The Flickr Hauntings Image Generatr

Here's the link to buy your copy today:

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www.amazon.com/stores/John-Russell/author/B08HWYTKPT?ref=...

And most of these people wouldn't accept proof if shown to them. They'd blame a camera glitch, a misidentification of something natural, "pareidolia," etc.

Read about the ghostly footsteps I experienced.

Come visit us at Fab Free, and subscribe to the blog! Multiple posts daily on gorgeous gifts and freebies across the grid! Today I've got some incredible gifts to show you from the Anniversary round at Progeny Mall!


Fab Free: fabfree.wordpress.com/2024/11/07/black-mirror/


"Black Mirror" by Arcade Fire


Their names are never spoken
The curse is never broken
Their names are never spoken
The curse is never broken
Mirror, mirror on the wall
Show me where them bombs will fall
Mirror, mirror on the wall
Show me where them bombs will fall

Come visit Fab Free, home to the SLShopHop spreadsheet and the grid's guide to the best free gifts! Today I've got some gifts from KIKIKAIKAI to show you!


Fab Free: fabfree.wordpress.com/2024/10/05/trees-fall/


Trees Fall" by Tindersticks

And oh, trees fall with no one to hear
Tears fall into our beer
And we laugh that laughter remembered
And oh, are we tied to those moments for good?
The way the light was, the salt of our skin and the smell of the ocean

Hey! Come and visit Fab Free, where you'll find post after post of the best free gifts on the grid! Look at all these beautiful gifts I picked up at Wasteland!

Fab Free: fabfree.wordpress.com/2024/10/02/wasteland/

"Wasteland" by Seether

This teenage wasteland of ours
I feel too much
I remember the way you left me broken
Don't shed a tear for me
Nobody seems to be willing to save me from purgatory
Nobody seems to be able to shed the treadwheel
Oh

The hallway of the allegedly haunted Château de Brissac with its wooden ceiling, portrait paintings and precious tapestries, Brissac Loire Aubance, Loire Valley, France

Some background information:

The Château de Brissac is a French castle in the little town of Brissac Loire Aubance, located in the French department of Maine-et-Loire. The property is owned by the noble Cossé family, whose heads bear the French hereditary title of Duke of Brissac (in French: "Duc de Brissac"). The commune of Brissac Loire Aubance is situated about 16 km (10 miles) to the southeast of the city of Angers.

The château was originally built by the Counts of Anjou in the 11th century. After the French King Philip II had been victorious against the English invading army and the troops of the House of Plantagenet at the Battle of Bouvines in 1214, he gave the property to Guillaume des Roches, at that time the seneschal of Anjou, Maine and Touraine. In the mid-15th century, Pierre de Brézé, a wealthy chief minister to the then French King Charles VII, acquired ownership of the castle. He had extensive reconstruction work carried out and it was him, who had protective round towers added, two of which still exist today.

In 1502, the family de Brézé was forced to sell the château to René de Cossé, the governor of Anjou and Maine, appointed by the French King Francis I. His descendants are the Dukes of Brissac, who are still the owners of the Château de Brissac. During the French Wars of Religion, Charles II de Cossé-Brissac sided with Henry of Navarre, who soon became crowned King of France. However, the fortress was severly damaged in the wars and hence, scheduled to be demolished. But in grattitude for his loyalty, Henry of Navarre, now King Henry IV of France, gave Charles II de Cossé-Brissac the noble title of Duke of Brissac and the money to rebuild the château in 1611.

Its construction with seven storeys made it the tallest château in France, and its façade reflects the influences of the 17th century's Baroque architecture. Through marriage, the Cossé-Brissac family also acquired the Château Montreuil-Bellay, but later sold it. In August 1620, King Louis XIII and his mother, Marie de Medici, met to discuss their differences in the "neutral" territory of the Château de Brissac. A temporary truce between the two was reached. Still, it did not last long, and the Queen Mother was eventually banished.

