Next we turn to another haunted castle, perhaps the most famous haunted castle of them all. The Tower of London has stood for more than 900 years, and has been the scene of countless executions, murders and other grisly deaths. Commissioned by William the Conqueror, it stands on the north bank of the Thames in central London, and was initially seen as a symbol of the oppression imposed on the English by the new Norman regime. Originally constructed as a royal residence and defensive stronghold, it was used to hold state prisoners from 1100 onwards, though this use was at first incidental. From the Tudor period, however, the Tower was used less as a royal residence, and began to acquire a reputation as England’s most grim and forbidding prison, used to hold enemies of the state, including religious and political undesirables. It was the realm’s chief torture centre, and was the place where the rack was first introduced to England in 1447 by the Duke of Exeter, Constable of the Tower. Although the use of torture ended in the eighteenth century, the Tower continued to function as a prison and a place of execution. Among the last people to be held prisoner in the Tower (to date) were Rudolf Hess, deputy leader of the Nazi Party (1941) and the Kray twins (1952). The last person to be executed there was Josef Jakobs, a German spy, in August 1941.
With such a history of imprisonment, torture and execution, it would be surprising indeed if the Tower did not have the reputation of being haunted. Among the spirits that purportedly haunt the Tower are several royal ghosts. Perhaps the most famous is Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII, who was held at the Tower prior to her execution there in 1536. Her ghost has reportedly been seen on numerous occasions, sometimes lacking a head, sometimes carrying it, on Tower Green and in the Tower Chapel Royal. The ghost of Lady Jane Grey, the ‘nine-day Queen’, who was likewise executed at the Tower in 1554, is also said to haunt the castle. She is usually seen standing on the roof of the Salt Tower, although no sightings of her have been reported for several decades. Another female spectre of royal blood is that of Arbella Stuart, cousin of James I, who was imprisoned and possibly murdered at the Tower. She reputedly haunts The Queen's House, considered one of the most haunted buildings at the Tower of London.
The ghost of an actual King of England, Henry VI, is said to haunt the Wakefield Tower. Henry, who was murdered here by the Duke of Gloucester in 1471, is said to appear and walk around a few minutes before midnight in the area in which he died. The uncrowned boy king Edward V and his younger brother Richard (the Princes in the Tower) who were also supposedly murdered by Gloucester following his seizure of the crown, have been seen in various rooms in the Bloody Tower where they were incarcerated.
Other famous individuals whose ghosts purportedly haunt the Tower include Thomas a Becket, Sir Walter Raleigh, Lord Guildford Dudley and Guy Fawkes. Why Becket would haunt the Tower seems something of a mystery, since he did not die there and was never a prisoner there. Perhaps, having been murdered on the orders of the King, his spirit chose to haunt the symbolic seat of the monarchy. Raleigh also did not die in the Tower, though he was held prisoner there for years. Fawkes was tortured in the Tower prior to his execution, while Dudley, the husband of Lady Jane Grey, was executed along with his wife a t the Tower.
The other ghosts of the Tower may not be the spirits of famous individuals, but their appearances are frightening all the same. These include a grey lady who haunts the Queen’s House and apparently only manifests herself to women; and a phantom man in mediaeval clothing who appears in the same building. Another lady, dressed in white, is said to haunt the White Tower, and the strong scent of her perfume has been noticed by many visitors.
Over the centuries military personnel stationed at the Tower have reported various supernatural incidents. One curious manifestation was witnessed during the Second World War, when a soldier guarding the main entrance to the Tower reported seeing a group of people in old-fashioned uniforms walking towards the gate carrying a stretcher containing a headless body. The figures faded away just before they reached the guard. Quite a different sort of ghost witnessed by another guard was the phantom bear that allegedly appeared by the Martin Tower in 1816. The spectral beast charged at the soldier, who attempted to bayonet it, only to find that his weapon passed straight through the creature. The soldier collapsed with fright and, so the story goes, later died of shock.
Another curious Tower legend concerning animals is that of the ravens. According to the story, if the number of ravens resident at the Tower falls below six, the Crown will fall and the kingdom will fall with it. The ravens of the Tower have been protected since the time of Charles II, and in fact have their wings clipped to ensure they cannot leave.
These and other legends and stories about the ghosts of the Tower continue to be retold, and fresh sightings are reported at intervals. If you are ever in London, the castle is well worth a visit. Perhaps you too will experience an encounter to be added to the long list of sightings at this most haunted of sites.
