The Tower's Ghosts
Lady Jane Grey, the 9-day queen, ghost is also said to appear on the anniversary of her death on the 12th February 1554. On this day in 1957 at 3 a.m., a guard was disturbed by something striking the top of his guardhouse. When he stepped outside to investigate, he saw a headless white figure on top of the Tower. Only later after talking to some of the other guards did he realise the significance of what he saw and who it was.
One of the most enduring ghosts is that of Queen Anne Boleyn, one of the wives of Henry VIII, who was beheaded on the grounds of adultery and treason in the Tower in 1536. Queen Anne is buried under the chapel's altar, with her ghost being spotted on many occasions.
She haunts the vicinity of the White Tower, the King's House, Tower Green, and the chapel of St Peter ad Vincula. Her body has been seen to walk the corridors of the Tower, sometimes carrying her head. She is only recognisable by the dress she wore at her execution.
In 1864 a sentry is said to have challenged a headless figure thought to be Ann Boleyn, his bayonet passed straight through her, and he fainted in shock. He was saved from court martial for being asleep at his post, on the word of other guards, who said they had witnessed a similar occurrence.
In another account a Captain of the Guard is said to have seen a bright light coming from within the locked, empty Chapel Royal in the White Tower. He climbed up a ladder to look down into the chapel, and witnessed a procession of people in ancient dress, with an elegant woman walking in front of them. He recognised the figure as Ann Boleyn from portraits that he had seen.
One of the most gruesome ghost stories connected with the Tower of London is the bungled execution of Lady Salisbury in 1541. At 70 she was given the death penalty following her alleged involvement in criminal activities (although it is now widely believed that she was probably innocent).
After being sent struggling to the scaffold to be beheaded, she refused to place her neck on the block as all others did. She ran from the block in hysterics with her executioner chasing behind her. She was pursued by the axe man until she was hacked to death after finally being felled with a number of heavy blows from behind. The whole bloody scene is said to be re-enacted by spirits on Tower Green. Also the shadow of a great axe has been seen falling across the scene of her murder.
Although not an apparition, the haunting in the Salt Tower is for some, very real and very frightening. Said to be one of the most haunted areas in the tower's complex, dogs will not enter this area at all, and Yeoman Warders will not enter after dark. This was after a Warder told how he was almost throttled by a strong but unseen force. As recently as 1995, an American tourist was taking photographs of the Tower. She took a picture of Traitor's Gate. On having the film developed, you can clearly see what appears to be a hand wearing a 16th century Yeoman's uniform.
Read More:
The Tower of London - History of the TowerThe Tower of London - The Tower's Ghosts
The Tower of London - Murder of the two Princes
The Tower of London - Readers Emails
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