Spooky museums and historic houses for a haunted Halloween

A new exhibition at the Suffolk Archives in Ipswich illuminates the county's role in the 17th-century witch trials. These were some of the most brutal in English history. Witches have long haunted the public imagination, from Circe in Homer's Odyssey to the Three Witches in Shakespeare's Macbeth, but behind the mythology of the witch lay real persecution, in which thousands of women were marginalised, tortured and executed.

Surrounded by vast gardens and deer parks, the expansive grounds at Lyme Park aren’t just notable for their beauty and potential for a lovely Sunday ramble – they're also said to be the setting for a ghostly funeral procession that has been witnessed solemnly crossing the grass to the house. The procession is thought to be in honour of Lyme Park’s former owner, Piers Legh, injured in the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, with his weeping mistress Blanche bringing up the rear.

During the Second World War, a group of young girls stayed at Chawton House to escape the bombs hitting London and they claimed that a 'Grey Lady ghost' would walk up and down the staircase. She has also been known to walk through the Tapestry Gallery. If that's not spooky enough for you, there are said to be witch marks etched across doors, walls and fireplaces throughout the building. The good news is that they protect the house from evil spirits, so if the Grey Lady is a real ghost, she should be a friendly one.

The ghost of Lady Nunnington is said to haunt this North Yorkshire country retreat, apparently identifiable by the sound of her dress dragging along the floor as she moves through the halls. We’re not sure what she’s wearing but it must be pretty spectacular to make all that noise… and she isn’t alone. Nunnington is rumoured to come alive at night with the sounds of whispering children in the attic, doors slamming of their own accord and books flying across the room – a shapeless dark mass has even been spotted appearing out of the wall in one of the bedrooms. We fear you might be slightly outnumbered by spirits at this gorgeous hall, so better take your most seasoned ghost-busting squad if you brave a visit.

This grand Stuart mansion already looks like the perfect filming location for a murder mystery – and, this October half term, Ham House is inviting families to snoop inside their collection of cabinets in a multisensory experience. Only opened twice a year, it's a rare chance to see the interior of these marvellous objects. On 1 November, the sensory experience will close with a musical performance from The Morley Consort with historical instruments. And while you're there, make sure to pop into the Kitchen Garden to marvel at the autumnal harvest displays.

Seasoned supernatural enthusiasts will be familiar with ‘ghost ships’, a widely reported phenomenon of boats turning up either entirely missing their crew, or where the entire crew are, mysteriously, deceased… The collection at the National Maritime Museum is littered with spooky stories of such ships, such as the fictional legend of Octavius – where a ferocious ice storm tore apart the vessel Octavius and claimed the lives of its whole crew. There are plenty more similar stories to get your spine tingling as you explore the museum's collection.

Ghastly noises, unexplained drops in temperature and supernatural sightings: the collection at the British Museum is said to be full of restless objects that, much like in the beloved film starring Ben Stiller, Night at the Museum, cause the museum to come alive at night… It seems one of Britain’s most popular tourist attractions is in fact just a smoke-screen for a commune of ghosts and ghouls, some of whom include history’s most celebrated figures. If that doesn’t entice you to check out the museum’s expansive permanent collection, nothing will.

Romantic poet Lord Byron’s former home is said to be bustling with phantoms, from ancestors of the great poet to a spirit who smells strongly of roses. Chief among the abbey’s ghosts is the White Lady, an apparition who roams the grounds, and believe it or not, Lord Byron himself has even been spotted in one of the bed chambers.

It is rumoured that there are up to seven spectres in residence at Croft Castle, known as one of the most haunted houses in the Midlands. These include a seven-foot man dressed in a leather jerkin, believed to be the ghost of a Welsh freedom fighter, Owain Glyndwr. You might also come across a crying baby and a woman in a cap gazing from a window. Take the Legends of Croft half term trail to discover the myths, mystery and magic that shroud this historic place.

This Jacobean mansion, constructed in the early 17th century, is said to be haunted by a number of ghosts including the daughter of its former owner, Mary. The house's most notorious ghost, Mary was reportedly locked away by her father for 16 years for eloping with an illegitimate suitor, and her spirit continues to haunt the room in which she died. Alongside Mary, there is Dick, a young houseboy accused of stealing, and a mysterious woman in green, making Aston Hall one of the most haunted sites in the UK. Book onto a candelit ghost tour to truly get into the spooky spirit.