Arundel Castle
Arundel Castle is one of the most impressive castles of Great Britain. Its construction was begun during the reign of Edward the Confessor and was completed by Roger de Montgomery who actually became the first to hold the title Earl of Arundel conferred upon him by William the Conqueror. After this time, apart from a few occasions when it has reverted to the Crown, Arundel Castle has been a hereditary stately home to several notable families and is currently the principal seat of the Duke of Norfolk and his family.
In the 17th century the castle was badly damaged by fire but it has now been restored to its former glory.
There are various ghosts said to be haunting Arundel Castle and these include:
A young boy who is thought to have worked in the kitchens some 200 years ago and who is believed to have been beaten frequently by his master. It is thought that because of this mistreatment, the boy died and thus his ghost appears scrubbing pots and pans and scurrying around the kitchen.
In the library renowned as one of the finest Gothic rooms in England, another spectre has been sighted, that has become known as the 'Blue Man'. His ghost is said to date back to someone who lived in Arundel Castle at the time of King Charles II. A ghostly small white bird has been seen fluttering around the windows of the castle on many occasions and these appearances are said to have coincided with the sudden death of a resident of the castle! Accordingly it is thought that the appearance of the bird is a sign that tragedy will strike someone connected to the castle.
Finally, another ghost is occasionally seen in the servants quarters. Apparently one night in 1958 a trainee Footman went up to turn off the drawbridge lights and as he walked down the ground floor corridor to reach the switch box, he noticed something strange and he saw the head and shoulders of a man with long hair dressed in a loose sleeved grey tunic. As the Footman walked on, the man faded away to nothing!