The Wearsiders who love a ghostly stopover at spooky Lumley Castle
There’s something about the Lumley Castle dungeons that Wearside people love.
We know because groups of Wearsiders keep going into them for sponsored stayovers in the creepy rooms.
12 hours of hauntingly terrifying fundraising
Let’s have a look at some examples of the times you lived to tell the tale of your ghostly sleepover at the County Durham castle with a history.
After their 12-hour ordeal in August 1981, Deidre Marshall, 15, her sister Dena Bartlett, 23, and friend Claire Stebbings, 18, agreed it was a haunting experience.
Home of the ill-fated Lily Lumley, the Lumley Castle cellars also house a life-like chained prisoner who cast a baleful eye on the girls.
Over to the Scouts
The trio raised £130 in sponsorship for the Charlie Bear Scanner Appeal.
Eleven years later, the Scouts were giving it a go.
Mark and Anthony Waggot, Martin Bell, Leigh Derrick, Neil Teasdale, Anthony Hudson and Andrew Hetherington prepared for their night in the haunted dungeon at Lumley Castle.
Get in touch if you can tell us how they did in their charity effort.
Later that year, the staff of Seaton View nursing home took their turn.
Here are care assistant Catherine Loftus, assistant cook Stephen Lucas and administrator Sandie McKenna.
We would love to hear from them to share their memories of the scary experience.
The history of Lumley and its ghostly connections
Built in 1389, Lumley is reputed to be one of the most haunted castles in the UK.
Since the early 1970s, when the castle became a 4-star hotel, a handful of guests at Lumley Castle have reported to staff about their strange ghostly experiences whilst visiting.
A locally well-known story is about the ghost of Lily, who centuries ago was secretly married to Sir Ralph Lumley before he met his wife, Eleanor Neville.
Two priests apparently threw Lily down a well at the castle as punishment for her refusing to convert to the Catholic faith.
On Ralph's return, the priests informed him that Lily had left to become a nun. Some people have said that the ghost of Lily floats up from the well and still haunts the castle to this day.
Tell us if you have spent a sponsored night in the Lumley Castle dungeons, or even met Lily.
Email [email protected]