Berry Pomeroy Castle

 …The apartments within were very splendid; especially the dining room, which was adorn’d, besides paint, with statues and figures cut in alabaster ‘tis now demolished, and all this glory lieth in the dust…

-John Prince, The Worthies of Devon

When it comes to a setting for a tantalizing tragic story that leads to a spooky haunting, castles are low-hanging fruit. If that castle is in ruins, then it is absolutely a given that believers of the supernatural will flock to its rubble to search for signs of the other side. 

Berry Pomeroy Castle has spawned reports of ladies in grey, spook lights, anomalous noises, unexplainable shadows, terrifying screams. cold spots and just about every other hallmark of supernatural activity that exists on the roster. Tales of heroic brothers who, instead of accepting defeat in a battle, together rode their horses from the top of the ramparts to the precipice below. A Blue Lady, full of sorrow and vengeance after killing her baby fathered by her own father, lures people to her tower from which they then fall to their death. A White Lady whose jealous sister imprisoned her in the dungeon to forever wail and moan at the cruel punishment she received for being hotter than her sibling. The castle is considered one of the most haunted in Europe, but eager ghost hunters aren’t the only ones drawn to the castle’s romantic ruins. Artists are also frequent visitors, as the crumbling walls covered in ivy and the nests of jackdaws make picture-perfect illustrations. The beautiful dichotomy of a place that once symbolized wealth and civilization falling back away to nature lends inspiration to artists and other creatives of all kinds. 

For the most part, the 15th century Tudor-style castle now stands as a tourist attraction. Its history fairly common (but still interesting to history nerds) but its the endless list of supposed hauntings that keep the site alive and maintained, to be enjoyed by history buffs, sketch artists, and ghost hunters alike.