Behind the rolling hills and sedate harbours of the South Hams lie many darker tales - stories of smugglers and pirates, shipwrecks, wartime tragedy, and untimely deaths. This corner of Devon may be beloved for its beauty, but its past is riddled with tragedy, mystery, and a few forgotten souls.

For ghost hunters and thrill-seekers, the South Hams offers more than cream teas and coastal walks. There are eerie inns where whispers echo through empty halls, and windswept battlegrounds said to be haunted by the fallen, our landscape is alive with the unexplained.

Planning a spine-tingling staycation? These are some of the haunted hotspots in the South Hams - if you’re bold enough to go looking.

Regarded as one of the most haunted locations in the UK, Berry Pomeroy Castle homed the Pomeroy family from 1496 - 1557, when the castle was then sold to Sir Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset.

There are countless reported sitings of figures and paranormal goings on, most famously The Blue Lady - a 14th-century Pomeroy girl who strangled her child because the baby was the result of her abusive father. Wearing a blue medieval cape, it is said she often appears in the presence of men and attempts to lure them to their deaths.

The most haunted Devon inn, Churston Court, also resides in Brixham. The 12th-century building has hosted a wealth of famous visitors over the years, including Sir Walter Raleigh, Agatha Christie and Bruce Reynolds - who hid in the hotel after the Great Train Robbery.

Maybe less famous, but just as jaw-dropping, are the reported Monk ghosts who walk the hallways before disappearing through the walls. Guests and staff alike have witnessed the eerie comings and goings of the monks, who once owned the land on which Churston Court stands.

Possibly the most haunted town in Devon, Brixham Theatre supposedly hosts British actor John Slater - made famous on our TV screens in shows like ‘Pinky and Perky’ and ‘Z Cars’. People believe the actor had a soft spot for the seaside town and can be seen walking the stage, still wearing the costume from his last performance.

If you seek something with a little more grandeur, then keep your eyes peeled for the Royal coach of Mary II. Said to have once picked up the 17th-century monarch from the steps of Royal Castle Hotel, witnesses to the phantom sighting describe seeing a horse-drawn coach, hearing galloping hooves across cobble and the distinct sound of a carriage door.

Said to have inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s, The Hound of the Baskervilles, this quaint village between Newton Abbot and Totnes hosts several poltergeist in the local 13th-century pub, some friendly and some not so much. Stories of a disembodied arm pulling hotel guests out of bed, a monk that frequents the bar and the screaming faces of men surging out of wood panelling that had been salvaged from a Spanish Armada ship all circulate the otherwise quiet village local.