The descendants of the first Duke of Brissac maintained the château until 1792 when the property was ransacked during the French Revolution. It lay in waste until a restoration program began in 1844 and was carried on by the subsequent Dukes of Brissac. Towards the end of the 19th century, Jeanne Say, the wife of the then Duke of Brissac, transformed the surroundings of the château. A moat, which had been crossed by a drawbridge, was filled in, and the park was redesigned in the English style. The stables opposite the château were restored, as were the rooms and interiors. Additionally, a small opera hall was built inside the château.

Today, the Château de Brissac is owned by the 13th Duke of Brissac and still inhabited. Some of the interiors are open to visitors. The château provides a prestigious setting for special occasions and is also the venue for the annual Val de Loire Festival. Adjacent to the château is an extensive park covering about 70 hectares, with two natural waterways and a stud farm. Furthermore, the estate is also associated with a vineyard.

The Château de Brissac is nicknamed "the giant of the Loire" because of its tallness. It is also noteworthy that visitors can see a portrait of Barbe-Nicole Clicquot-Ponsardin in the château’s gallery of portrait paintings. She became a widow (in French: "veuve") at the age of 27, took over the wine trade business of her deceased husband and finally founded the famous champagne house Veuve Clicquot. The reason for her portrait being hung up in the castle is that Barbe-Nicole Clicquot-Ponsardin was a relative of the family de Brissac.

Since 2000, the Château de Brissac belongs to the UNESCO Word Heritage Site "The Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes" with its many breathtaking châteaux. Altogether there are more than 400 of them in the Loire region.

Finally, I won’t forget to mention that the Château de Brissac is also a haunted castle. Its castle ghost is the Green Lady (in French: "La Dame Verte"), resp. the ghost of Charlotte de Brézé, who lived in the 15th century, was an illegitimate daughter of the French King Charles VII and later became the wife of Jacques de Brézé. It wasn’t a marriage based on love and Charlotte started an affair with her huntsman.

One night, Jacques caught the couple red-handed. In a rage of anger, he killed both his wife and her lover in the tower room above the chapel. Some sources claim he took his sword and slashed them to pieces, others say he stabbed them, and some claim he stabbed his wife’s lover and strangled his wife. Either way, he killed both. He is said to have fled the castle shortly after the crime, because the two ghosts didn’t leave him alone. They kept on moaning all night and terrifying him.

Somehow, the male ghost must have left the building as he has not been seen in years. Charlotte, however, simply loves to terrify people. Because she wears a green dress, she is called the Green Lady. The residents have gotten used to her, even though she’s scary as hell. Especially her face is, for she’s got holes where her eyes and nose should be. She often moans in the wee hours of the morning and she likes hanging out in the Tower Room, where she was murdered.

The allegedly haunted Château de Brissac, seen from its gardens, Brissac Loire Aubance, Loire Valley, France

Some background information:

The Château de Brissac is a French castle in the little town of Brissac Loire Aubance, located in the French department of Maine-et-Loire. The property is owned by the noble Cossé family, whose heads bear the French hereditary title of Duke of Brissac (in French: "Duc de Brissac"). The commune of Brissac Loire Aubance is situated about 16 km (10 miles) to the southeast of the city of Angers.

The château was originally built by the Counts of Anjou in the 11th century. After the French King Philip II had been victorious against the English invading army and the troops of the House of Plantagenet at the Battle of Bouvines in 1214, he gave the property to Guillaume des Roches, at that time the seneschal of Anjou, Maine and Touraine. In the mid-15th century, Pierre de Brézé, a wealthy chief minister to the then French King Charles VII, acquired ownership of the castle. He had extensive reconstruction work carried out and it was him, who had protective round towers added, two of which still exist today.

In 1502, the family de Brézé was forced to sell the château to René de Cossé, the governor of Anjou and Maine, appointed by the French King Francis I. His descendants are the Dukes of Brissac, who are still the owners of the Château de Brissac. During the French Wars of Religion, Charles II de Cossé-Brissac sided with Henry of Navarre, who soon became crowned King of France. However, the fortress was severly damaged in the wars and hence, scheduled to be demolished. But in grattitude for his loyalty, Henry of Navarre, now King Henry IV of France, gave Charles II de Cossé-Brissac the noble title of Duke of Brissac and the money to rebuild the château in 1611.

