Haunted Wedding Venues in UK

Many UK wedding venues have built a reputation as being haunted. Ghosts or ghostly sightings have been reported by the bride and groom and by unsuspecting guests.

Whether or not you believe in the spirit world, here are listed some of the UK wedding venues with a haunted past that are perfect for your romantic wedding stay. At these venues you can take a spooky ghost walk or get supremely scared in some of the most fabulous bedrooms in the country.

Walworth Castle Hotel, Darlington

Walworth Castle Hotel, Darlington

It may be surprising that a Best Western hotel has been lauded as the most haunted of all wedding venues in the UK, but this Grade 1 listed, medieval style castle in County Durham, has reported a number of haunting experiences over the years. The ghost of a young woman has been spotted appearing out of a wall in to the corridor from the Honeymoon Suite. The young woman is said to be a former pregnant maid who had an affair with the Lord of the house. Fearing others would find about his illegitimate child, the Lord is said to have had the maid bricked up into the wall of the castle’s spiral staircase. Guests have also been woken up by rattling tea cups, others have heard ascending footsteps from the staircase at the rear of the library or reported sudden drops of weight on their beds in the middle of the night. Chambermaids have even reported having their hair pulled.

Elvey Farm, Pluckley, Kent

Elvey Farm, Pluckley, Kent

Elvey Farm, one of the venues in what is considered the most haunted village in the UK, is reputed to have up to sixteen ghosts in the woodlands. The most commonly sighted ghost at Elvey Farm is Edward Brett, a farmer on the land who in 1900 shot himself in the dairy. Mr. Brett has since been seen many times around the farm, or walking around the corridors of the hotel. One guest spotted him lying on a bed, and his voice has been heard whispering in the dairy where he committed suicide.

Guests at the hotel have also experienced other paranormal activity, including a strange smell that resembles burning hay. There have also been reports of poltergeist activity. Other ghosts in the vicinity of Elvey Farm include the spectre of a highwayman who was speared to a tree at Fright Corner, a lady in red, and a phantom horse and carriage that appears on Maltman’s Hill.

Tutbury Castle, Staffordshire

Tutbury Castle, Staffordshire

This ruined castle has plenty of paranormal personnel. Mary Queen of Scots was held captive at Tutbury Castle four times, and has been spotted standing at the window of the Great Hall dressed entirely in black. In 2004 forty guests saw her standing at the top of the south tower.

This most royal of UK haunted wedding venues actively encourages the bride and groom to have a second torch-lit wedding ceremony at midnight. You and your guests can enhance your wedding celebrations with infamous ghost hunts that take place within the castle grounds.

Athelhampton House, Puddletown, Dorchester

Athelhampton House, Puddletown, Dorchester

Another of the UK’s most haunted venues is in Puddletown. Athelhampton House's Great Chamber is home to a pair of duelling ghosts. The manor's wine cellar is particularly creepy, but perhaps the most famous, and probably unique, ghost of all is that of the pet ape who was buried alive in a secret passageway, and can be heard scratching in the night.

Comlongon Castle, Gretna Green

Comlongon Castle, Gretna Green

This fifteenth century, Scottish border stronghold is a permanently haunted by Lady Marion Carruthers who, in the sixteenth century, was held captive in the building for many years by a husband who she was forced to marry against her will. Driven to insanity by her incarceration, Marion is said to have committed suicide by leaping from the castle’s lookout tower, though some suggest she was pushed on the orders of her husband.

It’s interesting to note that no grass grows in the spot where Marion landed. Her ghostly apparition is often seen in and around the castle tower, crying. Marion was not eligible for a Christian burial because of her ‘suicide’ and she is said to haunt the castle that ultimately became her place of unrest. Many former guests, including those from wedding parties, have reported seeing her ghost, providing photographs of the ghostly image to the staff.

Ettington Park Hotel, Stratford-Upon-Avon

Ettington Park Hotel, Stratford-Upon-Avon

This neo-Gothic mansion has been a luxury hotel since the 1980's, but was previously used as a Prisoner of War camp following World War II and, prior to that, a nursing home. The most notable haunted spirit is said to be that of John Pritchard, who built Ettington Hall. Other ghostly sightings include floating candles, the spectre of a man and his dog and a Victorian lady in the conservatory.