YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE

HAUNTED HOUSES

SEND shivers down your spine this Halloween with a haunting sleepover.

HORRIBLE HISTORY

CARISBROOKE Castle on the Isle of Wight is full of ghosts. A young girl drowned in the well in 1632 and Charles I was kept there before his execution. Its Bowling Green Apartment is a calm place to stay. INSIDER TIP: When the visitors have gone, you’ll have the castle to yourself. Look out for the ‘Grey Lady’, a phantom with four dogs. DETAILS: Three nights from £320. Sleeps 4, english-heritage.org.uk.

SPOOKY SMUGGLERS

WITH 12th-century cellars and a secret passageway leading to a priest hole, the Mermaid Inn in Rye, East Sussex, has all the right spooky ingredients. Bedrooms have exposed beams and some have carved four-poster beds. INSIDER TIP: Seek Dutch courage in the Giant’s Fireplace Bar, which has a large range of whiskies. Local smugglers, The Hawkhurst Gang, used to drink here. DETAILS: Doubles from £150 with breakfast, mermaidinn.com.

IRISH SPIRITS

STRANGE happenings are such a part of luxurious 17th-century Ballygally Castle on Ireland’s Antrim Coast, they even have a ghost room. The spirit is said to be that of Lady Isabella Shaw, wife of Lord James who built the castle. INSIDER TIP: A Halloween-themed tea is available to November 5 (£20 for adults, £10 for children). DETAILS: Tower rooms from £130 pp, hastingshotels.com.