After a three-year absence, the National Trust team at Dunster Castle is once again offering visitors the chance to uncover the creepy tales, unused corridors and dark corners of the castle with two nights of candlelit, late night guided tours.

Many of the historic houses that the National Trust look after have their fair share of dark and grisly tales and the hilltop at Dunster, home to a castle for more than 1,000 years, is no exception with many reports of ghostly sightings and sensations.

Among the castle’s gimmest of tales, is the story of the oubliette that adjoins the old gateway. Many medieval castles would have had a means of holding their prisoners in an underground cell beneath a gatehouse, and this dark, damp space is reputed to be a pit dungeon where prisoners would have been lowered in through a trap door, forgotten about and left to die. Sir Walter Luttrell, former owner of Dunster Castle, told the story of a skeleton being found here in the 19th century, creating the legend of an excavation which unearthed a 7-foot-tall skeleton manacled to the wall by his wrists and ankles. Dogs seem particularly troubled by this sinister site and refuse to climb the steps near to where the body was found.

David Moore, House and Collections Manager at Dunster Castle, agreed that working at the castle can sometimes be eerie: ‘When we are closing up the castle at night, especially at this time of year, it is difficult not to see strange shadows in windows and hear footsteps or keys rattling.’

Each ghost tour will be led by an expert guide who will relay a wealth of haunted tales from the castle’s long and fascinating history including recent reports of men’s voices and loud marching footsteps in areas of the castle known to be empty.

Hattie Pinches, Visitor Experience Officer at Dunster Castle, added ‘We’re so excited to be hosting Ghost Tours at the castle after a three-year break. They’ve always been overwhelmingly popular, though they certainly aren’t for the faint-hearted, and it’ll be such a pleasure to welcome visitors again for two nights of jumps and chills!’

Dunster Castle’s ghost tours will take place on Monday 31 October and Tuesday 1 November and last approximately 50 minutes with the first tour at 6pm and the last at 10.20pm. Tickets are £22.50 per person and must be booked in advance at https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/dunster-castle or by calling 0344 249 1895.