Lore Podcast: "Trick or Treat: Lavish"

Host: Aaron Mahnke
Date: October 3, 2025
Theme: Lavish Haunted Castles – Ghostly legends and darker histories behind some of Europe’s grandest and most mysterious castles.

Episode Overview

Aaron Mahnke kicks off October’s special “Trick or Treat” series dedicated to haunted places, focusing this week on castles that blend opulent histories with chilling supernatural tales. Four legendary castles—a mix of feast halls, tragic romances, noble lineages, and centuries-old murder—serve as the backdrops for stories of restless spirits, making for a rich, eerie tour of the world’s most haunted fortresses. Through detailed storytelling and a touch of Mahnke’s signature dry wit, the episode examines how the grandest buildings—with all their beauty—are often the ones most saturated with darkness.

Key Castles & Stories

1. Cawood Castle (England)

The Opulent Archbishop’s Residence Turned Site of Murder and Apparition
[02:01 – 09:08]

• Lavish Beginnings: Once the seat of York’s archbishops dating back to the 1100s; famous for enormous feasts including the “Great Feast of Cawood.”

  “The feast consisted of 104 oxen, six wild bulls, 400 swans, a thousand chickens, 104 peacocks, and, I kid you not, 25,000 gallons of wine.” (Aaron Mahnke, 03:20)

• Political Intrigue: Cardinal Thomas Wolsey was arrested for treason at Cawood in 1530, overshadowing later supernatural tales.
• Ghostly Legend – The Murder of Mary Barwick:
  • Mary, pregnant and married out of obligation, is murdered by husband William, drowned in a pond near the ruins.
  • The ghostly aftermath: William’s brother-in-law sees Mary’s deathly pale apparition a week later.
  • Investigation ensues, truth is revealed, William is executed—legend says he haunts the ruins still.

  “As soon as she heard the tale, his wife was horrified. She concluded that he must have seen his sister’s ghost. And if that were the case, Mary had certainly come to harm.” (Aaron Mahnke, 07:27)

2. Castle Leslie (Ireland)

Grand Manor Still Owned by its Founding Family—Graced by Playful and Sorrowful Spirits
[09:09 – 14:55]

• History: 19th-century manor with Renaissance interiors, built over remains of an older castle.
• Ghost of Lady Constance Leslie:
  • First seen the day of her death by servants, later by guests (particularly in the Mauve Room), often moving objects or opening doors.
  • Her visits to comfort the dying, especially poignant when her apparition consoles her daughter-in-law Leonie before death.

  “The nurse… said that the woman, whose portrait was hanging in the dining room, had come to visit Leonie. Everyone was stunned. The woman in the portrait had been Leonie’s deceased mother-in-law, Constance.” (Aaron Mahnke, 12:23)

• The Spirit of Norman Leslie:
  • Apparition seen after his death in WWI.
  • Known for a “great weight pressing on their chests” when guests sleep in his bed—sometimes heard saying “hush” to noisy visitors.
• Other Entities: Lady in white; an old man in the basement—Leslie is now a hotel where guests may test their bravery or wed under the gaze of ghosts.

3. Villa (and Death) of Isabella de’ Medici (Italy)

Florentine Luxury, Political Games, and a Lady in White’s Restless Search
[14:56 – 19:51]

• Life of Isabella: Daughter of Cosimo de Medici. Educated, powerful, at liberty from her husband due to her father’s favor.
• Darker Turn: After her father and brother’s deaths, Isabella becomes vulnerable—her suspicious, estranged husband Paolo allegedly arranges her murder (and that of another unhappy wife) in 1576.

  “Isabella was discovered on July 16. Bent over her bathtub, dead. The official story is that Isabella slipped while washing her hair… The gossip though was darker.” (Aaron Mahnke, 17:17)

• Supernatural Legacy:
  • Her spirit, dressed in white, is said to roam the villa, particularly the so-called “Room of the Noose.”
  • Last sighted in human form by a stranded motorist in 1970, who was greeted by “Isabella.”
• Interpretation: Isabella’s story mixes the dangers of political intrigue and female agency in Renaissance Italy, with a classic hauntings motif—white lady, unsolved murder, and vanishing apparitions.

