Ghosts & Hauntings

Downton Abbey 'haunted by footman's ghost'

By T.K. Randall
September 19, 2019 ·  4 comments

Highclere Castle has a history of ghostly sightings. Image Credit: CC BY 3.0 Adrian Farwell According to Lady Fiona Carnarvon, the iconic building - which was made world-famous by the popular 'Downton Abbey' TV show - was once home to the ghost of a footman who killed himself.

On one occasion she recalled seeing a figure dressed in black in the castle's basement while she had been posing for photographs alongside her three-year-old son Edward who was driving a toy car.

"I turned and saw a man coming towards us out of the gloom," she said. "He seemed slightly undefined. I told [Edward] to go faster, but he went at his own pace. I simply pushed him along and burst through the swing doors. The figure paused at the doors and I just hurried along."

Keen to remove the ghostly presence, Carnarvon called in an Anglican monk to bless the building.Her decision seemed to have paid off as the figure has never been seen again since.

"I assume it worked," she said. "But I don't think the area is necessarily wholly without ghosts."

Sure enough, several others have reported paranormal encounters within the castle's walls. Even her own father once reported seeing a "well-dressed lady" roaming the building's halls.

"It's an old house so there are the inevitable groans and stories," she said.

Source: Radio Times | Comments (4)

Tags: Ghost