If you’re looking for a haunted hotel break in the UK, the Grand Hotel Scarborough comes highly recommended.

Opening in 1867, it was one of the first, largest, and most glamorous hotels in Europe.

Unusual not only for its size but also for its unique V-shaped design in honour of Queen Victoria, it incorporates the theme of time, with four turrets for the seasons, 12 floors for the months, 52 chimneys for the weeks, and, originally, it boasted 365 rooms.

It was damaged by German bombardment on 16 December 1914 during World War I and served as a billeting station for the RAF during World War II. It is even rumoured that Hitler intended to make the hotel his British headquarters.

However, before the hotel was even a twinkle in the architect’s eye, St Nicholas Cliff, where the hotel is situated, was once home to a church and hospital.

The hospital was used as a leper colony and pest house during times of plague. Burials were discovered in the hospital grounds, roughly where the car park in front of the hotel is today.