John Sage

John Sage is most famous for being the Castle Torturer of Chillingham Castle circa 1200 AD. Sage, a minor celebrity of his time, was formerly a soldier of King Edward 'Longshanks' and was said to have succeeded in reaching the rank of Lieutenant before being injured by a spear to his leg. Subsequently, he earned the nickname 'Dragfoot' and was awarded the infamous torturer position for which he became known.

Notable Facts

Sage worked for Longshanks as the castle's torturer for three years, within which he was rumored to torture upwards of 50 people a week. His favorite torture device was said to be the cage, inside which he would enclose a victim and place over a fire. Other torture methods included boiling alive, the iron maiden and the use of an oubliette.

In the torture room, which still exists today, fully equipped, there is also a torture rack. It was upon this rack that Sage strangled his girlfriend, Elizabeth Charlton, during sex in order to heighten her sexual pleasure, which consequently killed her. The father of Elizabeth was a Border Reiver, one of many clan leaders and local outlaws, who threatened Edward Longshanks with an allied attack with the Scots against the castle if Sage was not put to death.

Due to the tense political climate of the time, the Scots would be strong when rallied with the Reivers, and coupled with the fact that Longshanks had little money after fighting the Scottish, he called for Sage to be hanged.

The torture chamber in the castle is not the original torture chamber (the location is elsewhere in the castle) and the equipment and weaponry such as the axe that killed the children (an unproven unlikely event) are also nothing to do with the original castle.

Death

He was hanged from a tree along the Devil's Mile (also known as the Devil's Walk) within the grounds of Chillingham Castle in front of a large crowd. As was common at public hangings, the crowd cut off souvenirs from Sage's body, including his toes, fingers, testicles, and nose, as he died.

According to American television show 'Scariest Places on Earth': "his body was dismembered and buried at a crossroad so his ghost wouldn't know the way to heaven, and would therefore choose the road to hell."

External links and Sources

[http://www.chillingham-castle.com Official site of Chillingham Castle]

[http://www.ghost-story.co.uk/stories/chillinghamcastle.html Further Chillingham/Sage Information (Paranormal site)]

[http://para-help.com/My_Homepage_Files/Page65.html Paranormal and historical information]