Hauntings: Tower of London

Tower of London (UK)

The Tower of London, over 900 years old, was used as a prison from 1100-1952 and has a reputation as being one of the most haunted places in Britain. Beheadings, murders, torture, and hangings have been carried out there.

Famous ghosts haunting the tower include:

Edward V and Richard Duke of York, two child princes, believed to have been murdered in 1483 on the command of their uncle and guardian, the Duke of Gloucestershire. Upon their disappearance, the Duke of Gloucestershire ascended the throne and was crowned Richard the III. Guards in the late 1400s spotted two small ghostly figures wearing the white night shirts, just as the princes wore on the night they disappeared. In 1674, workmen uncovered a chest that contained the skeletons of two children. Believed to be the remains of the princes, they were given a royal burial.

Queen Anne Boleyn. King Henry VIII, after learning his queen gave birth to a still born baby, accused her of infidelity. She was taken to the tower and beheaded on May 19, 1536. Queen Anne’s ghost appears near the Queen’s House and is often seen leading a ghostly procession of Lords and Ladies down the aisle of the Chapel Royal to where she’s buried, under the Chapel’s altar. Her headless body has also been seen walking the corridors of the Tower.

Sir Walter Raleigh was imprisoned and then executed by order of James I. His ghost has been seen wandering the halls and looks just like the portrait that hangs in his rooms, which are still furnished as they were in the 16th century, and can be seen when visiting the Tower today.

Countess of Salisbury. The most grisly execution and haunting is that of the 70-year-old Countess of Salisbury, the last of the Plantagenets. King Henry VIII ordered her execution for political reasons, but the proud Countess refused to put her head on the block like a common criminal. She tried to escape and her executioner chased her, striking her with his axe until she was hacked to pieces. Her ghost has been seen running and screaming, reliving her gruesome murder.

Lady Jane Grey. She was the granddaughter of Mary (Henry VIII’s younger sister) and Louis XII of France. To keep the throne from Mary (who was Catholic) Jane’s father conspired to arranged her succession to the throne when Edward VI died. She was crowned Queen of England, but the supporters of Mary overthrew her. Mary spared her life, but when Jane’s father was later involved in a rebellion against Mary, Lady Jane was beheaded. She was only 17 years old. Lady Jane Grey’s ghost appeared to two Guardsmen on February 12, 1957, the 403rd anniversary of her execution. Her husband, Guildford Dudley, also beheaded, has been seen weeping in Beauchamp Tower.

Catherine Howard. Henry VIII married Catherine when she was 17. She allegedly had an affair with one of his courtiers and was imprisoned on charges of adultery and treason before she was 20. She once escaped from her room in the Tower and ran down the hall screaming and begging for mercy. She was caught and beheaded the next day. Her ghost has been seen running down the very same hallway, screaming for someone to help her.

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Hauntings: Stratford-upon-Avon

Stratford-upon-Avon (UK)

Stratford-upon-Avon is best known as the birthplace of William Shakespeare, but the town, which is over 800 years old, is also known for its ghosts.

The White Lion Inn.  The Inn is said to be haunted by the ghost of the Stratford Ripper, John Davies.  People swear they’ve been chased from rooms or even followed home by a ghostly man with a knife.  It’s said that a little girl named Alice (one of Davies's victims) haunts the area as a protective spirit.  Sightings of as many as forty other ghosts have been reported at the White Lion over the years.

The Dirty Duck Pub.  The ghost of a World War II pilot has been seen at the bar at the Dirty Duck pub, wearing old-style clothes and hoisting a pint.  Once, the landlady even spoke to the ghost before it excused itself and vanished.

Ettington Park Hotel.  The Ettington Park hotel is probably the area's most haunted site.  Built in the 1100s, it has served as a night club, prisoner-of-war camp, and nursing home.  After a fire, the location was renovated and became a hotel.  Haunting activities include:
~  Mysterious forms staring out the windows of empty rooms.
~  The ghost of an old woman wearing a Victorian dress has been seen in the conservatory.
~  Women's voices are heard coming from the empty drawing room.
~  The sounds of heavy footsteps are heard, stomping around the premises when there’s no one there.
~  The sound of billiard balls clacking and colliding comes from the deserted library, and books have been known to fly off the shelves.
~  A candlestick has been seen floating above a fireplace mantel.
~  It’s said the ghost of a servant named Mary, who died in a fall, has appeared on the main staircase.

