With Halloween just around the corner, it’s time to look at some haunted locations in our area where spirits still roam. Here’re 7 spooky spots where ghosts might give you a fright.
1. Hatfield House
If you visit Hatfield House, you might just catch a glimpse of a royal ghost.
The spirit of Queen Elizabeth I, daughter of King Henry VIII, is said to still haunt the grounds of house, often being spotted in the Old Palace gateway before vanishing into the churchyard.
Built in 1611, the long and varied history of Hatfield House has seen many pass through, and some have reportedly never truly left.
The footsteps of a noblewoman who burnt to death in 1835 after accidentally knocking a candle can still be heard in the corridors, while a ghostly phantom carriage has been seen in the grounds at night.
It’s safe to say Hatfield House can be a scary place after dark.
2. Knebworth House
Standing since 1086 and home to the Lytton family since 1490, one of their spirits is said to roam the halls of the Grade II listed country house.
Writer, politician and keen occultist, Sir Bulwer Lytton performed seances at the house while living there, and his ghost is said to haunt the property, with his presence felt most strongly in the study and drawing room.
Lytton isn’t the only ghost of Knebworth House, with a foreboding spirit you really don’t want to lay eyes on having also been witnessed.
The ‘yellow boy’ is often seen in the Queen Elizabeth Room, and it is believed that seeing him foretells an impending gruesome death.
3. Guessens Court
Before Welwyn Garden City was built, an old farmhouse stood on the site of what is now Guessens Court, but the spirit of a grisly murder supposedly still haunts the area.
According to local legend, a scorned wife burned down the farmhouse of her knight husband who had been keeping his mistress there.
Enraged by his wife’s actions, he decapitated her before receiving a royal pardon for services to the kingdom.
The women’s unrested spirit is said to roam the halls of Guessens Court.
4. The Eight Bells
The sound of footsteps in the upper floors of The Eight Bells pub in old Hatfield have baffled staff for years.
Speaking to the Welwyn Hatfield Times back in 2017, publican Andy Parish said: “We reckon it’s a little girl, as one fellow once saw her in old fashioned clothes coming down the small stairs that lead up to the toilets.
“Sometimes we’d run upstairs after hearing them walking around up there, thinking we had a burglar, but there would be nobody there.”
A section of The Eight Bells used to be a butcher's shop, with many believing the girl met her end there.
5. Plume of Feathers
The first of two haunts in Tewin, there has been plenty of reports of mysterious activity at the Plume of Feathers.
If you go to the pub and find yourself sat at table eight you might not be alone, with the spirits of a man and a woman having both been seen sat there.
The female spirit is believed to be the ghost of a 17th century woman whose body was found behind a bricked-up fireplace, near to table eight.
Take care in the ladies’ toilets too, with doors often opening and closing by themselves.
6. St Peter’s Church and the tomb of Lady Anne Grimston
A very strange tomb can be found in the graveyard at St Peter’s Church in Tewin.
Despite being a staunch atheist and ignoring the vicar's offer to recant her blasphemy just before her death in 1780, Lady Anne Grimston was buried at the church.
After refusing the vicar’s offer, she said: “If there is any truth in the teachings of the bible, then seven trees will sprout from my grave.”
Visit her grave now and you will see it has been lifted up after a number of trees sprouted there, leading to a large crack in her tomb.
Her spirit has often been seen roaming the graveyard.
7. The Brocket Arms
We finish this list with one of the most haunted pubs in all of Hertfordshire.
Before becoming a watering hole for thirsty punters, The Brocket Arms was the monastic quarters for the Norman church back in the 14th century until the Reformation.
One of the monks who lived there has reportedly never left after he was hung in the bar area on a hook that still remains there today.
His spirit has been seen by many, with people reportedly even seeing him on fire, staring at them in the middle of the day.
The ghost of a little boy who sits in the fireplace has also been spotted, while some customers have heard the chilling sound of a girl singing.
Truly terrifying stuff.
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