claim to have experienced hair-pulling,
a poke in the back and ghostly sightings.
One woman threw up after a tour. Nei-
ther ectoplasm nor alcohol-induced,
Trotter insists.
Surely this rationalist-turned-spiritu-
alist act is a marketing ploy, I ask.Trot-
ter shrugs. He is not up for trickery.
“Good practice is being extremely hon-
est. Bad practice is hamming it up.”
We head off hrough the dark, darkt
woods to the torture chamber and the
chapel. The crowd includes a couple on
their second visit, despite not seeing a
ghost the first time; a father and daugh-
ter; and a group of women on a night out
who may have had a few drinks. Enjoy-
ing a concurrent tour is a group of office
workers on a bondingtrip.
Hannah, 14, wanted a Halloween
“experience” and is hoping to be scared.
I ask her father, Scott, whether he
believes in ghosts. “I’ll find out today,”
he says. Whether it is nerves or theContinued on page 2A
t the end of Devil’s Walk,
past the gnarled hanging
trees, once the scene of
mass executions, lies the
medieval castle. My taxi
driver does not like coming here.
There is just something about the place,
he says.
The sun sinks, casting shadows
across the courtyard. I reach my
room by climbing a twisting stone stair-
case. Previous guests claim to have
heard the rustling skirts of the ghost of
Lady Mary Berkeley, former mistress of
the castle, whodied of a broken heart
here exactly 400 years ago. Somewhere
a door bangs in the wind. Otherwise the
place is quiet.
An email arrives on my phone.
Attached is an excerpt from the 1895
diary of another one-time mistress,
Leonora Sophia Van Marter:
“I feel the presence of something
unworldly watching my every move.The
darkness can be felt in a physical way, and
in this castle, it envelops and overwhelms
like an evil black tar.
“I am sitting alone in the Pink Room
almost too scared to write; I apologise for
my shaky handwriting but my nerves are
stretched. I am trying to be rational, but my
fear is so intense I could cry.”
My room is cold. Is it a sign of a spirit’s
presence? Oris it because the radiator is
switched off?
Chillingham Castle in Northumber-
land, close to the Scottish border, claims
to be one of Britain’s most haunted
buildings — though it is unclear by what
measure (statisticians tend to be a
rational bunch). The property, sur-
rounded by lakes and gardens, is part
holiday lets, part home to the Wakefield
family which includes Dominic
Cummings. The British political
strategist and adviserhappens to
bemarried to Mary Wakefield, daughter
of the castle’s owners, Sir Humphry
and the Hon Lady Katharine (the
ownership bloodline dates back to the
13th century).
When it comes to spooks and spec-
tres, Chillingham is striking — and its
owners are making the most of their
unearthly asset.
The lure ofghosts, especially at Hal-
loween, has not been lost on owners of
old properties such as Chillingham.
According to James Probert, director of
marketing at Historic Houses, which
represents independently owned his-
toric homes, ghost tours are “growing as
a source of visitors and income”.
“You need to think about income and
be imaginative,” says Elena Faraoni,
whose family ownsHoghton Tower, a
Grade I-listed Tudor house in Lanca-
shire in the north of England. “Running
these historic places is hard. Ghosts
add to the value of marketing. It’s an
interesting crowd — they really believe.”(Clockwise from top) Hoghton
Tower; the Torture Chamber at
Chillingham Castle; the Italian
Garden at Chillingham
Hoghton Tower Preservation Trust; Gregor Schmatz for the FTSaturday 26 October/ Sunday 27 October 2019
Property Ghost tours|
are a lucrative business
for owners of historic
homes. ByEmma Jacobs
That’s the spirit
The embers of the log fire areglowing in
Chillingham’s Minstrel’s Hall. I meet
Mark Trotter, who runs the castle’s
ghost tours. Tall with clipped white hair,
he looks every inch the detective (which
used to be hisjob). Having moved from
County Durham for a quiet life, he now
runsvisits and oversees trips from para-
normal groups, of which there are
many. “It’s their life,” he says.
Trotter brushes off my cynicism with
a smile and a shrug. When he leaves the
castle, he does not give the ghosts
another thought. “We’re paid to give
people a nice evening. I can’t magic up a
paranormal experience.”
Ghosts had never crossed his mind
before he worked here: “I will always
look for a logical explanation.” But now,
after several “encounters”, he claims to
be a believer. The most frightening, he
says, pointing to the two iron chande-
liers hanging from the ceiling, was the
night he saw them swinging around in
synchronised rotation. Other visitorsThe home of prime property: propertylistings.ft.com Follow us on Twitter @FTProperty
Follow us on Instagram @ft_houseandhome
Totally hipShane Connolly’s masterclass in sustainable autumn floristry— INTERIORS AGES 14 & 15P
A ghoul
mine
OCTOBER 26 2019 Section:Weekend Time: 10/201923/ - 17:45 User:elizabeth.robinson Page Name:RES1, Part,Page,Edition:RES, 1, 1