Page 4 of Chillingham Castle

“John was a monster. He was called either John Dragfoot because of his injured leg, or The Butcher of Scots. John was a ruthless sadist who spent most of his time in the dungeon, and he hated the Scottish. Unable to fight because of his injury, John is rumoured to have tortured over fifty people a week for three years. Several thousand died horrifically at his hands. The new torture chamber houses all the equipment he used. John is said to have favoured the wheel, iron maiden, iron chair, and the rack. He also liked to impale, boil, and starve his prisoners to death.”

“Wasn’t there a spiked barrel?” Dive asked.

Evie nodded. “John created that on his own. The floor of the dungeon sloped, so he put spikes into a barrel and shoved victims in and rolled them about. Basically, it skinned them alive.”

“Jesus Christ!” I exclaimed, feeling sick,

“Oh, it gets worse. At the end of the Scottish/ English war, John had prisoners left over. Instead of freeing them, he created a roaring bonfire in the courtyard and burned the men, women, and older children, and forced the younger ones to watch. Then they were taken to the King Edward Room and hacked to death,” Evie finished.

“What?” Jack demanded, looking green.

“English history is bloodthirsty,” I told him.

“Voices and screams can be heard in the courtyard,” Janice added.

“You said the new torture chamber?” Gizmo asked.

“Yes. As you faced the Great Hall, did you see the arches? They used to be the undercroft. All of John Sage’s stuff is in there. The owners closed the original location off because human remains are still down there. There’re only two cells, and one contains a murder pit where prisoners were thrown and left to die.

“Additionally, a séance took place there, which caused serious lingering problems. The dungeon and torture room lie beneath us, right here in the tearooms.” Evie pointed a finger downwards.

“And you’ve no activity?” I checked.

“Not in here, which is odd, but down there? Yes, lots of it, but the area is off-limits to us,” she replied.

“Okay, so those are the ghosts we’re investigating.” Suga sighed. “That’s a long list.”

“Oh, I’ve not finished,” Evie suddenly broke into a smile.

“You’re not?” Lich asked.

“No. There are the rooms, too. The King Edward Room is haunted by a deep sense of despair, with oppressive sadness. A dark, malevolent spirit, which is very aggressive, haunts this room. It has attacked several people and is seen as a shadowy figure. In the Still Room, a Spanish witch was killed (supposedly poisoned). Right before she died, she placed a famous curse on the castle, vowing that bad luck would befall anyone who steals or removes objects from the property uninvited. You’ve no idea how many letters we’ve had returning rocks and other items that were taken and brought misfortune. We’ve a room showing them all,” Evie continued.

Janice shoved a plate with two sandwiches on it at Evie and took over explaining. “In the garden, the lake is supposed to have the bones of hundreds of murdered Scotsmen. It’s said if you stick your hands in it, they’ll pull you down. I’ve never tried it.

“There’s the Devil’s Walk, which is the road you drove up. People say you hear footsteps. Monks have been seen in the gardens. They allegedly showed pity on those hanged by the feet and cut them down. Soldiers caught them and hung them too.”

“And it just keeps getting better,” Ghoul quipped.

“In the chapel, two men are heard talking, but no ghosts appear. When people try to listen in to the conversation, they stop speaking. Three skeletons were discovered there: two beneath a stained-glass window and one in the rear corner. That one belonged to a young girl.

“Her spirit has been seen, and she plays with female visitors’ hair. We’re unsure whether this is Eleanor appearing elsewhere. When people sit where she was found, they become overwhelmed with sadness. She avoids male guests at all costs.

“Finally we’ve the Hanging Trees. Three trees once stood beyond the archway. When somebody was hanged at Chillingham, their bodies were displayed there until they decayed. Even now, groundsmen still find human bones as they weren’t given a proper Christian burial. People claim to experience things there, an awful sadness and grief. And they get the sensation that someone is touching them,” Janice finished.

Lich sat back, looking amused. “Any more?”

Janice smirked. “Loads. But those are the main ones.”

“Chillingham certainly lives up to its reputation,” Suga acknowledged.

“And now there’s a new ghost?” I asked.

Evie nodded, and fear crossed both her and Janice’s faces.

“What can you tell us?”

“He’s terrifying. Especially after what happened yesterday,” Janice murmured.