The Vampire of Croglin Grange was passed down as an actual true story told and published. But what was the truth behind this vampire story, and was there really any truth to it?
Tucked within the pastoral landscapes of Cumbria, England, the quiet village of Croglin once played host to one of Britain’s eeriest and most unsettling vampire legends — a story that has chilled listeners for well over a century. Known as The Vampire of Croglin Grange, this tale was first popularized in the 19th century, yet its setting and sinister details evoke much older European revenant lore.
Croglin is a quiet picturesque fellside village between the Pennines and the River Eden. Because of its proximity to the Scottish borders, the village was often raided by the Border Reivers in the 15th century. Though historians debate its authenticity, the story’s sinister atmosphere and eerie specifics have earned it a place among England’s most famous vampire legends.
The Account That Sparked the Legend
The legend was first widely shared by Augustus Hare in his 1896 book The Story of My Life, his autobiography. The story was related by a certain Captain Fisher. The Fisher family were long-time residents of the region, and presented it as a genuine family incident that took place in Cumberland around 14 miles south east of Carlisle and not far from the Scottish border. After moving down to Surrey, the Fishers had let the Grange out.
The Night the Vampire Came
According to Hare’s account, in the early 19th century, a brother and sister — Amelia, Edward, and Michael Cranswell — rented a remote country house known as Croglin Grange between 1875 and 1876. The house was charming but isolated, surrounded by open fields and ancient churchyards. Though Hare doesn’t name them in his story, later sources give their surname as Cranswell. And while Hare doesn’t give a date, it’s been assumed they occupied the house at some point in the 1870s, as this was when the Fishers moved out.
Read More: Check out The Vampire of Croglin Grange by Augustus Hare to read it as it was published for the entire story..
One particularly hot summer’s evening, the siblings retired to bed, leaving their windows open to the night air. As darkness settled, Amelia Cranswell lay in bed beneath the glow of a full moon when she noticed a pair of glittering eyes peering through her window. It was described as having a brown face and flaming eyes. Transfixed with horror, she watched as a thin, shriveled figure with unnaturally long fingers crept closer.
The creature deftly unlatched the window, slipped inside, and lunged at Amelia, biting into her neck and drawing blood. Paralyzed with terror, she managed to let out a blood-curdling scream as the creature fed. Her cries summoned Edward and Michael, who burst into the room and chased the attacker away — though not before seeing it flee toward the churchyard.
A Grim Pursuit
The next morning, the brothers searched the grounds but found no trace of the intruder. Fearing for their sister’s life, they insisted she travel to recover elsewhere and they went to Switzerland. Several months later, Amelia returned, and despite lingering fears, resumed life at Croglin Grange.
But on another moonlit night, the creature returned — this time, the brothers were ready. Michael and Edward, armed with pistols, pursued the shriveled, man-like figure across the moonlit fields to the old churchyard, where it disappeared into a crypt belonging to a long-dead local family.
The next day, accompanied by local villagers, the brothers opened the vault. Inside, they found a mummified, grotesque corpse — remarkably intact — with fresh blood on its lips. The body was swiftly burned or, in some versions, a stake was driven through its heart before it was incinerated, bringing an end to the terror that had plagued Croglin Grange.
Fact, Fiction, or Folklore?
Skeptics have long debated the historical accuracy of the Croglin Vampire story. Some argue it’s a Victorian gothic fiction piece cleverly presented as oral history. Others point out that while Croglin is a real place, no definitive records corroborate the events described by Augustus Hare.
The story was revisited in 1919 when Montague Summers republished it together with Varney the Vampire, saying it should be dismissed as folklore. He found no evidence that Croglin Grange ever existed. Most likely it was based on Croglin Low Hall even though there was no nearby chapel.
Folklorists suggest that the tale fits within a wider tradition of revenant lore in northern England and Scotland — stories of the dead returning from their graves to drink the blood of the living, particularly during plague years. The creature’s withered, ancient appearance also aligns more with old European vampire myths than the suave, aristocratic blood-drinkers popularized by later gothic fiction.
