Haunted Warwick Castle

It's been said ghosts appear only in houses that have known great happiness or great misery. The castles of Britain fall into both categories. The first glance of Warwick Castle is nothing less than stunning.

I still have an 8 x 10 framed color photo of Warwick on my dining room wall, seventeen years after my visit. I've seen many castles since that time, but my memories of Warwick never seem to dim.

Sir Walter Scott called Warwick Castle "the fairest monument of ancient chivalrous splendor which yet remained uninjured by time." To pass through the gatehouse and stand in the courtyard, gazing up at its massive towers is to feel you've somehow traveled back in time or entered a perfect Hollywood movie set.

It would come as no surprise if a figure in armor came striding toward you, hopefully with a friendly greeting!

Warwick remains a solid and resolute bastion and a symbol of power, whose history is linked to the history of England herself. It was here during the War of the Roses, that "the Kingmaker" Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick (1428-71) held the monarch he made-Edward IV-captive while the king he removed--Henry VI--languished in the famous Tower of London. For a short time, Neville was the most powerful man in the land, ruling England until he was cut down in his prime of life at the Battle of Barnet in 1471.

For those who visit this epitome of English castles seeking encounters of a more spine-tingling nature, the Ghost Tower is the place to see.

Sir Fulke Greville (1554-1628) was granted Warwick Castle by King James I in 1604. At the time, the place had been unoccupied for fourteen years. Time had taken its toll and the castle was in poor condition. As fate would have it, Greville, as well as being a fine playwright and poet, was a rich man. Renovations never come cheap, especially for stone castles. Nonetheless, he gradually converted Warwick into a "most princely seat." Greville was eventually raised to the peerage as Baron Brooke and then appointed Commissioner of the Treasury.

Some years later, thoughts of his own mortality led Greville to draw up his last will and testament. He had never married and had no off-spring. He made a very small bequest to his servant, Ralph Haywood, which would have serious, unexpected consequences.

As the story goes, Haywood was not a bit impressed with his inheritance. In a fit of rage, he stabbed his master while helping him dress at Greville's home in London. It took poor Greville a month to die, his agony compounded by the surgeon's insistence on packing the wound with mutton fat. He was brought back to Warwick Castle and his tomb can still be seen in nearby St. Mary's Church.

Greville's ghost returns to the castle to walk the room that was once his study. Here witnesses have reported catching fleeting glimpses of a man staring at them from the dark corners. Others feel his presence. Perhaps the lesson should be always treat your servants well!