Terrifying castle branded one of the most haunted is home to more than 100 ghosts

There are said to be as many as 100 spirits roaming the halls, with royalty, a woman sealed inside the walls and ghosts riding round on horseback

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark – or in this case, one of Denmark’s stately homes.

With ghosts, stories of betrayal and mountains of bloodshed, this castle certainly has a lot in common with Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

Dragsholm Castle in Zealand, Denmark, is 800-years-old, and has earned the title of being one of Europe’s most haunted castles.

It’s thought there may be up to 100 spirits still roaming the castle’s corridors, ranging from a nobleman on horseback to a woman in white who it’s thought was sealed inside the walls, dying a horrific death.

Once kept as a prison for the country’s nobility, Dragsholm has seen centuries of trauma and misery within its fortified walls.

Most notable of its prisoners was James Hepburn, also known as Lord Bothwell, who married Mary Queen of Scots and was rumoured to have murdered her former husband, Lord Darnley.

Bothwell was imprisoned at Dragsholm for 10 years for accusations of stealing another woman’s dowry, most of which was spent chained to a pillar in horrendous conditions where he was unable to fully stand up.

Following his death in 1578, his ghost has been seen in the courtyard – Lord Bothwell has also reportedly been seen on horseback, lamenting his decade of misery at the site.

Those with a morbid fascination can still see Bothwell’s pillar today, complete with the circular groove dug into the floor from a decade of shuffling in agony. More macabre still, tourists can also see his mummified remains in a nearby chapel.

This is far from the only evidence left at Dragsholm of its torturous past, however. Renovations at the castle during the 1930s revealed the skeletal remains of a woman shrouded in a white dress found sealed behind a basement wall.

It’s understood this was the remains of Celina Bovles, whose father had trapped her behind the wall after discovering she had become pregnant with a boy working at the castle who she had fallen for.

The ghost of a white lady thought to be Celina is frequently seen roaming the castle’s rooms and grounds, frightening many a guest.

While still privately owned, the castle is now used as a tourist attraction with hotel rooms and a Michelin-starred restaurant. Because who wouldn’t want a side of spectres with their soup?