As the evenings draw in and darkness creeps ever earlier across the Sussex countryside, there are few things more enjoyable than scaring ourselves witless with tales of spectres, hauntings and things that go bump in the night. And Sussex has so many tales of ghosts, ghouls and restless spirits that we thought we’d send you off on a wild ghost chase of your own.
So fortify your nerves, pull on your walking boots and your sturdiest underpants, pack a torch and prepare to investigate some of Sussex’s spookiest stories on these short walks. There are phantom drummers, spectral dogs, murdered smugglers and mysterious ladies waiting along the way, with, thankfully, plenty of opportunities to retreat afterwards to somewhere warm, well-lit and reassuringly full of the living. It’s up to you whether you choose to walk these walks at dusk, but as always, take care.
Racton Ruin: Whispers in the woods
There is something inherently eerie about Racton Ruin said to be one of the most haunted places in West Sussex. Standing high on a hill, not far from Stansted House, this crumbling 18th-century folly has inspired an extraordinary collection of stories and no one seems entirely certain why it was built in the first place.
The tower was commissioned in the 18th century by the then owner of the Stansted estate. Over the years, theories about its purpose have ranged from the perfectly respectable to the decidedly less so. Perhaps it was a summerhouse and somewhere to picnic. Perhaps it was a lookout from which its owner could watch ships coming into port. Or perhaps, as one of the more colourful local stories would have it, it was used for rather scandalous parties and orgies. But whatever went on here, Racton has acquired a formidable reputation for being haunted.
Visitors have reported hearing unexplained whispers and feeling invisible hands touch or even push them. There are stories of bricks and stones apparently being thrown by unseen hands. Most unsettling of all is the recurring tale of a mysterious woman in white who has been spotted looking from the tower’s upper windows. There is just one rather significant problem with that. The internal floors and staircase have long since disappeared so there shouldn’t be anyone standing at those windows at all.
To explore it for yourself, park near St Peter’s Church. With the church on your left, follow the lane. After a short distance, take the footpath on your left, which leads up towards Racton Ruin and can be incorporated into a lovely circular walk through the surrounding countryside:
Bramber Castle: The starving children
High above the River Adur and the surrounding levels, the remains of Bramber Castle are peaceful today. But its history and its ghosts are anything but. The most chilling story has its roots in the very real and brutal downfall of William de Braose, a powerful lord who fell spectacularly out of favour with King John in the early 13th century. The king seized de Braose lands, eventually capturing William’s wife and their two sons. They were imprisoned at Windsor Castle, where they are believed to have been deliberately starved to death.
Legend now has it that the starving children of the de Braose family return to their ancestral home at Bramber. Dressed in rags, their ghosts are said to wander the castle grounds begging visitors for food. Some versions of the story claim that they are most likely to appear during December, perhaps making this an especially atmospheric winter walk.
And they aren’t Bramber Castle’s only reputed supernatural residents. Another local legend tells of a lord who discovered that his wife had taken a lover. In revenge, he supposedly imprisoned the unfortunate man inside a secret underground passage running between the castle and the village, leaving him there to starve. His desperate cries, according to the story, can still sometimes be heard beneath the castle grounds. Then there’s the ghostly horse. Visitors have reported glimpsing a spectral horse galloping through what was once the castle moat, disappearing almost as quickly as it appeared.
Today, you can incorporate Bramber Castle into a beautiful walk across the surrounding levels. Our full circular route is approximately 10 km, although there are shorter options if you don’t want to walk quite so far:
Beautiful Autumn Walk from Tottington Manor to Bramber Castle
Cowdray Ruins: A cursed walk at dusk
There are few things more atmospheric than a ruined Tudor mansion at dusk, and Cowdray, on the edge of Midhurst, comes with a suitably chilling tale. Start your walk at the Cowdray Farm Shop, just off the A272, and pick up the track heading south towards the magnificent ruins of Cowdray House. From here, take the path into Midhurst and spend a little time exploring the town. Browse the independent shops, stop for something to eat or perhaps fortify yourself with a drink, then time your return for that magical moment when the sun is beginning to set. Because this time, as you walk back towards Cowdray, you know its stories.
The so-called Curse of Cowdray is said to date back to the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Sir Anthony Browne inherited Cowdray in 1542 and was also granted Battle Abbey. According to legend, after the monks were expelled from Battle, one departing monk placed a curse upon Browne and his descendants, warning that the family line would end through fire and water.
For more than two centuries, nothing happened. Then, in September 1793, fire swept through Cowdray House, leaving the once magnificent Tudor mansion largely in ruins. Within weeks, the 8th Viscount Montagu drowned while attempting to negotiate the Rhine Falls. The title subsequently passed to the 9th Viscount, who died childless in 1797. Cowdray eventually passed to Elizabeth Poyntz, sister of the 8th Viscount, but in 1815, both of her sons drowned in a boating accident off Bognor.
