France Castles # 7 : Château d’Olhain, Pas-de-Calais, Grand-Est

The French are renowned for their cuisine, so is it any wonder that there’s a castle with a haunted banquet hall?

On a wet and windy autumn night (as tends to be the setting for ghost stories), the Lord of d’Olhain was enjoying a feast with his pals, the wine free-flowing, when there was a knock at the door.

An elderly pilgrim stood outside and begged for food and lodging. Far from merely turning him away, the Lord plunged his dagger into the old man’s heart and threw his body in the moat.

The following day, the Lord threw another banquet (we’ll bet he had gout). His dinner guests were joined at the table by a host of faceless monks, who raised daggers above their heads in unison and emitted a bloodcurdling scream.

Unsurprisingly, the guests left in a hurry. The pilgrim’s ghost still occasionally appears in the banquet hall.

Fodors Travel / ABC Flash Point News 2025.