According to a study, Scotland hosts five of the UK’s most haunted attractions, with thousands of reviews highlighting their eerie and ghostly reputations.
Scotland is home to five of the UK’s most haunted attractions, making it a top destination for Halloween thrill-seekers.(Image: Getty Images)
Halloween is creeping closer, and a spine-tingling chill is returning to the air. With almost four in ten Brits believing in ghosts, new research reveals that Scotland is home to five of the UK’s most haunted attractions, making it a prime destination for thrill-seekers this October.
Betway analysed nearly 180,000 TripAdvisor reviews from 30 famously haunted sites across the UK, scanning them for chilling keywords such as “scary,” “haunted,” “ghosts,” “eerie” and “sinister” to determine the frequency of mentions.
The results produced a definitive ranking of the nation’s most unsettling locations.
Mary King’s Close, located beneath Edinburgh’s Old Town, ranks as the UK’s fifth-most haunted attraction. Known for its dark history, almost 15 percent of visitors highlighted its spine-tingling atmosphere.
Glamis Castle in Angus is known for its striking architecture, royal history, and eerie ghost stories.(Image: Getty Images)
Despite only a small number of reviews mentioning ghostly encounters, it remains a must-visit for anyone seeking Edinburgh’s most atmospheric and haunted experiences.
Glamis Castle in Angus is Scotland’s next featured haunt, ranking seventh overall. Famous for its striking architecture and royal connections, the castle is steeped in legend and ghost stories.
Culloden Battlefield was named among the scariest spots in Scotland(Image: Getty Images)
Just over 7 percent of visitors report eerie sounds, mysterious apparitions and sightings linked to its dark past, cementing its reputation as one of the country’s most haunted castles.
Other Scottish attractions in the ranking include Culloden Battlefield, 13th for overall scariness and 20th for ghostly mentions; Peterhead Prison Museum, 19th for general scariness and 23rd for ghost sightings; and Cawdor Castle, ranked 25th for ghostly encounters, though it scored lowest for overall scariness due to fewer chilling mentions in reviews.
At the top of the UK list is Chillingham Castle in Northumberland, crowned the most haunted location in 2025.
This 13th century, Grade I listed castle boasts a long and bloody history dating back to the 1200s. Visitors can explore its infamous Torture Chamber or join after-dark ghost tours in rooms long regarded as some of England’s most haunted.
Of the 1,306 reviews analysed, 61.6 percent included words linked to fear, hauntings or the supernatural.
Almost 30 percent of reviews mentioned specific ghosts, including the spirit of Lady Berkeley and John “Dragfoot” Sage, a notorious dungeon torturer.
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Second on the list is Berry Pomeroy Castle in Devon, known for legendary spirits such as the White and Blue Ladies.
Almost a third of reviews, 32.8 percent, referenced the castle’s scariness, with 13.3 percent mentioning ghost sightings. Northern Ireland’s Ballygally Castle also features, famed for hosting the spirit of Lady Isabella Shaw.
Bodmin Jail in Cornwall takes third place for scariest UK attraction, with 23 percent of its 1,758 reviews referencing fear-inducing experiences, including footsteps and rattling keys, while 7 percent of reviews mentioned ghosts.
Glamis Castle ranks fourth in ghostly mentions with 7.4 percent of visitors reporting supernatural encounters.