Its construction with seven storeys made it the tallest château in France, and its façade reflects the influences of the 17th century's Baroque architecture. Through marriage, the Cossé-Brissac family also acquired the Château Montreuil-Bellay, but later sold it. In August 1620, King Louis XIII and his mother, Marie de Medici, met to discuss their differences in the "neutral" territory of the Château de Brissac. A temporary truce between the two was reached. Still, it did not last long, and the Queen Mother was eventually banished.

The descendants of the first Duke of Brissac maintained the château until 1792 when the property was ransacked during the French Revolution. It lay in waste until a restoration program began in 1844 and was carried on by the subsequent Dukes of Brissac. Towards the end of the 19th century, Jeanne Say, the wife of the then Duke of Brissac, transformed the surroundings of the château. A moat, which had been crossed by a drawbridge, was filled in, and the park was redesigned in the English style. The stables opposite the château were restored, as were the rooms and interiors. Additionally, a small opera hall was built inside the château.

Today, the Château de Brissac is owned by the 13th Duke of Brissac and still inhabited. Some of the interiors are open to visitors. The château provides a prestigious setting for special occasions and is also the venue for the annual Val de Loire Festival. Adjacent to the château is an extensive park covering about 70 hectares, with two natural waterways and a stud farm. Furthermore, the estate is also associated with a vineyard.

The Château de Brissac is nicknamed "the giant of the Loire" because of its tallness. It is also noteworthy that visitors can see a portrait of Barbe-Nicole Clicquot-Ponsardin in the château’s gallery of portrait paintings. She became a widow (in French: "veuve") at the age of 27, took over the wine trade business of her deceased husband and finally founded the famous champagne house Veuve Clicquot. The reason for her portrait being hung up in the castle is that Barbe-Nicole Clicquot-Ponsardin was a relative of the family de Brissac.

Since 2000, the Château de Brissac belongs to the UNESCO Word Heritage Site "The Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes" with its many breathtaking châteaux. Altogether there are more than 400 of them in the Loire region.

Finally, I won’t forget to mention that the Château de Brissac is also a haunted castle. Its castle ghost is the Green Lady (in French: "La Dame Verte"), resp. the ghost of Charlotte de Brézé, who lived in the 15th century, was an illegitimate daughter of the French King Charles VII and later became the wife of Jacques de Brézé. It wasn’t a marriage based on love and Charlotte started an affair with her huntsman.

One night, Jacques caught the couple red-handed. In a rage of anger, he killed both his wife and her lover in the tower room above the chapel. Some sources claim he took his sword and slashed them to pieces, others say he stabbed them, and some claim he stabbed his wife’s lover and strangled his wife. Either way, he killed both. He is said to have fled the castle shortly after the crime, because the two ghosts did not leave him alone. They kept on moaning all night and terrifying him.

Somehow, the male ghost must have left the building as he has not been seen in years. Charlotte, however, simply loves to terrify people. Because she wears a green dress, she is called the Green Lady. The residents have gotten used to her, even though she’s scary as hell. Especially her face is, for she’s got holes where her eyes and nose should be. She often moans in the wee hours of the morning and she likes hanging out in the Tower Room, where she was murdered.

Get your copy today; available at all online booksellers!

Yes, that's me, shooting in the Black Rock Forest in upstate New York, where I used to live...nearly two decades ago!

East façade of the Château de Chenonceau, seen from the gardens of Diane de Poitiers, Chenonceaux, Loire Valley, France

Some background information:

On our first visit of the Château de Chenonceau (when this picture was taken) we explored the château and its gardens, but we did not get to the southern bank of the River Cher, from where you can take much better pictures. However, we made up for that two years later, when I took those two photos:

www.flickr.com/photos/pkitt/51964784827/in/album-72157719...

www.flickr.com/photos/pkitt/51966342745/in/album-72157719...

The Château de Chenonceau is a French château spanning the River Cher, near the small village of Chenonceaux in the French department of Indre-et-Loire. Hence, it is a water palace and as such one of the best-known châteaux of the Loire Valley. The Château de Chenonceau is situated about 40 km (25 miles) to the southeast of the city of Tours. It is also called "Château des Dames" (in English "Château of the ladies"), because it were mainly women, who decided its history and fate.

