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TAMWORTH CASTLE

Staffordshire, England

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Tamworth Castle Ghosts-The Black and White Ladies

The most famous ghosts associated with Tamworth castle are the Black Lady and White Lady. The White Lady is said to have been captured and locked in the Tower by the wicked Sir Tarquin. But after a while she fell in love with him and is said to walk the battlements around the castle, weeping over her lover who was slain by Sir Lancelot du Lac, who came to rescue her. Legend has it that the White Lady threw herself from the battlements when she found that Sir Tarquin was dead. Her ghost has been seen walking the Battlements and her cries heard.

The Black Lady is allegedly the ghost of a nun called Editha who founded her order in the 9th century. The nuns were said to have been expelled from a nearby Convent by Robert de Marmion. The angry prayers of the nuns were said to have called Editha from her grave. One night in 1139 after a lavish banquet, Marmion was attacked by the ghost of Editha, who prophesied that unless the nuns were restored to Polesworth, the Baron would meet an untimely death. Just before she vanished the spectre hit the Baron on the side with the point of her crosier; the wound was so terrible that Marmion's cries awoke the whole Castle. His pain only ceased when this vow was taken and the nuns returned to Polesworth.

One would however question why, if the Nuns had been restored to the Convent, would St Editha still haunt the castle. Could it be because the Abbey was voluntarily surrendered by the Abbess Alice Fitz-Herbert to the crown in 1539 under the reforms of church and state during the reign of Henry VIII. The Black Lady was once again recorded in 1949, when a team of ghost hunters carried out an overnight vigil at the castle. Just after the stroke of midnight, following noises on the staircase, a photograph was taken. When developed, the picture showed a shadowy hooded figure descending the stairs.

Read More:

Tamworth Castle-History and Ghosts
Tamworth Castle Ghosts-The Black and White Ladies
Tamworth Castle Ghosts - Readers Emails

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