The 18 Most Haunted Castles to Visit This Fall

Preston Castle, California

You might recognize this castle — located in Ione, California — from an episode of Ghost Adventures.

The quick history goes like this: Preston Castle was once called the Preston School of Industry, and it was built by the California State Legislature in 1890. The school, which opened in 1894, was a place for troubled boys to avoid heading to juvenile prisons and learn a trade instead, from raising livestock to growing their own food and baking.

Sounds fine until you get to this part of the story: Punishments were extreme and included starvations, isolation and public lashings. Many of the boys also died from diseases like yellow fever and tuberculosis. There were also a couple of other deaths at the school, including a murder. A guard named John Kelly shot a convicted burglar in the back. The burglar, named Samuel Goins, attempted to escape several times and died on his third attempt. The head housekeeper, Anna Corbin, was also beaten to death in the basement.

Visit the school now as part of one of its monthly overnight ghost tours, and you might hear or see slamming doors, disembodied voices and unexplainable physical contact.

Pythian Castle, Missouri

Ghost Adventures' Zak Bagans and co. also visited this castle located in Springfield, Missouri. It's believed violent spirits roam Pythian Castle.

Built in 1913 by the Knights of Pythias, the castle held German and Italian prisoners-of-war during World War II. According to a local news publication, OzarksFirst.com, the castle was originally built as a senior citizens and children's home. It's even said you can still hear the kids in the castle and experience military men smoking in the dungeon to this day.

"Me personally, I've heard them. I've heard my name. They've touched me, and I've seen them," castle owner, Tamara Finocchiaro, told the publication.

Targoviste Castle, Romania

It's here at Targoviste Castle in Romania that Vlad the Impaler, or Dracula as he's more commonly known, lived and tortured his enemies in the 1400s. 

Visit today, and you might still hear voices and footsteps in the castle, possibly of those who were brutally murdered and impaled by Dracula himself.

Corvin Castle, Hunedoara, Transylvania

This Gothic-style castle was built on the site of a former Roman camp and, until the mid-14th century, served as a defense fortress and prison where prisoners were thrown into a bear pit and mauled by wild animals. Later, it was upgraded from a fortress to a castle with a chapel and 50 rooms decked out in medieval art.

Not only was Bram Stoker inspired by this castle for his own work (his novel Dracula), but the Corvin family, related to the family of Vlad the Impaler, ordered the construction of this building. 

It's said Vlad the Impaler was kept prisoner in Corvin Castle, and since then, plenty of strange sightings and occurrences have taken place.

Leap Castle, Ireland

It's considered one of Ireland's most haunted destinations. Leap Castle was built in either the 12th or 15th century (no one really knows) over land where initiation ceremonies by druids took place. 

Many disputes within the O'Carroll clan took place here, particularly one between the chief of the O'Carroll clan's two sons, Thaddeus and Teighe. Their dispute ended with Teighe slaughtering Thaddeus, a priest, during mass. If you visit today, you might see him wandering The Bloody Chapel.

Plenty of other murders and deaths happened there too, including the suicide of "the red lady," who was kept prisoner and raped by the O'Carrolls. When she gave birth to a baby, it was killed by them. She then killed herself.

There's even a dungeon where prisoners fell through a trapdoor. Their lungs were punctured by spikes upon landing, leaving them to die a slow and painful death. Later in the 1900s, three cartloads of human skeletons were found and hauled away.

Houska Castle, Czech Republic

This one's pretty freaky: According to folklore, this medieval fortress' chapel sits directly on top of a portal to hell, trapping demons. The kicker is the castle was strategically built over the hole — the gateway to hell — which was also believed to be bottomless.

Built in the 13th century, the castle was originally built as an admin building where royal estates were managed. During World War II, Nazis then occupied the fortress.

Chillingham Castle, England

"All houses in which men have lived and died are haunted houses:"Through the open doors the harmless phantoms on their errands glide,"with feet that make no sounds upon the floors."

This is how poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow described Chillingham Castle.

Built in the 12th century as a stronghold, it transitioned into a castle in 1344. Here, there were at least eight executions. 

Visitors have experienced touching, seeing orbs, hearing whispers in the King Edward Room and hearing voices in the chapel of two men talking. There's even talk of a frail, pale figure in the inner pantry that continues to roam the area as well as ghosts in the chamber.

Larnach Castle, New Zealand

Built between 1871 and 1887, Larnach Castle was home to a prominent politician at the time, William Larnach. It's rumored that his daughter, who died of typhoid at 26 in the ballroom, continues to haunt the space.

It doesn't end there. Larnach's first wife and second wife also died from illnesses. And in 1894, he shot himself in the head when he found out his son was sleeping with his third, much younger wife.

It's believed Larnach still haunts the castle. In 1994, a play premiered in the grand ballroom, reenacting the history of the Larnach family. At the moment when Larnach kills himself, things went awry. 

