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Belcourt Castle
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4 reviews for Belcourt Castle
We returned with a group last weekend on a haunted tour of the Belcourt Castle. I absolutely loved it. It's amazing that someone still lives in this castle! The tour was only $18.00 and even though I didn't see any ghosts, I must say I was in awe of this place.
This place actually still has the original silk wallpaper. The detail in the woodwork alone had me walking around with drool hanging from my mouth..at one point it actually looked like I had actually seen a ghost. There were two tour guides the night I went. The first one showed you a slide show and she was an older woman and she really got into her role of the "haunted" part. She would try and spook the kids and it ws really funny. She looked at one of the kids at one the many stories she was telling and right in the middle of this horrific stories she asked one of the younger boys: "Michael, do you know what a cadaver is?"..
It was awesome!..He looked like a deer in headlights..he was so scared. I'm sure he didn't sleep very much that night! The other tour guide was actually Mrs. Tinney herself who lived in the castle. Which I thought was pretty amazing she actually takes time out of her own life to show the place..I think I'd get sick of walking around this place again and again..But..I definitely would pay to do this again..Definitely take the time to see this. It was worth it..Just to see the rooms and the work put into this place is amazing!
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I will first off like to state that I am very biased toward this place because it is where I got married. But that being said, it is a beautiful place and my favorite mansion on Bellevue.
Owner Harle and handyman Jack were exceptional people who helped us coordinate our amazing wedding. It couldn't have been done without their patience, interest and attention to detail.
The castle is absolutely beautiful and houses a collection of artwork and antiques. It is well worth a trip if you are in the area. A truly enchanting castle.
How is it that only one other person has rated this gem? Belcourt is an anomaly amongst the Newport Mansions, an owner-run residence whose friendliness belies the stodginess of most other monster estates of the era. I won't go into the history of Belcourt here, since the staff has done a wonderful job of detailing the story on both the Castle website and Wikipedia, but I will say that once you read up on the building's background, you'll understand why you have to include this on your Newport trip. Yeah, the Breakers is nice, blah blah blah. But Belcourt's affability shines through, making the visit more than just another tour through a stuffy, old-money home.
Don't forget to check out the ghost tours and champagne tours!
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I don't know about you, but when I'm in Newport, I look for ghosts. Not really. But on a recent trip, desperate for activity, I stumbled across the wonder that is Belcourt Castle. Yet as my boyfriend quipped, "It's not so much a castle, as it is a manse." Still, the place is devastatingly large, and for $18 bucks a pop it better be a spectacle.
Belcourt is a museum and a working residence for the very rich Tinney family. Mrs. Tinney introduced the place to our tour group--we were seated in a theatre style area with a slide projector. The lights went dark. She explained how she'd come to Belcourt by marrying her late husband whose parents had bought this place at the turn of the century. Widow Tinney was unflappable and called in an elderly woman by the name of Virginia Smith who claimed to be "sensitive" to spirits. I won't give everything away, but from the slide show, and this woman's tales, she could sense a ghost at a roadside Burger King on the Mass Pike. She lost a bit of credibility by the sheer outrageousness of her stories, not to mention these women were clad in black velvet and brocade. It was all very Stevie Nicks meets King Arthur.
The antiques and artwork are the true highlights. No ghostly activity occurred though, to date, 17 ghosts are reported to haunt the place, so says Ginny Smith. One includes a monk, who haunts one of the antiques at the castle. According to Widow Tinney he's a "traveling monk" -- he haunts many destinations worldwide -- and is seen sporadically in long dark garb, most often on the 7th day of March. I don't know about all that. Apparently, one of the ghosts prefers to show himself to "brown-haired teenage girls."
The grand hall is the most haunted room of the castle. There's an impressive line-up of old knight's armor, one of the suits is said to be haunted. There's also centuries old "salt chairs" -- where people of that time stored salt, because it was so valuable. According to the women, the chairs have "thrown people across the room" -- but, if you move your hand slowly down to the seat of the chairs, you can feel "the energy" they radiate. I did it, and did feel something, but I'm not sure if it wasn't just the impression of her expecting such a sensation from us, or if these chairs really are unique.
The place is worth visiting, over all. If anything it's interesting. One warning: these women love to talk, and you'll find yourself keeling over from boredom at times. And instead of letting you explore like you'll want to, they move you from room to room, with snarling teenage ushers to annoy the hell out of you. Belcourt does offer a "champagne tour" where you can get drunk and move freely around. This, of course, is more money.
The place has a lot of history, and it seems like it would be haunted but Widow Tinney and Ginny Smith, with their flair for the dramatic, make it more over-the-top than believable. If they took it down a bit and allowed visitors more freedom, this would be a top-notch destination.
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