According to a 2017 English Heritage article, Bolsover Castle located in Derbyshire, England is one of the most famous haunted castles in the world. In the late 11th century, the English architect John Smythson built the castle. Having been neglected since the mid-14th century, recently workers began to learn haunting facts regarding the castle. Including the fact that they built the castle on an ancient burial ground in a town known as the “Satanic Capital of Britain.”

Later in the 17th century, staff explained there had been mysterious incidents. Doors would slam on their own. People would feel as if they were being pushed, and some said they felt someone grab their ankles. 

Recently, Bolsover Castle opened up as a haunted tourist attraction. While the security guards worked late, most reported they would see the lights flicker or unexplained movements. They even began to see a little boy hold the hands of visitors as they walked past. One guard admitted that she heard a scream grow louder and louder as she stayed late to lock up. When she ran towards the screaming, she found no one there. There was not a sign of a human being around. 

Lucy Hutchings stated that “Bolsover Castle, the magnificent former home of William Cavendish, definitely has a dark side.” Hutchings says in her interview with English Heritage. “Over the years staff has reported time and time again unexplained occurrences of objects moving, orbs of light, people feeling pinches on their skins and some have been told by visitors that they have seen William himself, wandering the lonely corridors. It’s no wonder that it has been voted English Heritage’s spookiest site.”

According to a MirrorTv article, recently, the manager of Bolsover Castle decided to look into adding a new exhibition named Mr. Ted. Mr. Ted is a haunted teddy bear that has been reported to cause terminal illness. They found Mr. Ted in the home of psychic medium Debbie Davis. After they brought Mr. Ted to the castle, three volunteers decided to be brave enough to stay the night with the bear. Paranormal expert Jo Lockwood stayed in an entirely different room to watch over the girls while they slept. 

During the sleepover, Lockwood began to notice a ball of energy floating near the girls. She then saw a flickering light nearby the seated Mr. Ted as he watched the girls sleep. Lockwood stated the producers went in to check on the ladies at 3 A.M. due to a lost connection. 

When they entered, Lockwood said in her interview with Mirror TV, “The crew has just gone in there and the power lead has failed or pulled out.” The team doesn’t know what caused the power outage, but it could have been Mr. Ted.

They found the radio was trying to pick up frequencies from the netherworld. When the girls heard the radio turning on they shouted out “show yourself.” Mr. Ted responded by screaming, “leave.” The girls then asked the spirit to “come closer,” and Mr. Ted responded, “No!” The girls had enough and ran out of the building to safety. 

After the sleepover, they decided Mr. Ted had too much anger and too much power.

They believed Mr. Ted had so much power that he could have potentially harmed the girls during the sleepover. They buried him in a secret location 30 miles away from his owner, who is extremely thankful. Mr. Ted has a lot of pent-up anger and should never be found. If he is found he could very well wreak havoc on the county. 

COD graduate Michael Johnson said he went to Bolsover Castle in 2008 and witnessed some of the spooky mishaps that occurred. 

“It was insane,” Johnson said. “I don’t remember every detail seeing as I was 10, but I do remember some of the events. “I was looking around the place with my mom, right? We heard this loud door slam, and then I saw a little boy standing in front of me. When a few people walked by he disappeared.”

Johnson had not seen Mr. Ted because he wasn’t on the premises.

“I heard a really loud scream coming from the hallway, and it was terrifying seeing as I was so young,” said Johnson. “It sounded like a really sharp scream, but it could’ve been my mom screaming honestly. The door slamming was super scary. If she screamed I probably had my eyes closed and couldn’t tell. I don’t know.”

For more information regarding Mr. Ted or Bolsover Castle please click one of the links below!

www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/haunted-teddy-bear-sends-morning-11318521  

www.mysteriousuniverse.org/2021/01/growling-haunted-teddy-bear-spent-the-night-in-a-haunted-castle/  

www.english-heritage.org.uk/about-us/search-news/pr-spooky-bolsover/