The estate of Chenonceau was first mentioned in a document in the 11th century. The current château was built between 1514 and 1522 on the foundations of an old mill and later extended to span the river. In the 13th century, the fief of Chenonceau belonged to the Marques family. The original château was torched in 1412 to punish the owner, Jean Marques, for an act of sedition. In the 1430s, he rebuilt a château and fortified mill on the site. However, Jean Marques' indebted heir Pierre Marques found it necessary to sell the estate.

Thomas Bohier, Chamberlain to King Charles VIII of France, purchased the castle from Pierre Marques in 1513 and demolished most of it (resulting in 2013 being considered the 500th anniversary of the castle), though its 15th-century keep was left standing. Between 1515 and 1521 Bohier built an entirely new residence. The work was overseen by his wife Katherine Briçonnet, who delighted in hosting French nobility, including King Francis I on two occasions.

In 1535 the château was seized from Bohier's son by King Francis I of France for unpaid debts to the Crown. After Francis' death in 1547, Henry II offered the château as a gift to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers, who became fervently attached to the château along the river. In 1555 she commissioned Philibert de l'Orme to build the arched bridge joining the château to its opposite bank. Diane then oversaw the planting of extensive flower and vegetable gardens along with a variety of fruit trees. Set along the banks of the river, but buttressed from flooding by stone terraces, the exquisite gardens were laid out in four triangles.

Diane de Poitiers was the unquestioned mistress of the castle, but ownership remained with the crown until 1555 when years of delicate legal manoeuvres finally yielded possession to her. After King Henry II died in 1559, his strong-willed widow and regent Catherine de' Medici forced Diane to exchange it for the Château Chaumont. Queen Catherine then made Chenonceau her own favourite residence, adding a new series of gardens.

As Regent of France, Catherine spent a fortune on the château and on spectacular nighttime parties. In 1560, the first-ever fireworks display seen in France took place during the celebrations marking the ascension to the throne of Catherine's son Francis II. The grand gallery, which extended along the existing bridge to cross the entire river, was dedicated in 1577. Catherine also added rooms between the chapel and the library on the east side of the corps de logis, as well as a service wing on the west side of the entry courtyard.

On Catherine's death in January 1589, the château went to her daughter-in-law, Louise of Lorraine, wife of King Henry III. Louise was at Chenonceau when she learned of her husband's assassination, in August 1589, and she fell into a state of depression. Louise spent the next eleven years, until her death in January 1601, wandering aimlessly along the château's corridors dressed in mourning clothes, amidst sombre black tapestries stitched with skulls and crossbones.

Henri IV obtained Chenonceau for his mistress Gabrielle d'Estrées by paying the debts of Catherine de' Medici, which had been inherited by Louise and were threatening to ruin her. In return, Louise left the château to her niece Françoise de Lorraine, at that time six years old and betrothed to the four-year-old César de Bourbon, duc de Vendôme, the natural son of Gabrielle d'Estrées and Henri IV. The château belonged to the Duc de Vendôme and his descendants for more than a hundred years. The Bourbons had little interest in the château, except for hunting. In 1650, Louis XIV was the last king of the ancien régime to visit.

In 1720, the Château de Chenonceau was bought by the Duke of Bourbon. Little by little, he sold off all of the castle's contents and many of the fine statues ended up at Versailles. In 1733 the estate was sold for 130,000 livres (corresponding to 2.1 million $ today) to a wealthy squire named Claude Dupin. His wife, Louise Dupin, was the natural daughter of the financier Samuel Bernard and the actress Manon Dancourt. She was regarded as an intelligent, beautiful, and highly cultivated woman.

Louise Dupin's literary salon at Chenonceau attracted such leaders of the Enlightenment as the writers Voltaire, Montesquieu, and Fontenelle, the naturalist Buffon, the playwright Marivaux, the philosopher Condillac, as well as the Marquise de Tencin and the Marquise du Deffand. Jean-Jacques Rousseau was Dupin's secretary and tutored her son. Rousseau, who worked on Émile at Chenonceau, wrote in his Confessions: "We played music there and staged comedies. I wrote a play in verse entitled Sylvie's Path, after the name of a path in the park along the Cher."

