Screaming monks, Vikings and demons are all part of the hidden history of one of Norfolk's most photographed landmarks.

St Benet's Abbey in the Norfolk Broads has gathered tales of ghosts and ghouls for more than a thousand years.

Originally a majestic monastery built by Viking King Canute, it started life as a grand church surrounded by kitchens, hospitals and gardens.

Great Yarmouth Mercury: St Benet's AbbeySt Benet's Abbey (Image: Denise Bradley)

Now, the ruins of the gatehouse are all that remains.

Ghost stories inspired by the abbey's ruins have frightened passers-by for centuries such as the tale of the "shrieking monk".

The story goes that just 50 years after its founding, a monk named Essric agreed to open the heavy doors to Norman invaders if he could become abbot.

He let them in, was pronounced abbot, and promptly hung for his perfidy.

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The events are said to play out again and again if you are unlucky enough to be passing at midnight.

In 1928 a doctor and his crew moored alongside the site said they saw the monastery rematerialise and the monk betray his brothers.

The distinct windmill was crammed inside the ruin 300 years ago making the site what it is today.