The HAUNTED TOWER?

Headless Boleyns that go bump in the night

Throughout the day, the Tower is a hive of activity. Yet, the atmosphere can be very different when the Ceremony of the Keys is over. Sudden mists, strange shapes, and shadows have been reported throughout, along with unnerving sounds, from cries of anguish to religious chanting.

Perhaps the most famous of the Tower’s ghosts is Anne Boleyn. Witnessed with her “head tucked underneath her arm” and as a “lovely, veiled lady”, she was reportedly seen by Henry VIII shortly after her execution. Lady Jane Grey and the Princes in the Tower are reputed to join Anne, often seen as white shapes.

The Tower’s first reported ghost was Thomas Becket. Apparently unhappy with Henry III’S building work, Becket’s appearance supposedly preceded the collapse of the watergate in 1240.

Another famous apparition is Lady Margaret Pole. Sentenced to death by Henry VIII, the Countess of Salisbury achieved legendary status for being hacked to death attempting to outrun her executioner. Reputed to haunt the Wakefield Tower is Henry VI, allegedly stabbed by the future Richard III.

One of the strangest stories concerns John Middleton, 1st Earl of Middleton. Imprisoned for his role in Charles I’s regicide, Middleton was reportedly visited by the ghost of his friend, Laird Bocconi, who predicted his escape within three days. He duly did so, dressed in women’s clothing.

It is not just humans who are said to haunt the Tower. In 1864, a sentry guarding the Queen’s House passed out after charging a bear with his bayonet.

Of the Tower’s many ghost stories, one involving guard Arthur Crick takes some beating. On resting on a window ledge to remove his shoe, his blood ran cold when a voice whispered, “There’s only you and I here”. He absconded with the sharp response, “Let me get this bloody shoe on, and there’ll only be you!”