Haunted Château de Chambord

Haunted Château de Chambord
Paul Dale Roberts, HPI’s Esoteric Detective
Sacramento Paranormal Investigations
Halo Paranormal Investigations
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While in the Army in 1974, I vacationed in France. For $29.00 I had a round-trip visit on a military bus from Nurnberg, Germany to France. Food and private travel costs came out of my own wallet. While in France, visited Notre Dame, Napolean Bonaparte’s gravesite, the Paris Catacombs, the Eiffel Tower, Versailles Palace and the Arch de Triumph. Another place I visited was the haunted Chateau de Chambord. There were two things, I loved about this castle, the magnificent beauty of the castle and the hints that the castle may be haunted. I could never understand on how some of the soldiers in my barracks would not take up European travel offers by the military. They would not take advantage of those military travel discounts. Soldiers like me called these type of soldiers “barracks rats”. They stay in the barracks and do not explore the beauty of Europe. There was one soldier that I met that was as adventurous as I was, his name was Wayne Johnson. Wayne was excited about our trip to France.

A little history about this castle. The castle is over 500 years old. It is known for its famous interior feature, a double-helix spiral staircase that goes up 3 floors. Tourists and locals say that sometimes they hear disembodied footsteps going up the staircase. The castle was commissioned by King Francis I. You will see images of salamanders on the ceiling. The reason being is that King Francis I used the salamander as his emblem. It is said that over 300 images of a salamander can be seen throughout the castle. 13,400 acres of land is part of the castle. So, yes, you would have a lot to explore. Wayne and I, tried to see as much as we could. You would have to spend two weeks at the castle site, to see everything. You’re talking about a castle that has 426 rooms, 83 staircases and 282 fireplaces. On the extended property you will find stags, wild boar, wild sheep that was introduced to the castle’s acres.

Our tour guide told us that Château de Chambord was the inspiration for the Beast’s castle in Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast”. I asked the tour guide if the Beast of Gevaudan was the inspiration for the “beast”? The tour guide said that the Beast of Gevaudan occurred in another section of France near the Margeride Mountains which is a good distance from this castle. The Beast of Gevaudan was in the south-central part of France, while the Chateau was in the central part of France. The tour guide said it was possible that the Disney people may have incorporated the “beast” from the legends of The Beast of Gevaudan. The tour guide reminded us, that the beast in Beauty of the Beast was benevolent, and the Beast of Gevaudan was malevolent. The Beast of Gevaudan terrorized the citizens from 1764 to 1767 causing 113 deaths, 49 injuries. Some victims were partially eaten, and it has been theorized that the Beast of Gevaudan was a runaway Hyena that was once owned by a noble.

The tour guide explained to us that the castle was built during the Renaissance period. It was suited for the royal residence and used as a hunting lodge and faced more peace than conflict. The castle was used as a hospital during the Franco-Prussian War. During the time it was a hospital, many soldiers died at the castle. There were many reports of tourists seeing glimpses of full body apparitions walking about the castle. The locals believe these were the patients from the Franco-Prussian War. The tour guide said that a local in 1962 encountered a Lou Carcolh on the grounds of the castle. A Lou Carcolh is a large, slimy, snail-like serpent with hairy tentacles and a large shell roaming the forest near the castle. The local had claimed that this cryptid came out of a crevice. This cryptid was only seen once on the grounds of the castle. The tour guide laughed and said he felt the local was a bit tipsy when telling her story. The tour guide did say that at times, he has heard moaning and sometime whispering during his rounds walking around the castle. Wayne and I didn’t experience anything paranormal during the castle tour, but that doesn’t mean it’s not haunted.