TikTok’s Favourite Haunted UK Destinations 🎃

A quick summary:

• York is by far TikTok’s Favourite Haunted UK destination with 1.2 Billion views
• The Haunted Civil War City of Chester isn’t far behind with 1.1 Billion views
• Whitby – home of Dracula is in third place 575 Million views
• Home of the Ghost Story – Canterbury, is in fourth palace with 139.8 Million views

TikTok’s top Haunted UK Destinations:

York 1.2B 

Is York the UK’s most haunted city? Even better, according to the International Ghost Research Foundation it is Europe’s most haunted city.

From the Vikings to the Normans, from the Romans to the Victorians, there have been plenty of grisly goings on through the city’s bloody history. In fact, there are supposedly over 500 hauntings within the ancient city walls. Not only that you can purchase your very own ghost from The York Ghost Merchants.

Chester 1.1B

Is the walled city of Chester trying to keep the ghosts in, or you out?  This creepy historical city has seen some very violent history, from the roman legions stationed here, one of whom still haunts the city walls, to the bloody civil war which ended in the King’s execution.

If you want a cosy place to share a drink with one of the city’s ghosts, then look no further than The Pied Bull. The city’s oldest pub built in the 1100s hosts a whole menagerie of ghosts from the cellar right up to the guest rooms.

Whitby 576M

The small harbour town of Whitby, certainly harbours some horrible history amongst its cobbled streets and quaint cottages. Whitby is perhaps most famous for being the setting for Bram Stoker’s dracula.

A sleepy fishing village by day, Whitby can become a lot more sinister by night. Head up to the ruins of Whitby Abbey and maybe you’ll encounter the apparition of its founder St Hilda who still keeps a careful watch over wayward visitors.

Canterbury 139.8M

The beautiful mediaeval city of Canterbury, played host to one of England’s most infamous and bloody murders.

In Canterbury Cathedral in 1170 The then archbishop Thomas Becket was brutally murdered by the king’s knights, losing his head in the violence. Despite his savage dispatching, visitors have been known to encounter the former archbishop floating above his tomb.

The ghost stories don’t end there, you can encounter ghostly children at Tiny Tim’s tearoom or head for a haunted pint at the city’s most supernatural pub Tyler’s Kiln.

Glencoe 115.3M

Glencoe is one of Scotland’s most beautiful areas of untamed wilderness, but this wild location was once the eerie background for a bloody battle and a merciless massacre. It’s not surprising then, that locals who call it the ‘Glen of weeping’ claim that the spirits of the slain haunt the foggy landscape, forever seeking their revenge.

Bodmin 8M

Bodmin has a name synonymous with two of the country’s most unsettling  locations, Bodmin Jail and Bodmin Moor – a ghost hunter’s dream.

If the chasing wailing ghosts across Bodmin moor has worn you out, fear not you can take respite at one of the country’s most haunted pubs. Jamaica Inn, the legendary coaching house, once frequented by smugglers. Even now four centuries later you can hear ghostly pirates pacing in the corridors.

Many of those same smugglers might have eventually met their fate in the infamous and haunted Bodmin jail.

Pendle 5.4M 

Hankering for a Haunted hill? Then head to Pendle where through the fog and mist you might still see the shadowy figures of hanging witches.

One notorious for witchcraft and devil worship, Pendle Hill is perhaps now best known as the execution spot of those who found themselves sentenced to death during the Lancashire witch trials.

Local people claim the lost souls still haunt the local village, and avoid visiting the hill at night for fear of seeing the vengeful apparitions of the accused 

Eyam 3.5M

This small picturesque Derbyshire village has a most unfortunate history.

In 1665, the villagers of Eyam made a huge sacrifice, condemning themselves to their fate and closing the village off to avoid the plague infecting those in the surrounding villages. What came to be known as the plague village went on to lose 273 people to the black death.

Visitors can stay in the local pub the Miners Arms, but beware ghostly footsteps and strange going on have caused previous travellers to flee in the middle of the night.

Manningtree 584.3K

Once the hunting ground of Matthew Hopkins, Witch Finder General. The tiny Essex village of Manningtree, has not quite shaken off Hopkin’s ghost who is said to hang around in the village pubs. According to locals, he can also be seen underneath a full moon, peering over the Mistley Pond, where many of his 400 victims were dunked and drowned.

Boscastle 2.1M

The charming Cornish fishing village of Boscastle has an unmistakably haunting past. The harbour is overlooked by the Wellington Hotel, where an elderly lady can be seen floating through closed doors, and ghostly pirates stalk the corridors of the 16th Century building.

It’s not just ghosts on offer, Boscasle has been called Britain’s answer to Salem due to its long history of Witchcraft and is now home to the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic displaying the largest collection of witchcraft artefacts in the world.

“What better time for a spooky getaway than Halloween? 

Whether you’re visiting the Haunted Harbours of Cornwall, or the Ghostly Walled Cities York or Chester, Britain’s haunted destinations are causing quite a stir on TikTok with billions of views of our scariest destinations.”

Nicky Stanley, Owner at Harbour Holidays