4. Chillingham Castle (Northumberland, England)

The Crown Jewel of Haunted Castles, With Skeletons (and Spirits) in Every Wall
[20:32 – 27:59]

• Strategic and Blood-Soaked History:
  • From monastery to fortress, repeatedly attacked during Anglo-Scottish wars; site of brutal violence, including the burning of the Grey family’s women and children by Wallace’s troops.
• Lady Leonora Tankerville’s Ghost Census:
  • American heiress-turned-countess, spiritualist, publishes widely about Chillingham’s ghosts; receives praise from Arthur Conan Doyle.

  “Lady Leonora wrote that even more skeletons were found by construction workers who had broken through the wall… One body was so well preserved that for a brief moment they thought that he had only recently died.” (Aaron Mahnke, 25:45)

• The Radiant Boy:
  • Spirit of a child in blue, whose cries haunted the Pink Room until renovation revealed a child’s skeleton, finger bones broken from trying to escape.
  • Even after burial, blue lights continue to appear where he died.
• Other Haunts:
  • A girl’s skeleton found under the relocated chapel—her ghost still wanders, unbound by consecrated ground.
  • Lady Mary Berkeley, betrayed wife, floats the halls searching for her husband, who ran off with her sister.
  • “Some have estimated that there are at least 50 spirits residing at Chillingham. And there is a chance that there are many, many more.” (Aaron Mahnke, 27:03)
• Atmosphere: Cold spots, low voices, vague forms—Chillingham’s bulk holds centuries of death and unrest.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Immortal Feasts of Cawood:

  “These numbers are going to sound simply impossible. But the feast consisted of 104 oxen, six wild bulls, 400 swans, a thousand chickens, 104 peacocks, and…I kid you not, 25,000 gallons of wine.” (Aaron Mahnke, 03:20)

• On Ghosts as Testimony to History:

  “Castles might have all started out as places of power, safety and strength, but it's clear that a lot of them have transformed into something darker.” (Aaron Mahnke, 19:48)

• Regarding the Volume of Spirits at Chillingham:

  “Among folks who like to count. Some have estimated that there are at least 50 spirits residing at Chillingham. And there is a chance that there are many, many more.” (Aaron Mahnke, 27:03)

• Lady Leonora Tankerville’s Ghostly Discovery:

  “In my own bedroom a few years ago, some stones fell accidentally from the wall and there in its thickness stood revealed two grinning skeletons. Where the fireplace now—bones of a man and a child.” (Aaron Mahnke, quoting Leonora, 25:29)

Episode Structure & Timestamps

• [01:26] - [02:01]: Introduction to the Trick or Treat series and October plans.
• [02:01] - [09:08]: Cawood Castle – Feasts, murder, ghostly revenge.
• [09:09] - [14:55]: Castle Leslie – Ancestral ghosts, spectral comfort, hotel hauntings.
• [14:56] - [19:51]: Isabella de’ Medici – Power, scandal, and a murder’s supernatural aftermath.
• [20:32] - [27:59]: Chillingham Castle – Endless legends, Lady Leonora, the Radiant Boy, and a crowd of ghosts.
• [Throughout]: Mahnke’s signature atmospheric narration and dry humor, blending history and legend.

Tone & Style

Aaron Mahnke maintains his classic Lore style—measured, evocative, and quietly witty. History is factual but fraught with grim humor; the supernatural is presented with respect for both skepticism and belief. Rich descriptions of opulence are counterbalanced with the Gothic gloom that defines Lore’s best episodes.

Summary Takeaway

“Lavish” is a tour through Europe’s haunted castles where grandeur has bred not just comfort, but tragedy and legend. Every elegant hall and soaring tower holds whispers of violence, betrayal, and grief transmuted into chilling tales. Mahnke skillfully weaves research, narrative, and sly asides, reminding listeners that even the most beautiful places are never free from the shadows of their past.