Halloween is just around the corner — and one of Knaresborough's most famous landmarks has earned a haunting new title.
Mother Shipton’s Cave has been named among the UK’s spookiest attractions, according to new research analysing thousands of visitor reviews.
The study, carried out by Betway, examined nearly 180,000 TripAdvisor reviews across 30 famously haunted sites in the UK.
Reviews were searched for words such as “haunted”, “ghosts”, “eerie” and “sinister” to determine which places left visitors feeling most unnerved.
Mother Shipton’s Cave ranked 12th overall, placing it among some of the country’s most legendary haunted locations, including Chillingham Castle in Northumberland, Bodmin Jail in Cornwall and Mary King’s Close in Edinburgh.

Perched beside the River Nidd in Knaresborough, the cave is said to have been home to the 16th-century prophetess Mother Shipton, whose mysterious predictions and connection to the nearby petrifying well have long fuelled tales of witchcraft and folklore.
Objects hung in the well gradually turn to stone, adding to the site’s eerie reputation.
At the top of the list, Chillingham Castle in Northumberland was named the UK’s most haunted site, with more than 60% of visitor reviews referencing its scariness.
Berry Pomeroy Castle in Devon and Bodmin Jail in Cornwall completed the top three.
The full top 15 spookiest sites were:
- Chillingham Castle, Northumberland
- Berry Pomeroy Castle, Devon
- Bodmin Jail, Cornwall
- Ballygally Castle, County Antrim
- Mary King’s Close, Edinburgh
- Clink Prison Museum, London
- Glamis Castle, Angus
- St Leonards Church, Hampshire
- The Dark Hedges, County Antrim
- Gwrych Castle, Abergele, North Wales
- Shrewsbury Prison, Shropshire
- Mother Shipton’s Cave, Knaresborough
- Culloden Battlefield, Inverness
- Shepton Mallet Prison, Somerset
- Highgate Cemetery, London

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