The widowed Louise Dupin saved the château from destruction during the French Revolution, preserving it from being destroyed by the Revolutionary Guard because "it was essential to travel and commerce, being the only bridge across the river for many miles."

In 1864 Marguerite Pelouze, a rich heiress, acquired the château. Around 1875 she commissioned the architect Félix Roguet to restore it. He almost completely renewed the interior and removed several of Catherine de' Medici's additions, including the rooms between the library and the chapel and her alterations to the north facade, among which were figures of Hercules, Pallas, Apollo, and Cybele that were moved to the park. With the money Marguerite spent on these projects and elaborate parties, her finances were depleted, and the château was seized and sold.

José-Emilio Terry, a Cuban millionaire, acquired Chenonceau from Madame Pelouze in 1891. Terry sold it in 1896 to a family member, Francisco Terry. In 1913, the château was acquired by Henri Menier, a member of the Menier family, famous for their chocolates, who still own it to this day.

During World War I Gaston Menier set up the gallery to be used as a hospital ward. During the Second World War, the château was bombed by the Germans in June 1940. It was also a means of escaping from the Nazi-occupied zone on one side of the river Cher to the "free" zone on the opposite bank. Occupied by the Germans, the château was bombed by the Allies in June 1944, when the chapel was hit and its windows destroyed. In 1951, the Menier family entrusted the château's restoration to Bernard Voisin, who brought the dilapidated structure and the gardens (ravaged in the Cher flood in 1940) back to a reflection of its former glory.

An architectural mixture of late Gothic and early Renaissance, Château de Chenonceau and its gardens are open to the public. The château has been designated as a Monument historique since 1840 by the French Ministry of Culture. Today, Chenonceau is a major tourist attraction. It receives more than 800,000 visitors each year and is the most visited château in France, apart from the Royal Palace of Versailles.

The Château de Chenonceau is also regarded as one of the haunted castles of France. Occasionally when the moon is full, Catherine may be seen combing the hair of her rival, Diane. On other occasions, Diane was seen standing unhappily in front of her bedroom mirror. At least, several people have stated that. Well, everyone has to decide for themselves whether she or he believes in ghosts or not.

Since 2000, the Château de Chenonceau belongs to the UNESCO Word Heritage Site "The Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes" with its many breathtaking châteaux. Altogether there are more than 400 of them in the Loire region.

The alley leading to the entrance portal of the Château de Chenonceau, Chenonceaux, Loire Valley, France

Some background information:

On our first visit of the Château de Chenonceau (when this picture was taken) we explored the château and its gardens, but we did not get to the southern bank of the River Cher, from where you can take much better pictures. However, we made up for that two years later, when I took those two photos:

www.flickr.com/photos/pkitt/51964784827/in/album-72157719...

www.flickr.com/photos/pkitt/51966342745/in/album-72157719...

The Château de Chenonceau is a French château spanning the River Cher, near the small village of Chenonceaux in the French department of Indre-et-Loire. Hence, it is a water palace and as such one of the best-known châteaux of the Loire Valley. The Château de Chenonceau is situated about 40 km (25 miles) to the southeast of the city of Tours. It is also called "Château des Dames" (in English "Château of the ladies"), because it were mainly women, who decided its history and fate.

The estate of Chenonceau was first mentioned in a document in the 11th century. The current château was built between 1514 and 1522 on the foundations of an old mill and later extended to span the river. In the 13th century, the fief of Chenonceau belonged to the Marques family. The original château was torched in 1412 to punish the owner, Jean Marques, for an act of sedition. In the 1430s, he rebuilt a château and fortified mill on the site. However, Jean Marques' indebted heir Pierre Marques found it necessary to sell the estate.

Thomas Bohier, Chamberlain to King Charles VIII of France, purchased the castle from Pierre Marques in 1513 and demolished most of it (resulting in 2013 being considered the 500th anniversary of the castle), though its 15th-century keep was left standing. Between 1515 and 1521 Bohier built an entirely new residence. The work was overseen by his wife Katherine Briçonnet, who delighted in hosting French nobility, including King Francis I on two occasions.

