Louise Davidson

Britain’s most haunted country houses

And the fiction that they inspired

  • From Spectator Life
(Alamy)

For centuries, the English country house has provided the setting for some of the most terrifying fiction in our history. These isolated buildings, with their many empty corridors, secret backstairs, shut-up attic rooms and dark corners, their inherent eeriness has made them iconic settings for chilling encounters. But which real country houses inspired their fictional counterparts?

Menabilly House, Cornwall

Daphne Du Maurier’s mysterious Manderley was inspired by two country houses.

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Written by
Louise Davidson

Louise Davidson’s debut novel The Fortunes of Olivia Richmond was published on 26 October, just in time for Halloween. It is available at Waterstones and all good bookshops.

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