NGI

... Head over to Haunted UK for a review of the general history and haunted history of the Carlisle Castle. Alternatively, use the table of contents to view the reports for each location.

The Dungeons

Two large chambers dominated the ground floor of the castle keep and each were devoid of any furniture. The dungeons had been used extensively during the castles history with the most famous incident being when 300+ Jacobite men were crammed into the dungeons to await their fate after a nearby battle.

It is within these dungeons where the famous "licking stones" are present - called such because the men imprisoned here would lap up the slight bit of moisture that leaked from the outside and which can still be seen to happen these days.

The left most 'dungeon' was probably just a store room for either food or ammunition for the canons which were situated on top of the castle (as the other main dungeon was later used for also). Although the term 'dungeon' has stuck over the years and so for ease we'll continue to describe it as such.

Group 1 Report : Bekki Claire John Pete Ally Helen

As we went into the dungeon Bekki felt that there was a lot of energy in this room, but as the English Heritage guy started to relay history about the place, she kept quiet.

In one of the rooms Bekki was drawn to one wall in particular and as she touched it she felt the urge to lick the walls, but again the English Heritage guy started on about the History of the Licking Stones, so she kept quiet not wanting them to think she had felt this because of what he had said.

Ralph and Jay had joined us for this location and as we sat in the room, we heard a number of taps then an omming noise, which seemed to respond to Ralph saying Tom; we tried this out to see whether it was an echo, which it didn?t seem to be.

Group 2 Report : Carol Mark Dell Virginia Camille

For the start of the investigation we settled in the Dungeon area, where the TEMP reading carried out by Dell read as : dungeon 51.3 and 45.9.

We waited for our eyes to become acclimatized to the darkness before calling out. Dell carried on taking temperature readings over a period of time, and it was noticed in certain areas of the Dungeon the temperature dropped quite rapidly, once the lights were out. The main area's of note being the "Licking Walls", and the walled area, which holes could been seen where the prisoners had been chained. Successive temperature readings read as follows: 39.2, 37.9 and 37.8.

We called out, but there seemed to be very little activity in this location. The only notable activity was a dripping sound emanating from the back wall, this was heard by all of us in the group.

We then moved into the Storeroom, which is situated outside the actual Dungeon. Dell carried out a temperature reading, it was as recorded at 45.9. Mark carried out an EMF reading in here, and the only reading came from the obvious source, a security light, which was situated near the entrance. We again settled down before calling out, but again very little activity was felt in this location too. We then headed back into the Dungeon area, but sadly the investigation was hampered by the the main lights being turned back on due to Health and Safety regulations and this caused a little stir amongst not only our, but all groups throughout the castle.

We then proceeded a bit further up the corridor to a room, which had barrel's on on a window ledge. The temperature in here was 44.1. We called out but again no activity was experienced in here either, so we went back to the Dungeon and Storeroom area.The temperature in the Dungeon area had increased, and now read 61.3, this was obviously due to the lights been on. Again no activity was felt in here, and as our time was up we ventured to our next location.