England
The Black Gate/ NewCastle Keep, Newcastle Upon Tyne
The Black Gate was the last part of the defense of the castle of Newcastle upon Tyne, added 1247-1250, and formed and additional, projecting, gateway or barbican to the earlier north gate of the castle. This is also the site of Tomes Herron the Sheriff of Northumberland 1227-1258. Formerly, the High Sheriff, he was the principal law enforcement officer in the county and responsible for many deaths by hanging, drawing and quartering then displaying the remains of the mutilated upon the walls for the Black Gates and Castle. Human heads were severed and placed upon sticks at the entry to the Black Gate Barbican. The Black Gate was also the site of many corpses hung by the gallows and displayed in iron cages as a warning to any man or woman that dare cross the sheriff or crown.
The Black Gate is in the city center and if you aren't looking for it, you just might miss it. It's odd to think about the truly dark history of this spot that seems so unassuming today.
I visited the Black Gate while I was living in Newcastle in 2008. It will definitely give you that uneasy feeling like someone is watching you.
Tynemouth Priory
NewCastle Upon Tyne, England
Tynemouth's castle and priory church stand looking out over the North Sea and guarding the approach to the River Tyne. The priory was founded in 617 and was the burial place of the early Northumbrian Kings. It was destroyed by the Danish invasions of the ninth century and present buildings date to 1090. The castle was added in the fourteenth century for defensive purposes.
Over the centuries both priory and castle have been used as landmarks and served as important fortifications against the Vikings, Scots and the armies of Napoleon. There is a monument here to Admiral Collingwood a local Battle of Trafalgar hero.
Nowadays much of the priory church remains, though most of the domestic outbuildings of the monastery have disappeared. Coastal erosion has played it's part, but concrete piers have been erected to prevent further destruction. The ruins are said to be haunted by the ghost of a Viking called Olaf who was badly wounded in a raid and nursed back to health by the priory monks. After her recovered, he stayed on and joined their community. When the Vikings returned, Olaf's brother was with them. He was killed in the fighting and Olaf was said to be so heartbroken that he died soon afterwards. Now his ghost can be seen looking wistfully out to sea, gazing back towards his homeland.
Despite its creepy past, this place is truly beautiful and was one of my favorite places in NewCastle Upon Tyne. My daughter was only 2 when we visited and she adored it.