Petworth House

This magnificent baroque mansion, ancestral seat of the Percy family and later the Wyndhams, is one of England’s finest art houses. Its long history of wealth, power, and tragedy has created multiple layers of paranormal activity.

The Percy Family Ghosts

The powerful Percy family, who owned Petworth for centuries:

The 7th Duke of Somerset:

• Known as the “Proud Duke” (1684-1750)
• His arrogant spirit still walks the State Rooms
• A tall figure in elaborate 18th-century dress
• Inspecting the house as if he still owns it
• Most active in the Carved Room

Lady Elizabeth Percy:

• Married at age 12, widowed three times
• Her sad spirit in the family apartments
• A young woman in late 17th-century dress
• Gazing from windows
• An air of melancholy

The Grey Lady

A classic haunting in the Marble Hall:

• Female figure in grey 18th-century dress
• Descends the grand staircase
• Identity unknown
• Silent and stately
• Disappears on the bottom step
• Witnessed by staff and visitors

J.M.W. Turner’s Presence

The great artist painted extensively at Petworth in the 1830s:

• A presence felt in the Turner Room
• The scent of oil paint and turpentine
• A figure seen at dawn (Turner’s painting time)
• Studying the light through windows
• Particularly active when storms approach (he loved dramatic weather)

Turner loved Petworth and his patron, the 3rd Earl of Egremont. Some believe his artistic spirit lingers where he created some of his finest works.

The Phantom Servants

Victorian-era servants continuing their duties:

• Figures in servant livery
• Walking the back stairs and corridors
• Carrying invisible objects
• Most active in the old service areas
• The sound of cleaning and work

The White Stag

In the expansive deer park:

• A spectral white stag
• Seen particularly at twilight
• Associated with ancient folklore
• May predate the house
• Considered an omen by the family

The Carved Room

One of Petworth’s most magnificent rooms has strong phenomena:

• Unexplained cold spots
• The sound of 18th-century music
• Figures seen in period dress
• A heavy, watchful atmosphere
• Grinling Gibbons’s wood carvings seem to have eyes

The Chapel

Religious remnants haunt the chapel:

• Phantom monks (pre-Reformation)
• Chanting in Latin
• The scent of incense
• Candles that light themselves
• A solemn, peaceful presence

Additional Activity

Staff at this National Trust property report:

• Footsteps in empty galleries
• Doors opening by themselves
• Objects moved overnight
• Cold drafts with no source
• The sound of horses in the now-absent stable yard

The Art Collection

Some believe the magnificent art collection itself has supernatural qualities:

• Portraits whose eyes follow viewers
• Paintings where figures seem to move
• Van Dyck’s portraits particularly noted
• A sense that the painted subjects watch over the house

Petworth’s combination of aristocratic history, artistic significance, and architectural grandeur has created a haunting as magnificent as the house itself. The current Lord and Lady Egremont acknowledge the ghosts as part of Petworth’s rich heritage.