HAUNTED HAPPENINGS AT LUMLEY CASTLE

Lumley Castle

Lumley Castle is a 14th century quadrangular castle at Chester-le-Street in the North of England, near to the city of Durham and a property of the Earl of Scarbrough.

It is named for its original creator, Sir Ralph Lumley, who converted his family manor house into a castle in 1389 after returning from wars in Scotland. However, after being implicated in a plot to overthrow Henry IV he was imprisoned and ultimately executed, forfeiting his lands to the Earl of Somerset. In 1421 the ownership of the Castle reverted to Sir Ralph Lumley's grandson, Thomas.

Today, Lumley Castle is now an upmarket hotel and restaurant with many famous people and international sports teams staying over on tours.

Ghostly History:
The castle is said to be haunted by Lily Lumley, the wife of Sir Ralph, who, was murdered by two priests because she would not practice their faith, the priest themselves are also said to haunt the building and grounds.



In 2000, three members of the West Indian cricket team, including captain Jimmy Adams, checked out of the same hotel because they were scared.

The Indians stayed here during the 2002 tour and there are many from the tour who love to narrate their own horror stories. Some say that this was the reason that Team India ditched the hotel located close to the stadium for one in far off Durham.

In 2005 the Australian cricket team stayed over and many reported paranormal incidents with Shane Watson so frightened that he spent the remainder of his stay sleeping on another team mates floor.
Shane reportedly said, "I saw ghosts.I swear I'm telling the truth.I closed the blind in my room before I went to bed. But when I was woken up at 4am by my phone, the blind was up again.
I looked out of the window and saw a procession of white people walking past. It was amazing, very scary."

Australia media officer Belinda Dennett said at the time: "Several of the players were uneasy although a lot of them in the morning said they were fine.

The duty manager at the hotel says, “We would have loved to have them (the Indian cricket team) here. We have hosted Manchester United here,” he says, vouching for the hotel’s safety. What he fails to mention though is that even United no longer stay here. The locals, though, have no such issues. It’s a very popular place for weddings, receptions, parties or even a place to go and have some coffee.

Website Link: Lumley Castle Hotel