English Ghosts&Castles

England is a rich land in history, tradition and legend. In its rural areas there are more than 1,400 castles, many of which are reputed to be inhabited by ghosts and other supernatural beings. Here you have a nice description of castles that you cannot miss ...

Chillingham Castle

Known as "the most haunted castle in England", Chillingham Castle, located in Northumberland, to the north of the country, has earned a terrible reputation for its huge collection of lost souls. The most famous of his ghosts is "Sad Boy", whose cries of agony resonate at midnight through a passage inside the castle. It is said that in the next room, after hearing the screams, a boy image appears for a few seconds sorrounded by a dim light. Some years ago, the bones of the boy were discovered hidden behind a wall in a room near the place where the noises usually occur.

Old Wardour Castle

Built in the fourteenth century, Old Wardour Castle in Wiltshire, southwest of the country, is known as the most romantic of England. Located in a very rural area, overlooking a lake, the castle was used as the setting for the film Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves, starring Kevin Costner. However, it was here that Lady Blanche Arundell during the English Civil War in the seventeenth century, was besieged with his servants by Cromwell's men for almost a month. The castle was taken at the end of this term, and Lady Blanche Arundell captured and executed. It is said that her ghost walks every evening from the castle to the lake, while cold air invades the atmosphere.

Berry Pomeroy Castle

Not far from the Dartmoor National Park, Devon, lies the enchanted castle of Berry Pomeroy. Today, a romantic ruin, XIII century castle is home to many ghostly apparitions, the most common of which is the White Lady. She appears in dark dungeons that are below the castle and on the bastions. Her appearance was reported in 1987. She is believed to be the spirit of Margaret Pomeroy, who was imprisoned in the dungeons by her own sister, and subjected to slowly starve.

Hampton Court Palace 

It is a royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, Greater London, and the historic county of Middlesex; it has not been inhabited by the British Royal Family since the 18th century. The palace is located 11.7 miles (18.8 kilometres) south west of Charing Cross and upstream of central London on the River Thames. It was originally built for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, a favourite of King Henry VIII, circa 1514; in 1529, as Wolsey fell from favour, the palace was passed to the King, who enlarged it.

The following century, King William III's massive rebuilding and expansion project intended to rival Versailles was begun. Along with St. James's Palace, it is one of only two surviving palaces out of the many owned by King Henry VIII.

The rumour goes that Catherine Howard's ghost haunts the Haunted Gallery. Visitors have claimed to have had unpleasant encounters. Jane Seymour, Henry VIII's third wife and mother of Edward VI once has been seen walking towards Edward's room. Henry VIII has also been seen in ghost form. People also claimed to hear the sounds of an old woman, and the sounds of a spinning wheel. After time had passed, a new room containing an old spinning wheel in constant use had been found.

In late December 2003, security cameras at Hampton Court Palace captured a startling image. Security guards were unsettled to repeatedly find a fire door open when no one was apparently around. Upon checking the security tape, they were shocked by a ghostly figure, closely resembling King Henry VIII (who died in the 1500s). 

Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle was constructed by William the Conqueror and it is one of the largest castles as well as the oldest continuously occupied castle in the world. It was Henry II in the last third of the 12th century who rebuilt the round Tower in stone instead of the wood in which it had formerly been constructed.  

It is said to be the present Queen's favourite residence and interestingly enough one of the ghosts said to haunt Windsor Castle is that of her namesake Elizabeth 1st.  Apparently she glides through the library wall into a locked up room and also on occasions her presence is felt or perhaps her footsteps heard in other areas of the castle.

However, possibly the most famous ghost associated with Windsor Castle may be found in the depths of Windsor Forest.  His name is Herne the Hunter and he is even referred to in Shakespeare's 'Merry Wives of Windsor'.  The story goes that Herne was Richard IIs favourite huntsman who had at one time saved the King's life. The King made him head huntsman.  Sadly however he was soon dismissed from his post because he appeared to have lost all his skills and in a deep depression he hanged himself from the branch of an oak tree in Windsor Forest.  

It is said that on certain dark stormy nights, a ghostly band of hunters led by Herne himself are to be seen galloping wildly through Windsor great Park along with a pack of equally ghostly hounds.  Any sighting of this band of spectres is always thought to be a portent of some kind of national disaster soon to occur! 

Tower of London

The Tower of London is the symbol of English sovereignty as well as being the repository of the Crown Jewels.  A White Tower was built on the site by William the Conqueror in 1078 AD upon the old Roman walls and it was completed in 1097 AD.  Since that time, many Kings and Queens have added towers to the structure resulting in the tower which we see today.  There have been torture chambers in the crypt of the White Tower and many executions have taken place out on Tower Green and it is the latter fact which probably explains the numerous ghosts which have apparently been sighted within the walls of this magnificent edifice.

Probably the earliest recorded ghost at the Tower would be that of the martyred Saint Thomas Becket whose ghost first appeared during the 13th century at the time when the Traitor's Gate was being built.  This was witnessed by a priest. 

In 1804 AD, a soldier in the Tower named Corporal Jones saw a woman in a white dress with a red pattern on it coming towards him but as she approached, he realised that what he thought was a red pattern was in fact blood and that the woman was headless! 

Certainly the most famous ghost said to haunt the Tower of London would have to be that of Anne Boleyn (one of Henry VIII's wife).  Anne was executed on Tower Green in 1536 AD and her headless corpse was buried under the floor of the Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula.  It's  said she has appeared in the corridor of the White Tower and at the King's House which is a residence of the Governor of the Tower.  

Many other stories haave been told about this tower and its ghosts!