"The drapes were flying everywhere and just at the point where Larnach was about to kill himself," owner Margaret Barker told New Zealand publication Stuff, "a flash of lightning shot through the room. Afterwards at dinner, I heard people asking it as if [sic] was a stage effect. But the stage manager was adamant that it wasn't. Larnach might have been watching."

Himeji Castle, Japan

Completed in the 1600s, this castle in Japan is over 400 years old. While it's absolutely breathtaking and the perfect spot for viewing cherry blossoms, you'd better believe it's haunted.

According to legend, a servant maid, Okiku, was seduced and subsequently tortured and killed by a man on the property. To this day, you might hear her voice from inside the well into which she was tossed, called Okiku Well.

Burg Wolfsegg, Germany

People believe this 800-year-old castle in Germany is haunted by the "White Woman," or the ghost of Klara von Helfenstein.

The rumored story goes that Klara and her husband, Ulrich von Laaber, lived at the castle; however, he wasn't around often. For protection, she chose a man named Georg Moller, and their relationship quickly turned into an affair. Von Laaber then hired two farmers to kill his wife. 

It's said you can still see her, all dressed in white, restlessly roaming the property. 

Burg Eltz, Germany

Dating back to 1157, this castle in Germany has one particularly haunted spot: the bedroom of Countess Agnes. After she died defending the castle, she continued to haunt the bedroom, where her bed, battle-ax and breastplate remain.

Akershus Festning, Norway

This castle and fortress was commenced in 1299 to protect the capital of Norway (Oslo), and the castle was completed in the 1300s. Since then, it's been modernized into a residence, where visitors can see the castle, its chapel and its dungeons in the summer. 

Visit it today, and you could come across the presence of a ghost dog that guards the entrance. According to legend, it was buried alive to scare away intruders. 

It's also believed a woman dressed in a full-length robe haunts the castle. People have reported seeing the woman, called Mantelgeisten, walking back to a chamber in Magaretasalen inside the castle.

Voergaard Castle, Denmark

The oldest part of Voergaard Castle dates all the way back to 1481. And according to one of Denmark's most famous myths, Ingeborg Skeel haunts the castle. 

Legend has it she drowned the castle's architect in the moat to prevent him from designing another castle like Voergaard, and it's believed you can still see her dressed all in white wandering the castle — specifically in the barrel-vaulted cellars or up in the tower room.

Predjama Castle, Slovenia

This castle, constructed in the 13th century, was built directly within a cave in the middle of a cliff. The history of Predjama Castle is steeped in bribery, betrayal, torture and death — so of course this place has its fair share of hauntings, including that of knight Erazem Lueger, who once resided at the castle. It's said Lueger was betrayed by his servants and killed in the castle.

Edinburgh Castle, Scotland

Parts of this famous castle date back more than 900 years, and visitors come for the ancient dungeons, the site of plenty of paranormal activity. Some have reported hearing music echoing through the halls, believed to come from the ghost of a piper who died in the castle.

People have also reported visits from colonial prisoners from the American Revolutionary War.

Castle Fraser, Scotland

Here, people have reported whispers and music in the castle's Great Hall. While the castle also comes complete with secret staircases, a spy hole and trap doors, there's one particular aspect of this castle that has visitors making the trek to Scotland: the haunting of a woman who was murdered in the castle's Green Room.

The legend goes that this woman was a young princess. During her stay, she was murdered in her sleep, her body dragged down the stone stairs, her blood staining the staircase, which was later covered in the wood paneling you can still see today. It's said she haunts the halls of the castle at night.

Castle of Good Hope, Cape Town, South Africa

Castle of Good Hope, which was built in the late 1600s as a replenishment station for ships in the Dutch East India Company, has a long, bloody history of violent deaths. Some claim they've witnessed spirits roaming the passageways — one of those spirits being Governor van Noodt.

Van Noodt reportedly ordered a few of his own soldiers to be hung, and just before they were executed, one of the soldiers cursed the governor. The governor unexpectedly died of a heart attack during the execution.

People have also reported seeing a man leaping off the castle wall and the "Gray Lady" crying in the halls as well as other strange things like shuffling in the torture chamber, called the Dark Hole, and seeing the apparition of a big black dog disappear. 

Moosham Castle, Austria

It was here at Moosham Castle that many accused witches were imprisoned, tortured and executed during the Salzburg witch trials. Between 1675 and 1690, over 100 people were killed, and it's believed these spirits, of both women and men, still linger here.

Even more interesting (and scarier) is that this castle also has a long history of werewolves. Supposedly, in the 1800s, castle residents were accused, tried and killed for being werewolves and killing the deer and cattle in the area.

Apparently, visitors have seen white mists and footprints and have heard banging sounds at the castle. What gives us chills, though, is visitors have also reported feeling spirits breathing on them too.