A headless ghost in York

Powerful Catholic nobleman Thomas Percy was determined to overthrow the Protestant Queen Elizabeth I. He failed miserably, having to leave England and take refuge in Scotland.

Percy was betrayed and returned to England not as a victor, but as a traitor. On August 22, 1572, he was beheaded. As was fairly common practice in those days, his head was then speared on a spike on Micklegate Bar. Eventually, someone removed the rotting (or already rotted) head and buried in the churchyard of Holy Trinity Goodramgate.

Percy, however, still seeks his head, and often rises from the grave at night and fumbles among the tombstones in an attempt to find it.

Haunted attractions

I'd like to get your input, here. What's the scariest haunted attraction you've ever visited, and why? What made it stand out from all the others, especially since there are so many others?

More haunted property in the news

Real estate agents across the United States have it good when it comes to property that is known - or even rumored - to be haunted.

An 1882 house in Joliet, Illinois, sold recently for less than $200,000. It's been the site of more than one death, including a murder in 2004. 

Those who don't mind heat, a lack of greenery, and a Blue Devil - as well as having $5.9 million to spend - might want to invest in a house over a former gold mine in Arizona. The possibility of striking it rich (well, richer) is an added incentive.

For those who would rather stay in a haunted house short-term than buy one, here's a list of ten haunted houses in the United States, some of which are bed and breakfasts. As long as you don't mind a sudden departure in the middle of the night.

Another headless ghost

Philadelphia boasts many apparitions, including one that is a contemporary of Tarrytown's Headless Horseman. This luckless fellow, another casualty of the American Revolution, rides Allens Lane on nights when the city is fog-bound.

He carries his head, of course. Why not?

Another headless spirit of the City of Brotherly Love haunts Cliveden Manor. This is the ghost of an old woman who has searched for her head for more than 200 years.

Haunted Edinburgh

Here's an interesting one:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2553674/Neighbours-hell-Remains-wizards-house-horrors-hidden-inside-Quaker-meeting-place.html