One old story concerns the 5th Viscount Montagu, who was said to have shot a priest and subsequently hidden for years in one of Cowdray’s priest holes. His devoted wife supposedly visited him dressed in white, helping to fuel rumours that a ghost wandered the grounds. Her pale figure is still said to be seen walking between the ruins and Midhurst. Another tradition tells of Lady Browne haunting the path between Cowdray House and the farm shop. So, as dusk gathers and you make that final walk back towards the farm shop, keep an eye on the path ahead. That figure in white is just another walker. Isn’t it?
Winchelsea: Highwaymen, smugglers and Dead Man’s Lane
If ever a Sussex town was made for a spooky walk, it’s Winchelsea. Medieval ruins, smugglers, highwaymen, a Dead Man’s Lane and more than a few reputed ghosts make this tiny hilltop town particularly atmospheric as dusk begins to fall. For the full experience, you could even book a night at Strand House, just outside Strand Gate, where guests have reported ghostly goings-on. From here, walk up into Winchelsea and, as the light begins to fade, head down Friars Road towards Greyfriars.
You can’t currently explore Greyfriars itself because it’s privately owned, but its history is colourful enough from the roadside. After the Dissolution, the former friary passed into private ownership and its tower was at one time used by customs men watching for smugglers. In the 1780s it became home to two apparently respectable gentlemen, William Johnson and Samuel Watson. They were, in fact, George and Joseph Weston, notorious highwaymen living under assumed names. So successfully did they infiltrate Winchelsea society that George became a churchwarden before their past caught up with them. Both were eventually hanged at Tyburn, and tradition has it that their ghosts still haunt the roads around Winchelsea so watch out.
From Greyfriars, make your way to the wonderfully named Monk’s Walk and follow the route towards the remains of medieval St John’s Hospital. For a longer loop, continue towards Wickham Manor before circling back to Rectory Lane. Here you’ll find Hogtrough Lane, traditionally known as Dead Man’s Lane. The lost church of St Giles once stood nearby and, during a French raid in 1359, townspeople (mainly women and children) who had taken refuge inside were reportedly massacred. Tradition says the resulting burials gave the lane its macabre name.
Continue past the Blackfriars ruins before saving the best until last: St Thomas the Martyr and its churchyard. Buried here is Thomas Monk, a 28-year-old Winchelsea fiddler and smuggler who was shot during an encounter with customs men in Rye Bay in April 1838. He is sometimes described as the last Sussex smuggler to die at the hands of the King’s men and local ghost lore maintains that his restless spirit still wanders this stretch of the Sussex coast.
And if that hasn’t provided quite enough ghosts? Extend your walk towards Icklesham and the Queen’s Head, where another spectral resident is said to await.
Herstmonceux: The phantom drummer
Start at Henners Vineyard and follow sleepy Church Road to ancient All Saints Church, where even the churchyard has a spooky past. Local legend tells of a lost bell buried somewhere beneath Herstmonceux, while an old account claims smugglers once concealed contraband beneath movable slabs on the churchyard tombs.
From the church, follow the 1066 Country Walk towards Herstmonceux Castle and listen for the beat of a drum. For centuries, tales have been told of a gigantic Phantom Drummer who patrols the castle battlements after dark, beating a ghostly tattoo, with blue sparks said to fly from his drumsticks. One practical explanation claims the apparition was actually a smuggler covered in phosphorus, deliberately terrifying locals away from the castle and churchyard while illicit goods were hidden nearby.
But the Drummer apparently has company. Herstmonceux Castle has also acquired tales of a Grey Lady, a woman in white leading a deer, a spectral soldier on horseback and assorted other apparitions. On your spooky walk, continue past the castle and Science Centre before looping through Plantation Wood and beside the lake to return to Henners – hopefully without hearing any drums behind you.
Alfriston: Blue ladies, smugglers and spectral dogs
Begin at The Alfriston, formerly Dean’s Place, where a sorrowful woman in a blue dress is said to glide along the landing and even the car park and road south reportedly has its resident ghostly dog. Head into Alfriston and the hauntings continue. At the Smugglers Inn, a mysterious woman has reportedly appeared near the foot of the staircase, while The Star has its own centuries of stories and reputed apparitions.
Bear left into West Street and look out for privately owned Tuckvar House. You cannot go in but it was once associated with smuggling and it has accumulated an impressive collection of ghosts, including a tall phantom woman on the stairs, another wispy female figure in the attic and an elderly man thought to have once tended the horses.
Turn towards the river and follow its banks north, leaving the village behind. Cross the river and follow the quiet lane towards the site of Burlough Castle. This is believed to be the site of a Norman motte-and-bailey structure, though no sign remains and although it is not home to ghosts, it is said to be the hang out of some mischievous pharisees (fairies). From here, before loop through the countryside and returning south towards Alfriston. And keep an eye on the surrounding fields. Local folklore tells of a great spectral dog that runs from the Downs towards Alfriston, stops to stare over a wall and then retreats the way it came. Back in the village, The Clergy House on the Tye is also said to be haunted.
Finish back at The Alfriston, where afternoon tea should restore the nerves nicely.
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