With the rustle of autumn leaves and a chill in the air, the veil between worlds thins. As Halloween (or Samhain) approaches, a ghostly ambience settles, inviting us to explore the spookier side of the season.
Which might seem, for the sceptics out there, overly ridiculous; however, according to GO Outdoors, certain areas in the UK have been the sites and sights of some unexplained, paranormal activity from beyond the spirit realm. Tales of feeling brushes against the skin while walking through forested areas, or unexplained bumps and grazes after visiting the graveyard and cemeteries in the capital.
GO Outdoors managed to collate a top ten, but for the sceptics, how did they create the list?
To determine their top 10 spookiest walks, GO Outdoors created a starting list of "spooky walking locations" found on the website Tripadvisor. This served as their initial pool of candidates for analysis. For each location on the list, they analysed the Tripadvisor reviews to find the percentage of reviews that mentioned specific "spooky" keywords.
The keywords included terms like spooky, eerie, scary, Halloween, haunted, misty, ghost, paranormal, dark, ancient, legend, shadow, buried, sinister, killer, grave, fog, and witch.
They cross-referenced their list with data from the website Paranormal Database. For each walk, they took the total number of paranormal sightings recorded in the wider county where the walk is located. Finally, they created a normalised score out of 10 for each walk.
This final score was based on the two factors they analysed. the percentage of reviews mentioning "spooky" keywords and the number of paranormal sightings in the surrounding county, with the information collected on September 16.
So, where did they unearth in the UK the spookiest places to venture into, or avoid completely, this Halloween?
1. Highgate Cemetery (London)
As one of the world's most famous Victorian cemeteries, Highgate is renowned for its gothic atmosphere. Visitors often feel an unsettling presence and have reported sightings of the Highgate Vampire, a tall, dark figure said to lurk among the tombs. 👻 7.08/10 | Heritage Images/Getty Images
2. Hound Tor (Devon)
A rocky outcrop on Dartmoor with a long history of paranormal sightings. Visitors have reported a range of strange experiences, including seeing spectral figures and hearing disembodied whispers, with some believing the area is haunted by an ancient village that once stood nearby. 👻 7.54/10 | RDImages/Epics/Getty Images
3. The Rollright Stones (Oxfordshire)
These ancient megalithic stones are steeped in folklore. According to legend, the stones are petrified knights and their king, and a witch is said to haunt the area. Visitors have described the site as "eerie" and reported a powerful, mystical energy. 👻 7.69/10 | CM Dixon/Heritage Images/Getty Images)
4. Whitby Abbey & Clifftop Walks (North Yorkshire)
The dramatic, gothic ruins of Whitby Abbey are said to be haunted by the ghost of a nun who was walled up alive. The area is also associated with Dracula, and visitors have reported an unsettling atmosphere, particularly on windy nights. 👻 7.77/10 | Contributed
5. Sherwood Forest (Nottinghamshire)
This legendary forest, home to Robin Hood, also has a ghostly side. Many reviews mention a haunting atmosphere, with visitors claiming to have seen the ghost of Robin Hood himself and other spectral figures wandering through the ancient trees. 👻 8.00/10 | Archive/National World
6. Pendle Hill (Lancashire)
Infamous for the 17th-century witch trials, Pendle Hill is steeped in spooky history. Visitors have reported strange noises, shadowy figures, and feelings of being watched while walking on the hill, which is often shrouded in mist. 👻 8.31/10 | Joyce Margaret Clarke