Cornwall


<p>Halloween is practically synonymous with a full moon, but it only actually happens once every twenty years or so (FYI, we just had this year&#8217;s on 17 Oct, with the next one not until 15 Nov) but never fear, the long dark and mizzle filled Cornish evenings make a great atmosphere to explore some of Cornwall&#8217;s eeriest locations. You can practically see the ghosts and smugglers emerging in the lantern light.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bodmin-moor">Bodmin Moor</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/09/brown-willy-sunrise-bodmin-moor-copy-1.jpg" alt="Bodmin Moor Cornwall" class="wp-image-20069" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/09/brown-willy-sunrise-bodmin-moor-copy-1.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/09/brown-willy-sunrise-bodmin-moor-copy-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/09/brown-willy-sunrise-bodmin-moor-copy-1-720x480.jpg 720w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/09/brown-willy-sunrise-bodmin-moor-copy-1-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>High and isolated lies the vast mysterious wild moorland that is said to be roamed by the Beast of Bodmin Moor, a phantom wild cat. Ghosts are also rumoured to run amok, where even on a clear day footsteps are reported to have been heard at Roughtor. Dare to go further? Dozmary Pool is said to have a dark spirit given the curse of an impossible eternal tasks &#8211; hear screams? Those belong to him&#8230; </p>



<p>Want to get properly in the move? Take a <a href="https://www.littlewhitetaxi.co.uk/stars-ghosts-beasts">bespoke taxi tour</a> visiting twenty locations where paranormal activity has been reported, finishing at a haunted location on Bodmin moor where we can spend as long as you like stargazing / avoiding the Beast.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Pendennis Castle, Falmouth</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/03/Pendennis-Castle-Falmouth.jpeg" alt="Pendennis Castle Cornwall" class="wp-image-22366" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/03/Pendennis-Castle-Falmouth.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/03/Pendennis-Castle-Falmouth-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/03/Pendennis-Castle-Falmouth-720x480.jpeg 720w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/03/Pendennis-Castle-Falmouth-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/03/Pendennis-Castle-Falmouth-787x525.jpeg 787w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>Pendennis Castle might have been intended to protect Carrick Roads but ended up a trap when the enemy forced royalists to wait it out for six months until they chose to surrender. Ever since, ghostly figures have been seen, including that of a kitchen maid who it is said fell to her death down a staircase. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Merry Maidens, Nr Penzance</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/10/full-moon-merry-maidens.jpg" alt="full-moon-merry-maidens" class="wp-image-20971" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/10/full-moon-merry-maidens.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/10/full-moon-merry-maidens-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/10/full-moon-merry-maidens-720x480.jpg 720w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/10/full-moon-merry-maidens-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/10/full-moon-merry-maidens-787x525.jpg 787w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>Legend has it that the Merry Maidens were local girls who broke the rules on the Sabbath and were turned to stone for dancing. You can find the circle with 19 stones between&nbsp;Lamorna&nbsp;and&nbsp;St Buryan &#8211; it is said that the fact the stones gradually get smaller (the largest are in the southwest and the smallest in the northeast) represents the waxing and waning of the lunar cycle. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://www.jamaicainn.co.uk/ghost-hunts-weekends-sleepovers" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jamaica Inn</a>, Nr Bodmin</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/10/Jamaica-inn-bodmin-moor.jpg" alt="Jamaica Inn Bodmin Cornwall" class="wp-image-20972" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/10/Jamaica-inn-bodmin-moor.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/10/Jamaica-inn-bodmin-moor-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/10/Jamaica-inn-bodmin-moor-720x480.jpg 720w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/10/Jamaica-inn-bodmin-moor-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/10/Jamaica-inn-bodmin-moor-787x525.jpg 787w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>The old coaching inn half way between Bodmin and Launceston is one of Cornwall&#8217;s most famous &#8211; and haunted &#8211; pubs. You’ll probably recognise the name as Jamaica Inn achieved world fame after Daphne du Maurier wrote the best-selling novel of the same name following her enforced stay in November 1930. Stories of paranormal activity abound and after investigation, the British Paranormal Association confirm it to be a genuine haunted establishment.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Headland Hotel, Newquay</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="999" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2022/03/Headland-Hotel-Newquay-RB-image.jpg" alt="The Headland Hotel Newquay Cornwall" class="wp-image-26283" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2022/03/Headland-Hotel-Newquay-RB-image.jpg 999w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2022/03/Headland-Hotel-Newquay-RB-image-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2022/03/Headland-Hotel-Newquay-RB-image-720x481.jpg 720w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2022/03/Headland-Hotel-Newquay-RB-image-768x513.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2022/03/Headland-Hotel-Newquay-RB-image-786x525.jpg 786w" sizes="(max-width: 999px) 100vw, 999px" /></figure>



