Spofforth was the main seat of the Percy family - one of the most important and influential families in northern England - until the late 14th century. William de Percy, a favourite of William the Conqueror, built a manor house here in the 11th century, and it was reputedly here that rebel barons drew up Magna Carta in 1215.
The surviving remains are those of a fortified manor house, dating mainly from the 14th and 15th centuries.
The castle is reputedly haunted by the apparition of a woman with a "bluish-white hue" that appears on top of the tower. Startled witnesses have reported that the figure then falls from the tower, with only the upper half of her visible as she drops towards the ground. However, the apparition dissapates before hitting the ground.
Pictured left is the tower courtesy of Mtaylor848.
Spofforth,
Harrogate,
North Yorkshire,
HG3 1DA.
For further information, please read Haunted Castles of Britain and Ireland by Richard Jones and Britain's Haunted Heritage by J A Brooks.