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Hauntings: Newstead Abbey

Newstead Abbey (UK)

Newstead Abbey was originally built in the 12th century as a priory for Augustine monks. In the 1530s, King Henry VIII broke with the Catholic church and the monks were kicked out. The priory was bought in 1540 by Sir John Byron—an ancestor of Lord Byron, the famous poet—and that began the first of 300 years of Byrons in Newstead Abbey.  
 
The Curse  According to an old superstition, people become cursed and have bad luck if a religious home is used as a private residence.  Several generations of the Byron family experienced bad luck and declining fortunes. By the time the last Lord Byron—the famous poet—lived at the abbey, it was in decrepit shape. Byron was forced to sell the property, and Thomas Wildman bought it. The curse affected the Wildman family too, and several more families that owned the property in later years were also plagued by bad luck. 

Along with the curse, ghosts haunt the abbey.

The “White Lady” ghost Sophia Hyett, a great fan of Byron’s poetry, lived near the Abbey.  The Wildman family gave her permission to roam their gardens whenever she liked.  Even after her death, people have reported seeing Sophia’s ghost, and she’s always dressed in white.

The Goblin Friar or the Black Friar This spirit presages doom.  He only appeared to heads of the Byron family just before something bad happened.  On the day Lord Byron married Anne Milbanke, he saw the Friar’s ghost.  The marriage turned out to be a disaster that lasted for only one year.  Lord Byron wrote about his encounter with the Goblin Friar in the poem “Don Juan.”

Boatswain’s ghost Lord Byron had a pet dog, a Newfoundland called Boatswain.  When the dog died, he was buried at Newstead, and one of Byron’s last wishes was to be buried with his beloved pet.  However, when Byron died in 1824, he was buried at the famous and prestigious Westminster Abbey.  It’s said that the ghost of the big Newfoundland dog wanders Newstead, looking for his master.

The “Rose Lady” This ghost is often seen at the bottom of staircase and is always accompanied by the scent of roses that lingers after she disappears.  One notable appearance she made was in front of a group of tourists.  The tourists were frightened, and the staff believe this was done as a protest by the Rose Lady because tour leaders hadn’t included her story in the tour.  Now, she's always mentioned, and she’s been seen less often.

The Legend of the Rooks Rooks (crows) live on the property by the hundreds.  It’s believed they're the souls of the monks who once lived at the abbey.  American author Washington Irving stayed there and reported he saw all the rooks leaving in the mornings to search for food and then returning every nightfall.  They did this every day, Monday through Saturday—except Sundays, when they remained roosting in their nests as if it's their "day of rest."  The locals are so sure the rooks are the former monks that hunting or shooting them is forbidden.

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Hauntings: Highgate Cemetery

Highgate Cemetery (UK)

Opened in 1839, Highgate Cemetery is in North London and has 170,000 people buried in it.  Naturally, the site of so many dead bodies has spawned tales of many supernatural incidents and ghosts over the years. Here are some of them:

~ The Highgate Vampire is described as a 7-foot-tall, dark male figure, dressed in a long black coat and top hat, with glowing, hypnotic eyes.  He appears and disappears at whim, and there have been dozens of sightings since the late 1960s, although no one's reported him sucking their blood.

~ A man whose car broke down outside the cemetery’s gates came face to face with the Ghoul.  The creature’s red eyes glared at him through the graveyard's iron gates until he ran away.

~ The floating ghost of a Nun has been reported passing over the graves.

 ~ The specter of the Old Woman races between the gravestones, her long hair whipping in the wind.  It’s said she murdered her children and dashes about, desperately searching for them.

~ One night, a local businessman was horrified when a phantom jumped over the fence and landed right in front of him.  He described it as having glowing eyes, pointed ears, and large nose.  This might have been the infamous Spring-Heeled Jack.  The first claimed sighting of Spring-heeled Jack was in 1837.  Later sightings were reported all over Great Britain, including at Highgate Cemetery.  He was known to have a frightening countenance and make inhuman leaps, which inspired his nickname.

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