Abbey
Resting on the banks of the River Calder lies Whalley Abbey where for nearly two and a half centuries, Cistercian monks sought tranquillity and a spiritual life. But in 1537 Henry VIII dissolved the monastery and its Abbot John Paslew was executed. Although it is commonly accepted that Paslew was executed near Lancaster Castle some believe that he was hung from the monastery gates or even from a tree on Whalley Nab.
Wherever he was executed, it seems that he did not rest easily as villagers have been reporting strange sightings of a ghostly white monk wandering around the Abbey for centuries.
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3. The Dunkenhalgh
The Dunkenhalgh is now a popular hotel and spa but this fourteenth century manor house is said to be home to the ghost of a French maid. The story goes that Lucette was well loved by the Petre family but one Christmas a handsome young officer wooed her making her believe that he loved her. She fell pregnant, and realising the officer had no interest in her she threw herself from a bridge into water below. The maid’s white form is now said to return at Christmas to remind other young girls of her dreadful fate.
4. Hall's cursed skull
Said to be the oldest family home in Lancashire, Browsholme Hall is also reputed to be home to a cursed skull. Legend has it that, the skull is that of a martyr who took part in the Pilgramage of Grace rebellion that sought (among other things )to protest against Henry VIII’s breaking of England from the Catholic church. It is rumoured that if the skull is ever removed from the Hall terrible things will happen. When it was last removed in the 1850s the curse was allegedly responsible for several fires and deaths.
5. Towneley Hall, Burnley
This historic hall was once home to the Towneley family and is now the picturesque spot where Sir John Towneley’s restless soul is said to wander. According to popular folklore, Sir John enclosed an area of common ground where the poor would graze their cattle and added it to his vast estate. As a punishment he was doomed to wander his estate wailing for eternity.
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