In 1535 the château was seized from Bohier's son by King Francis I of France for unpaid debts to the Crown. After Francis' death in 1547, Henry II offered the château as a gift to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers, who became fervently attached to the château along the river. In 1555 she commissioned Philibert de l'Orme to build the arched bridge joining the château to its opposite bank. Diane then oversaw the planting of extensive flower and vegetable gardens along with a variety of fruit trees. Set along the banks of the river, but buttressed from flooding by stone terraces, the exquisite gardens were laid out in four triangles.

Diane de Poitiers was the unquestioned mistress of the castle, but ownership remained with the crown until 1555 when years of delicate legal manoeuvres finally yielded possession to her. After King Henry II died in 1559, his strong-willed widow and regent Catherine de' Medici forced Diane to exchange it for the Château Chaumont. Queen Catherine then made Chenonceau her own favourite residence, adding a new series of gardens.

As Regent of France, Catherine spent a fortune on the château and on spectacular nighttime parties. In 1560, the first-ever fireworks display seen in France took place during the celebrations marking the ascension to the throne of Catherine's son Francis II. The grand gallery, which extended along the existing bridge to cross the entire river, was dedicated in 1577. Catherine also added rooms between the chapel and the library on the east side of the corps de logis, as well as a service wing on the west side of the entry courtyard.

On Catherine's death in January 1589, the château went to her daughter-in-law, Louise of Lorraine, wife of King Henry III. Louise was at Chenonceau when she learned of her husband's assassination, in August 1589, and she fell into a state of depression. Louise spent the next eleven years, until her death in January 1601, wandering aimlessly along the château's corridors dressed in mourning clothes, amidst sombre black tapestries stitched with skulls and crossbones.

Henri IV obtained Chenonceau for his mistress Gabrielle d'Estrées by paying the debts of Catherine de' Medici, which had been inherited by Louise and were threatening to ruin her. In return, Louise left the château to her niece Françoise de Lorraine, at that time six years old and betrothed to the four-year-old César de Bourbon, duc de Vendôme, the natural son of Gabrielle d'Estrées and Henri IV. The château belonged to the Duc de Vendôme and his descendants for more than a hundred years. The Bourbons had little interest in the château, except for hunting. In 1650, Louis XIV was the last king of the ancien régime to visit.

In 1720, the Château de Chenonceau was bought by the Duke of Bourbon. Little by little, he sold off all of the castle's contents and many of the fine statues ended up at Versailles. In 1733 the estate was sold for 130,000 livres (corresponding to 2.1 million $ today) to a wealthy squire named Claude Dupin. His wife, Louise Dupin, was the natural daughter of the financier Samuel Bernard and the actress Manon Dancourt. She was regarded as an intelligent, beautiful, and highly cultivated woman.

Louise Dupin's literary salon at Chenonceau attracted such leaders of the Enlightenment as the writers Voltaire, Montesquieu, and Fontenelle, the naturalist Buffon, the playwright Marivaux, the philosopher Condillac, as well as the Marquise de Tencin and the Marquise du Deffand. Jean-Jacques Rousseau was Dupin's secretary and tutored her son. Rousseau, who worked on Émile at Chenonceau, wrote in his Confessions: "We played music there and staged comedies. I wrote a play in verse entitled Sylvie's Path, after the name of a path in the park along the Cher."

The widowed Louise Dupin saved the château from destruction during the French Revolution, preserving it from being destroyed by the Revolutionary Guard because "it was essential to travel and commerce, being the only bridge across the river for many miles."

In 1864 Marguerite Pelouze, a rich heiress, acquired the château. Around 1875 she commissioned the architect Félix Roguet to restore it. He almost completely renewed the interior and removed several of Catherine de' Medici's additions, including the rooms between the library and the chapel and her alterations to the north facade, among which were figures of Hercules, Pallas, Apollo, and Cybele that were moved to the park. With the money Marguerite spent on these projects and elaborate parties, her finances were depleted, and the château was seized and sold.

