Halloween is almost upon us, and while large numbers of us all over the world will fully immerse ourselves in this day of horror, ghouls and excitement, the majority of us end up in the comfort of our own beds, waking in the security of our own homes. Two dare-devil people will be well and truly out of their comfort zone with a very special Airbnb stay on All Hallows’ Evening at Bran Castle in Transylvania; the inspiration for Dracula’s Castle! It has been decked out to the nines for Halloween as an attempt of ‘re-creating the book’, with coffins for beds, a candlelit dinner of chicken paprikash and a ban on garlic and silver jewellery for the guests! With this in mind, we were thinking about some of the other haunting places you can spend the night.

Ballygally Castle – Ballygally, Northern Ireland

Built in the 17^th century, it’s thought that Ballygally Castle has been haunted for more than 400 years. It stems from a tale of Lord James Shaw throwing his wife from a window after she bore him a son. She is supposed to have been seen walking the corridors, searching for her baby, and despite being referred to as a ‘friendly’ spirit, has been responsible for guests’ strange experiences while staying at the castle. The hotel has further perpetuated this myth by creating a ‘Ghost Room’, which sits in a turret, one of its oldest parts.

The Fairmount Banff Springs - Alberta, Canada

This is one that you’ll certainly find familiar, it’s the horrific hotel from Stanley Kubrick’s Shining! The actions in the film make it a terrifying enough prospect; with the blood cascading from the lift an unforgettable sight, but there are also a couple of horror stories that can play on your mind during a stay at this luxury resort. An old Scottish Bellman died in the 70s and after threatening to haunt the place while alive, he is now thought to have been seen on a number of occasions following his death. While the ‘Doomed Bride’ fell down the stairs on her wedding day, and has been seen restlessly pacing the corridors.

The Ancient Ram Inn – Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire

This 12^th century Inn was built to house the slaves and workers that were involved in the construction of the nearby St Mary Church. It sits on two Ley Lines that lead directly to Stonehenge, and it’s been suggested that there was an ancient Pagan burial ground on the site 5,000 years ago. With all of this in mind, this place is pretty terrifying. A witch is thought to have been burned at the stake here in the 16^th century, while Devil worship, ritual sacrifice and dark energy and have been widely reported, and add a sinister sense to the Inn.

Waverly Hills Sanatorium, Louisville, Kentucky

 These days, it is known as one of the most haunted places in America, but back when it was opened at the start of the 20^th century, it was designed as an establishment that saved lives. Built to house patients during an epidemic of TB, the doctors used experimental procedures, and as a result, the death toll of patients here went into the thousands. This is not somewhere that we would be particularly keen on spending a night, that’s for sure!

The Langdon Hotel – London

This luxury establishment offers some of the finest comforts in London, but you won’t want to stay in room 333. Apparently this room is so haunted that some of the hotel’s staff don’t dare step foot on the third floor. It stems from a murder/suicide by a doctor taking both his and his wife’s lives on their honeymoon. Since then, there have been numerous paranormal goings on, including guests being flung from their beds. There are multiple ghosts that have been seen haunting the castle’s corridors, including Napoleon III, who lived there until his death.

So, that haunted quintet is about as far away from the security of a Sueno Luxury Bed as you can get, but would make for the ultimate Halloween stay. We know where we’d rather be on 31 October!