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With Halloween lurking just around the corner, it’s time to embrace our love of all things spooky and check out 13 wedding venues that would make the perfect location for a Halloween celebration. Of course if ghosts, history, myths and legends aren’t your thing then I can absolutely assure you that all of the venues make beautiful settings for your big day at any time of year! But, for now, let’s get spooky…
I’ll open this list with a venue that’s apparently home to the ghost of a pet ape because I just know that’s going to grab your attention! Aside from that monkey business (see what I did there?) Athelhampton House also boasts dueling ghosts in the Great Chamber and a super creepy wine cellar so be sure you really want those extra bottles before you make your way down there…
Athelhampton House is just 15 miles from the Dorset town of Dorchester and the gardens have to be seen to be believed – the huge pyramid shaped yew trees would make the most wonderful backdrop for photos and the team in-house takes great pride in making sure every wedding is unique.
Built in 1776 for the poor of the parish and later converted into a Victorian workhouse, Gressenhall had a reputation as being rather an unpleasant place and people would do everything possible to avoid having to live there. Conditions were barely even humane and in 1834 alone, one-sixth of all the inmates died from cholera and Scarlet fever.
Nowadays, Gressenhall Farm & Workhouse is the Museum of Norfolk Life and it’s full of cool and quirky vintage touches not to mention 50 acres of grounds and gardens and there’s even a magical woodland area for ceremonies.
Images: Left via Athelhampton House | Right - Gressenhall via Coco Wedding Venues
If you’d like your ghostly guests to be as famous as possible then Muncaster Castle should be top of your list. Reportedly home to the ghost of Henry VI who wanders the corridors sobbing, you might also be joined by the ghost of Tom The Fool, a 16th Century jester who led castle guests to their deaths in the nearby quick-sands.
However, as Muncaster Castle is a family home, it’s a truly lovely wedding venue on the edge of the glorious Lake District. You’re guaranteed exclusive use of the Castle, local food, wonderful accommodation and stunning views. No wonder Henry VI doesn’t want to leave!
Eyam is Derbyshire’s infamous ‘plague village’ where the residents voluntarily cut themselves off from the rest of the country when the plague took over their village to stop it spreading to the rest of the country. 260 out of 350 inhabitants died but their sacrifice probably saved thousands of lives in the north of England.
Eyam Hall itself is a fantastic Jacobean manor house and it’s a fascinating venue for a wedding. In fact, the house itself was built as a wedding present and you can even use the Thatched Pagoda for an outside ceremony.
Images: Left via Muncaster Castle | Right - Eyam Hall via National Trust
This Neo-Gothic mansion comes complete with tales of books moving of their own accord in the library, apparitions and the sound of ghostly singing voices is said to have been heard in the drawing room. Ettington Park was also a World War II prisoner of war camp and it was the setting for the chilling film, ‘The Haunting’.
But, beyond the stories and the history, Ettington is rather beautiful. It’s set in 40 acres of parkland in Stratford-Upon-Avon and it’s really rather gorgeous inside. Ettington Park is great for intimate weddings – it’s up to you if you’d like to believe the spooky tales.
The Kent village of Pluckley is apparently the most haunted village in England and Elvey Farm is right in the middle of any supernatural activity! The woods around Pluckley are home to sixteen ghosts including a hanged schoolmaster and a screaming man. Elvey Farm also reports sightings of an unknown military man standing to attention on the stairs of the barn.
Ignoring the spooky soldiers, the barn at Elvey Farm is all kinds of gorgeous and it’s a great space for a wedding. The entire property is secluded and peaceful and you can also say your vows outside too.
Images: Left - Ettington Park via Handpicked Hotels | Right via Elvey Farm
The Tower of London has had a thoroughly terrifying past so it has to be included on my list of Halloween wedding venues even though it’s a reception-only space without a ceremony licence. If the stories of the Princes in the Tower, executions, spies, torture and traitors don’t set your nerves jangling, nothing will!
Anne Boleyn is said to walk around the White Tower carrying her head under her arm and even the Tower’s own staff have reported ghostly goings on at night in recent times. All those stories aside, the Tower is an extraordinary venue for engagement celebrations, pre-wedding drinks and dinners and it’s certainly a location unlike any other.
If you head to the very tip of one of the wildest corners of Scotland, you’ll find the imposing Ackergill Tower. Now a swanky Highland retreat with private loch and seven-mile beach, Ackergill is also home to the ghost of Helen Gunn who was abducted from her family and imprisoned at Ackergill Tower where she either jumped or fell to her death from the castle tower whilst trying to escape.
Nowadays, Ackergill Tower seems like a rather lovely place to escape to with fabulous food, gorgeous rooms, plenty of space for a personal wedding celebration and the largest treehouse bedroom in Europe.
Images: Left - The Tower of London via Historic Royal Palaces | Right - Ackergill Tower via Amazing Venues
Leaving tales of ghosts and hauntings aside, how about getting married in a cave 60m below the ground? If you and your guests would like to make your way down a flight of 60 steps at Carnglaze Caverns, you’ll find yourself in a subterranean world that’s certainly a little spooky.
My pick of ceremony locations has to be The Underground Lake – descend into a candlelit chamber for an intimate ceremony that no one will ever forget.
Tutbury Castle in Staffordshire has a bloody past of siege, torture and death before being partially destroyed by an Act of Parliament in 1647 leaving the spooky ruins that still stand today. The King’s Bedroom at Tutbury is said to be one of the most haunted rooms in the UK and some couples have chosen to incorporate ghost hunts as part of their wedding reception entertainment!
Tutbury Castle offers a whole host of wedding ceremony and reception options from civil ceremonies and traditional receptions through to hand-fasting ceremonies, marquee receptions and even midnight weddings. How brave are you feeling now?
Images: Left via Carnglaze | Right via Tutbury Castle
Boasting the title of the Most Haunted Castle in Wales, Craig Y Nos certainly rates highly on the spook-o-meter! Craig Y Nos is a former TB hospital and before that, it was home to Victorian opera star, Adelina Patti who apparently still haunts her former home. Craig Y Nos even runs a sister website devoted entirely to ghost hunting if ghostly goings on are your thing.
For weddings, it couldn’t be prettier. Nestled in the Brecon Beacons, this beautiful castle offers you exclusive use and oodles of options for ceremony and reception locations. The Adelina Patti Theatre is an amazingly grand space and it’s perfect for show-stopping ceremonies.
Billed as ‘one of London’s best kept secrets’, Simon Drake’s House of Magic is definitely the place for you if all things unexplained set your heart racing. Whilst you can’t actually say your vows here, if you’d like to really give your guests a surprise then this is a wonderful reception venue.
As the location of the House of Magic is a well-kept secret, guests will arrive blindfolded at the gates. You’ll all then enter through the Enchanted Garden before stepping into the genuine Victorian mansion for an event that’s unlike any other.
Images : Left via Coco Wedding Venues (as before) | Right via House of Magic
If you’ve been dreaming of a wedding in a gorgeous Scottish castle then Comlongon Castle should most definitely be on your list. This is a magnificent castle setting, not far from the famous Gretna Green. The staff are renowned for their hospitality and commitment to perfect service and, having been here myself, I can tell you it’s just stunning.
However, Comlongon also has a darker history. On 25th September 1570, Lady Marion Carruthers leapt to her death from the castle tower and, to this day, no grass grows on the spot where she fell. It’s said that Marion haunts the castle looking for a proper resting place and many guests have reported seeing ghostly apparitions, particularly in one location…
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