José-Emilio Terry, a Cuban millionaire, acquired Chenonceau from Madame Pelouze in 1891. Terry sold it in 1896 to a family member, Francisco Terry. In 1913, the château was acquired by Henri Menier, a member of the Menier family, famous for their chocolates, who still own it to this day.

During World War I Gaston Menier set up the gallery to be used as a hospital ward. During the Second World War, the château was bombed by the Germans in June 1940. It was also a means of escaping from the Nazi-occupied zone on one side of the river Cher to the "free" zone on the opposite bank. Occupied by the Germans, the château was bombed by the Allies in June 1944, when the chapel was hit and its windows destroyed. In 1951, the Menier family entrusted the château's restoration to Bernard Voisin, who brought the dilapidated structure and the gardens (ravaged in the Cher flood in 1940) back to a reflection of its former glory.

An architectural mixture of late Gothic and early Renaissance, Château de Chenonceau and its gardens are open to the public. The château has been designated as a Monument historique since 1840 by the French Ministry of Culture. Today, Chenonceau is a major tourist attraction. It receives more than 800,000 visitors each year and is the most visited château in France, apart from the Royal Palace of Versailles.

The Château de Chenonceau is also regarded as one of the haunted castles of France. Occasionally when the moon is full, Catherine may be seen combing the hair of her rival, Diane. On other occasions, Diane was seen standing unhappily in front of her bedroom mirror. At least, several people have stated that. Well, everyone has to decide for themselves whether she or he believes in ghosts or not.

Since 2000, the Château de Chenonceau belongs to the UNESCO Word Heritage Site "The Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes" with its many breathtaking châteaux. Altogether there are more than 400 of them in the Loire region.

View of the Château de Puymartin from the south, Marquay, Dordogne, France

Some background information:

The Château de Puymartin is a castle in the commune of Marquay. It is located in the French department of Dordogne, eight kilometres to the northwest of the town of Sarlat-la-Canéda and eleven kilometres to the southeast of the village of Les Eyzies. The stronghold was erected to protect the trade routes to the northwest of Sarlat.

The Château de Puymartin was built on a steep hill in the 13th century by the abbots of Sarlat. Around 1270, it entered into possession oft he noble family Serviens. In 1357, in the course of the Hundred Years' War, the castle was captured by English mercenaries. They didn’t withdraw before the consuls of Sarlat had paid them a large ransom and also not before they had razed the building.

In 1450, the nobleman Radulphe de Saint-Clare bought the abandoned estate. Immediately, he got to grips with the château‘s reconstruction and extension. In the 16th century, the castle became the headquarters of Radulphe’s grandson Raymond de Saint-Clare, who was the commander of the Catholic troops of the Périgord noir region during their victorious fight against the protestants. In the subsequent years, a decades-long controversy between Suzanne de Saint-Clare and her brother Jean about their heredidary rights ended in favour of Suzanne.

During the reign of the French King Louis XIV (the so-called "Sun King"), the noble family La Pleinie owned the Château de Puymartin. But after Louis XIV had died, the French lord resp. Seigneur François Roffignac de Carbonnier de Marzac entered into its possession. However, when he was imprisoned during the French Revolution, the estate was left to itself.

At the end of the 19th century, the marquis Marc de Carbonnier de Marzac had the building restored and partially reconstructed in the neo-Gothic style. His only daughter became married to the earl Jacques de Montbron, whose son Henri de Montbron is still the current owner of the Château de Puymartin.

The building’s single sections are connected by towers and protected by curtain walls. Access is provided by a two-section barbican. One of the castle’s residential sections was renovated completely while the other one that was completed in the Renaissance period is still a prime example of the architecture of the 15th century. Today, the Château de Puymartin is protected as a national historic monument (in French: "monument historique") and the interior of the castle is open to the public.

By the way, the Château de Puymartin is said to be haunted by the ghost of the "White Lady". It traces to Thérèse de Saint-Clare, who was the wife of Jean de Saint-Clare, a lord of the castle in the 16th century and even by the standards of the time a jealous husband with a reputation for roughness and violence. After he had caught his wife in the arms of her lover, he revenged on her by keeping her imprisoned in one of the castle’s rooms for 15 years. After Thérèse’s death, Jean made this room with her dead body completely brick up.