<p>The gothic facade accentuates the darker history of the hotel and it was of course the location for the 1990s film, <em>The Witches, </em>upon which the hotel good naturedly trades with its Grand Witch High Teas, but there are also said to be ghosts wondering the corridors. In the long winter evenings when the storms rattle the windows and the waves whip up the cliff, it is hard not to wonder whether there is something in the story that voices from the hotel&#8217;s days as an RAF hospital still linger in the air.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Prussia Cove, Mounts Bay, Nr Penzance</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2022/10/Prussia-Cove-Cornwall-RB-image-1000x667.jpg" alt="Prussia Cove Cornwal" class="wp-image-28645" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2022/10/Prussia-Cove-Cornwall-RB-image-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2022/10/Prussia-Cove-Cornwall-RB-image-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2022/10/Prussia-Cove-Cornwall-RB-image-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2022/10/Prussia-Cove-Cornwall-RB-image-788x525.jpg 788w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2022/10/Prussia-Cove-Cornwall-RB-image.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>It looks like an idyllic swimming cove on an August day when I took the photo above but don&#8217;t be fooled. Prussia Cove was once home to the notorious Carter brothers who ran a smuggling ring between France and Cornwall. At Bessy&#8217;s Cove (above) there is a secret passage that ran from the back of the cave in the cove to the ale house on the cliff above. The grooves cut by the wheels can still be seen on the stone of the cove today (below).</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="720" height="480" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2019/11/prussia-cove-720x480.jpeg" alt="Prussia Cove Cornwall" class="wp-image-23203" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2019/11/prussia-cove-720x480.jpeg 720w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2019/11/prussia-cove-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2019/11/prussia-cove-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2019/11/prussia-cove.jpeg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a aria-label="Lanhydrock House (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/lanhydrock" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lanhydrock House</a>, Nr Bodmin</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/10/lanhydrock.png" alt="Lanhydrock Cornwall" class="wp-image-20976" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/10/lanhydrock.png 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/10/lanhydrock-300x200.png 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/10/lanhydrock-720x480.png 720w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/10/lanhydrock-768x512.png 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/10/lanhydrock-787x525.png 787w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>This largely late-Victorian house now owned by the National Trust is reputedly haunted by an impressive variety of ghosts. Legend has it that a dapper gent wearing Victorian clothes including a top hat can be seen. Others maintain that there is a grey lady. A man supposedly hanged by the Royalist army during the Civil War has also apparently been glimpsed. With stories of sudden whiffs of cigar smoke and sounds of children’s laughter coming from other rooms, a tour on halloween takes on a more spooky meaning&#8230; or maybe it is the Penny Dreadful entertainment.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a aria-label="Cotehele (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/cotehele" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cotehele</a>, Saltash</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="720" height="480" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/10/cotehele-720x480.jpg" alt="Cotehele Saltash Cornwall" class="wp-image-20977" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/10/cotehele-720x480.jpg 720w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/10/cotehele-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/10/cotehele-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/10/cotehele-787x525.jpg 787w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/10/cotehele.jpg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px" /></figure>



<p>The National Trust has a rich supply of haunted properties, and the dark stone rooms of Cotehele have many ghostly stories. Visitors to the atmospheric Tudor house in Saltash have commented upon the distinctive herbal smell, faint music, and occasionally hazy and indistinct figures&#8230; for more light filled walks, try the gardens, quay and estate.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Mên-an-Tol, West Penwith</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="720" height="480" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/09/Men-an-Tol-Morvah-Cornwall-Prehistoric-Stones-720x480.jpeg" alt="Men an Tol West Penwith" class="wp-image-20169" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/09/Men-an-Tol-Morvah-Cornwall-Prehistoric-Stones-720x480.jpeg 720w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/09/Men-an-Tol-Morvah-Cornwall-Prehistoric-Stones-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/09/Men-an-Tol-Morvah-Cornwall-Prehistoric-Stones-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/09/Men-an-Tol-Morvah-Cornwall-Prehistoric-Stones-787x525.jpeg 787w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/09/Men-an-Tol-Morvah-Cornwall-Prehistoric-Stones.jpeg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px" /></figure>



<p>The four stones of megalithic structure known as Mên-an-Tol, or the “Crick Stone” can be found on the West Penwith moor between Morvah and Madron. Dating back to the Bronze Age it is thought to be related to burial rituals, although Cornish poet&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._M._Thomas">D. M. Thomas</a>&nbsp;suggested Mên-an-Tol was “the wind’s vagina&#8221;. It is also thought the stones were used as a charm against witchcraft or ill-wishing, and could also for future telling. Apparently when two brass pins were laid crosswise on top of each other on the top of the stone they behave much like an ancient ouija board. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Tintagel Castle, Tintagel</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/01/tintagel-bridge.jpg" alt="Tintagel Castle Bridge Cornwall" class="wp-image-21621" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/01/tintagel-bridge.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/01/tintagel-bridge-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/01/tintagel-bridge-720x480.jpg 720w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/01/tintagel-bridge-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/01/tintagel-bridge-787x525.jpg 787w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo credit: Hufton &amp; Crow Photography</figcaption></figure>



<p>In the Middle Ages, Tintagel&#8217;s residents used a narrow land bridge as high as the clifftops to cross the gaping chasm, now replicated by the new bridge (above) linking the cliffs to the ruins of the 12th century castle. The ghost of Merlin, King Arthur&#8217;s mentor, is said to live in a cave under the castle. Nearby Camelot Hotel is said to be inhabited by ghosts who play jokes on the guests.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a aria-label="Bodmin Jail (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.bodminjail.org/discover/bodmin-jail-experience/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bodmin Jail</a>, Bodmin</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/09/©-Sarner-International-Ltd-Bodmin-Jail-Attraction-2.jpeg" alt="Bodmin Jail" class="wp-image-20549" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/09/©-Sarner-International-Ltd-Bodmin-Jail-Attraction-2.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/09/©-Sarner-International-Ltd-Bodmin-Jail-Attraction-2-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/09/©-Sarner-International-Ltd-Bodmin-Jail-Attraction-2-720x480.jpeg 720w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/09/©-Sarner-International-Ltd-Bodmin-Jail-Attraction-2-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/09/©-Sarner-International-Ltd-Bodmin-Jail-Attraction-2-787x525.jpeg 787w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>The only original, fully working Victorian Hanging Pit in the UK is sobering and the new telling of the stories of those doomed to imprisonment and execution brings these stories to, erm, life, in a way that is fittingly spooky. And perfect for halloween, Bodmin Jail is also home to seven species of British bat&#8230;</p>


We’re going on a ghost hunt: eerie places near you

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