UK’s Spookiest Places Revealed: Readers Choose Haunted Castles, Forts and Farmhouses for Halloween

As Halloween approaches, Guardian readers have shared their picks for the spookiest places across the UK, from Scotland’s dramatic Dunnottar Castle to a remote haunted farmhouse in Northern Ireland. Perched on cliffs above the North Sea, Dunnottar Castle is a standout for its eerie Whigs Vault, where over 160 prisoners were held in horrific conditions in 1685. One reader with Fraser ancestry described the chilling atmosphere: wind whistling through stonework, waves thundering below, and a feeling that the past hasn’t left. Other nominations include a ghostly hill fort on the South Downs and a haunted farmhouse in rural Northern Ireland, each with its own unsettling history. These sites offer more than just scares—they connect visitors to real historical tragedies and local legends. For those seeking a fright this season, these reader-recommended locations promise goosebumps and a deeper appreciation of Britain’s haunted heritage.