Whether you call it spooky or not, one thing is sure and that is the Swallow's Nest is spectacularly situated atop a 130-foot high cliff above the Black Sea. The castle's neo-Gothic design dates to 1912.

One of Scotland's most historic castles dates at least as far back as 1110, though most of what you see today dates from the 15th century. The imposing castle sits atop a formidable crag, surrounded by steep cliffs on three sides.

You may not associate Cyprus with castles, but the Crusader era left many important fortifications behind and few are as eerie as St. Hilarion. Nestled in the Kyrenia mountains, the semi-ruined castle clings to its rocky peak like a sunburnt Gothic ghost.

One of England's classic medieval castles has chills built right into its name. It started off as as monastery in the 12th century but the monks are long gone, princes and kings followed, and in their place are  (the current owners say) ghosts. So many in fact, that Chillingham is said to the the most haunted castle in Great Britain. Spooky!

You'll have to climb 1,480 stairs to get to Romania's 13th century Poenari Castle, but it's worth it for the view and the connection to the spookiest prince of all time: Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia -- better known as Vlad Dracula. Other castles in Romania have Count Dracula connections, but none are as evocative as this lonely fort.

This eerie fortress was constructed under a natural rocky arch in the 13th century, and took its present form during the Renaissance. Cave entrances and a hidden passageway add to the mystique of this sleeping Slovenian beauty. 

There isn't much left of Montfort Castle, but that's what makes it so spooky and special. It's a Crusader-era castle now in ruins, located 22 miles north of Haifa and only 10 miles south of the Lebanese border, but during the turbulent time of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, Montfort was a crucial fortress.