Cave Hill, Belfast

Cave Hill 

Hey Everybody! Today we finally go in Northern Ireland, in Belfast. The city is well-known for the Titanic and stuff but Rose and Jack’s story is too romantic for this blog, sorry. 

The resemblance is striking

So let’s talking about Cave hill! The iconic shape of Cave hill looming above the city is great place to walk and lots of tourist go there in good days (if there are good days in UK..). Cave hill is also known as Napoleon’s nose, due to its likeness with the French Emperor. 

But let’s start with haunted stuff. As you can see on the picture above, Cave hill country Park owes its name to the cave which has been used by humans in the Iron Age. This very cave has been the subject for some creepy testimonies in the early 1910s. According to the reports, during the night a wailing sound could be heard from the woods around the cave and when people tried to track the source of the sound, it suddenly stopped when they were too close.

Two years later, in 1915, a couple spotted what appeared to be “a floating man within the trees”. When this flying man saw the couple they ran and seemed to be really frightened because their face and legs were damaged by branches during their run.  

After this, numerous sighting of this floating man continued.

The last strange case around Cave Hill took place in 1922, another couple discovered a bizarre looking rock while their walk in the country park. In fact they discovered a human skull (funny funny place).

After investigation, the police discover a full human skeleton which was identified as being Mr John Scott who have committed suicide on Cave hill few years before. 

Nowadays, no testimonies of floating man or ghost have been shared but these stories still attract numerous tourists.

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How to get there: Is it super easy to go there from Belfast by bus of by car as there are the Belfast Castle and Zoo in the Cave Hill country park. You can find all informations you need HERE.

Sources : Spooky isles

Edinburgh Vaults

Edinburgh Vaults 

Yop guys! Today we leave England to go to Scotland, in Edinburgh exactly. The capital is famous for its castle and picturesque old town but not only. While walking in the old city, you can notice that there are numerous horror tours which permit you to discover a new facet of Edinburgh. They propose you to wandering in an old graveyard, torture exhibition or the well-known vaults. This is a place that I’ve visited (and I almost cried haha). 

This is where we’re going today, but first what are exactly these vaults? It began with the construction of the South Bridge in 1785. At this time, the Edinburgh Castle was an impenetrable fortress so townspeople wanted to live as close as possible to it. The bridge were built to connect flat areas to the castle: South Bridge consisted of 19 arches and at its highest point, it stood 31 feet above ground and had foundations that penetrated Edinburgh's bedrock as far down as 22 feet.

In 19^th century, the vaults begin the place for poverty: during famines and plague epidemic, homeless and contaminated lived in the vaults and serial killer let their victims dying in the darkness of the place. Murder, rape and death were rampant as disease and crime took hold of the area. 

At the end of the century, vaults were closed to drive the seedy activity out from the Edinburgh’s main thoroughfare and was let into obscurity.

In the 1990’s students who let a flat in the old town heard scratching at the wall and decided to destroy it (they were drunk…). Behind the wall, the vaults surfaced again. Since then, the vaults have been opened to public and ghosts reports have poured in. The most famous ghost is Mr. Boots: some said seeing a man wearing a long black coats and boots and guides of vaults tour report hearing his footstep. 

Some ghosts are bolder, like the spectral child "Jack" who grabs visitor's hands in the wine vaults. 

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How to get there: One of the most horrifying vaults tour is the Auldreekie Terror Tour, more informations HERE. This tour is only for over 18s only and will make you cry; the visit is done by night and the guides are so interesting and creepy! Well, it's worth checking out! 

Hampton Court

Hampton Court 

Today guys, I take you to the most famous castle of England, which has received considerable attention in the press. The scary story behind this castle has even been shared by TV news in most of European countries. 

This magnificent castle near London is famous for being the residence of King Henry VIII (1491-1547). For nearly 200 years it has been at the centre of the Royal Court and made its mark on the history of England. 

But at this time, the Castle had been the scene of crimes that everybody still know nowadays. In effect, Henry VIII is the real Blue Beard (if you don't remember this tale, you can read it in totality here: Blue Beard). King Henry has killed two of his six wives and since, inhabitants, guards and tourists assure seeing the two women wander corridors. 

But the most credible proof of haunting has been caught on tape by CCTV on the 22nd December 2003: 

All english castles have their own ghost, but this time it's different. It's the first time that a spectre is filmed. Hoax ? Not according all the TV news which deal with this story. We can see a silhouette opening the doors and then closing it.  

Some people clearly recognize a man dressed like in the XVI century and assure that it's King Henry VIII haunting his own castle. 

Good publicity for the castle which saw its attendance increasing considerably after the event. 

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How to get there: The castle is opened all year and the adress is: Hampton Court, East Molesey, Surrey KT8 9AU.

And if you want to wander in corridors you can find all informations HERE, and maybe you will see King Henry ..