GHOSTLY GUESTS

Our fascination with ghost stories goes back centuries, a tradition drawn on by Charles Dickens in A Christmas Carol. What better time of year to visit some of our most atmospheric castles, country houses and inns, and delve into their dramatic tales of hauntings?

NEIL JONES

Charles Dickens’ bestselling novella A Christmas Carol, in which the miser Ebenezer Scrooge is led to mend his ways by a series of ghostly visitors, has been a popular fixture of festive storytelling ever since it was published in 1843. The author’s Christmas books often featured supernatural goings-on, and in this he was following a long tradition of ghostly midwinter tales. It is claimed that Britain has more recorded evidence of supernatural apparitions than any other country, and whether you are a believer, a sceptic, or open to persuasion, it is certainly the case that many stories of restless spirits re-playing their roles for all eternity reflect our rich, dramatic history – combined with a British penchant for ripping yarns. The Tower of London, site of imprisonments and executions over…

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Britain (Digital) - 1 Issue, Nov/Dec 2024

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