Francis Clive-Ross gave some more insight in a 1963 article for the journal Tomorrow, Clive-Ross stated he’d discovered information that might lend some truth at least to the setting of Fisher’s tale. Clive-Ross found out that Croglin Low Hall had actually been known as Croglin Grange until the beginning of the 18th century and that it really used to be a chapel nearby. Croglin residents, however, told him that the incident hadn’t occurred in the 1870s, but rather way back in the 1680s.
As it turned out, the Fisher’s had actually been tenants back then, and it was the Towry family owning it and that the story most likely came from them. Some linked the bat-like creature from a local story of the grave of a local priest. Some speculate that what the woman actually saw was an owl, or perhaps an escaped monkey from the circus. Some even suggest that it is a story about the trauma from the Civil War, everything to not recognize the possibility of a vampiric creature stalking the locals.
Even so, there is a window at Croglin Low Hall that is believed to be the window the vampire showed himself. It is now bricked up and festooned with a lucky horseshoe. As a protection, just in case.
Newest Posts
- Davy Byrne’s Pub: The Ghost of James Joyce Still Raising a Glass
Said to appear in the mirror of his favorite place for a pint in Dublin, the ghost of James Joyce is rumored to still linger in Davy Byrne’s Pub. - The Tragic Ghost of the Maid Haunting Visnes Hotel
A maid who once worked at the hotel allegedly took her own life at the old Visnes Hotel, deep in the Norwegian fjords. Now it is said she is lingering in the afterlife in the old rooms she once worked in. - The Black Church: Where the Devil Waits in Dublin
A church with the sinister name The Black Church in Dublin has a legend that claims if you follow the ritual, you will be able to summon the devil. - The Nordic Grave Dwelling Haugbúi Draugr (ᛏᚱᛅᚢᚴᛦ)
An ancient ghost coming from the depths of graves across the nordic countries, the Haugbúi Draugr could be both dangerous and even deadly. Not merely a specter, but the rotten flesh of the dead, the ghosts are remembered as The Walking Dead of the North. - The Haunting of Hendrick Street: Dublin’s Most Cursed Corner
In the dark Hendrick Street in Dublin, there once were two houses said to be some of the most haunted ones in town. Occupied by at least six ghosts, some say they still linger in their old street. - The Richmond Vampire and its Mausoleum in Hollywood Cemetery
In the pre civil war Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, the mausoleum of W.W Pool is said to be the grave of The Richmond Vampire. A more recent urban legend is now also connected with The Church Hill Tunnel collapse. - The Headless Ghosts Haunting Dublin Castle
Said to be haunted by headless prisoners who tried to capture Dublin Castle, this storied building has shadows lingering in the corners. - Most Haunted Places in Bern, Switzerland
Old cities carry old ghost stories, and Bern in Switzerland is no exception. From the old buildings filled with history to the depth of the Aare river, here are some of the most haunted places in Bern. - Serbia’s Vampire Town Kisiljevo and the Undead Ruža Vlajna
Centuries after the vampire panic starting with the death of Petar Blagojević, another vampire was said to haunt the Serbian village, Kisiljevo. Who was Ruža Vlajna and what happened to her? - The Haunted Fields of Croppie’s Acre: Dublin’s Restless Rebellion Ground
Said to be the mass burial place for the dead Irish Independence rebels from 1798, the Croppie’s Acre in Dublin is said to be haunted by their lingering souls. - The Vanished Valley: The Fairies of Val Gerina
Once a green paradise, the legend says the fairies protected the people of Val Gerina valley in the Swiss alps. Driven by greed to impress a woman however, the son meant to continue the tradition and friendship with the fairies, brought it all down. - Trinity College: The Ghostly Scholars Who Never Left
Haunted by its former Fellows, Trinity College in Dublin is said to be filled with eerie spirits where even the bell tolls after dark when the shadows take over campus.
