Muncaster Castle, Ravenglass, Great Britain

The Muncaster castle is situated near the Esk River. The name of the castle contains the Latin word "castra" meaning fort/encampment. It was built to protect the country from Scottish assaults, later it became an important outpost on Carlyle trade route. The castle is built on the site of a Roman era fort. At first the main castle and the tower were built, later the Muncaster was periodically reconstructed. The interior became more and more luxurious with every new Pennington generation living there. The castle is decorated with many canvases. The library is one of the most interesting rooms in the house; there are some 6,000 different books. There have been two big reconstructions in 1770 and 1862. The author of the last reconstruction was Anthony Salvin. The castle is surrounded with 77 acres of park area, where an owl sanctuary is situated.

There are a few places in the castle where ghosts are used to appearing: one of these places is the tapestry room, where every night a child weeping can be heard. The White Lady spectrum can be seen in the garden. According to the legend it is the spectrum of Mary Bragg, the housekeeper. She was in love with one of the lackeys, but soon a rival of her appeared and Mary vanished. Soon her corpse was found in the river. They say that Mary was shot down under the tree next to the river.

Sometimes Tom the Fool (Tom Skeleton) appears in the castle. Once he used to be a jester here and was famous for his cruel jokes. They say that he killed the carpenter who was in love with the owner's daughter. The carpenter's ghost was the first one to inhabit the castle: he keeps on looking for his cur off head. Later Tom the Fool's ghost also started visiting the house and moving different objects there. But the owners don't try to quarrel with him. On the contrary, they try to gain his favor: usually they put some drinks or something tasty next to his portrait.

Despite these dramatic stories people keep visiting this castle. For £400 one can spend the night in the tapestry room. There is also a wedding coordinator that will help you organize any type of wedding with friendly Ghosts.

By Sona Gasparian, www.building.am

Photos by: www.muncaster.co.uk