Therese‘s room is accessible again today, and mediums as well as other visitors claimed that they sensed the presence of somebody. Some of them also insisted that they saw a translucid pale lady dressed in white, who lends credence to the story. Even count Henri de Montbron, today’s owner of the Château de Puymartin, who decided to keep the room completely untouched out of respect for Thérèse de Saint-Clare’s alleged buriel place, believes the story to be true. However, I for one did neither sense nor see the "White Lady" when we were there.

View of the Château de Puymartin from the east, Marquay, Dordogne, France

Some background information:

The Château de Puymartin is a castle in the commune of Marquay. It is located in the French department of Dordogne, eight kilometres to the northwest of the town of Sarlat-la-Canéda and eleven kilometres to the southeast of the village of Les Eyzies. The stronghold was erected to protect the trade routes to the northwest of Sarlat.

The Château de Puymartin was built on a steep hill in the 13th century by the abbots of Sarlat. Around 1270, it entered into possession oft he noble family Serviens. In 1357, in the course of the Hundred Years' War, the castle was captured by English mercenaries. They didn’t withdraw before the consuls of Sarlat had paid them a large ransom and also not before they had razed the building.

In 1450, the nobleman Radulphe de Saint-Clare bought the abandoned estate. Immediately, he got to grips with the château‘s reconstruction and extension. In the 16th century, the castle became the headquarters of Radulphe’s grandson Raymond de Saint-Clare, who was the commander of the Catholic troops of the Périgord noir region during their victorious fight against the protestants. In the subsequent years, a decades-long controversy between Suzanne de Saint-Clare and her brother Jean about their heredidary rights ended in favour of Suzanne.

During the reign of the French King Louis XIV (the so-called "Sun King"), the noble family La Pleinie owned the Château de Puymartin. But after Louis XIV had died, the French lord resp. Seigneur François Roffignac de Carbonnier de Marzac entered into its possession. However, when he was imprisoned during the French Revolution, the estate was left to itself.

At the end of the 19th century, the marquis Marc de Carbonnier de Marzac had the building restored and partially reconstructed in the neo-Gothic style. His only daughter became married to the earl Jacques de Montbron, whose son Henri de Montbron is still the current owner of the Château de Puymartin.

The building’s single sections are connected by towers and protected by curtain walls. Access is provided by a two-section barbican. One of the castle’s residential sections was renovated completely while the other one that was completed in the Renaissance period is still a prime example of the architecture of the 15th century. Today, the Château de Puymartin is protected as a national historic monument (in French: "monument historique") and the interior of the castle is open to the public.

By the way, the Château de Puymartin is said to be haunted by the ghost of the "White Lady". It traces to Thérèse de Saint-Clare, who was the wife of Jean de Saint-Clare, a lord of the castle in the 16th century and even by the standards of the time a jealous husband with a reputation for roughness and violence. After he had caught his wife in the arms of her lover, he revenged on her by keeping her imprisoned in one of the castle’s rooms for 15 years. After Thérèse’s death, Jean made this room with her dead body completely brick up.

Therese‘s room is accessible again today, and mediums as well as other visitors claimed that they sensed the presence of somebody. Some of them also insisted that they saw a translucid pale lady dressed in white, who lends credence to the story. Even count Henri de Montbron, today’s owner of the Château de Puymartin, who decided to keep the room completely untouched out of respect for Thérèse de Saint-Clare’s alleged buriel place, believes the story to be true. However, I for one did neither sense nor see the "White Lady" when we were there.

The Psychology of Ghosts and Hauntings :: Professor Chris French :: Winchester Skeptics :: 2023-09-27

The Psychology of Ghosts and Hauntings :: Professor Chris French :: Winchester Skeptics :: 2023-09-27

The Psychology of Ghosts and Hauntings :: Professor Chris French :: Winchester Skeptics :: 2023-09-27

The Psychology of Ghosts and Hauntings :: Professor Chris French :: Winchester Skeptics :: 2023-09-27

The Psychology of Ghosts and Hauntings :: Professor Chris French :: Winchester Skeptics :: 2023-09-27