|
Haunted London
London's rich and sometimes bloody history has ensured its reputation among 'believers' as being one of the most haunted corners of Britain. Indeed, it is not at all rare to hear of spectral apparitions haunting old castles, churches and stately homes; and this has sometimes caused the more cynical to accuse greedy entrepreneurs of cashing-in on a good story. Nevertheless, after centuries of research into reported sightings, we are still no closer to proving or
disproving the existence of ghosts - and it would seem from this handful of examples that there is definitely more to these
eyewitness accounts than many of us would care to believe:
Clinging to the fabric of old buildings, the majority of haunting seem to occur around a spirits’ lingering association with a place they once lived or knew well; and this would seem to be the case with Anne Boleyne, the unfortunate wife of King Henry VIII and mother of Elizabeth I, who was beheaded after only three short years of marriage, in the year 1536. Since her death she has been sighted on numerous occasions at Blickling Hall , her family home in Norfolk. However, she is most often seen outside the chapel in the Tower of London, where Beefeaters have reported strange lights flickering in middle of the night, and one poor soul swore that he had witnessed a procession of Tudor courtiers gliding slowly up the aisle of the chapel, led by the headless figure of a woman, only to vanish as they reached the alter.
Westminster Abbey has undergone numerous renovations and modifications over the years, and this has caused the level of the floor to sink by at least two feet in depth. This significant detail would seem to be the reason why a ghostly Benedictine Monk has occasionally been reported hovering some distance above the ground. In 1932 he was sighted in his habit, his hands hidden inside his long sleeves and his cowl half off his head, before disappearing into a wall opposite the south transept.
Hampton Court Palace saw the death of Henry VIII third wife, Jane Seymour, while giving birth to a sickly baby boy, who would later become Edward VI. On the anniversary of his birth (12th October), it is said that his mother is seen clothed in white, floating up the stairs into the Silver Stick Gallery. One of her successors, Catherine Howard, has also been seen running screaming through this Gallery. Apparently, the situation became so dire during the 19th Century that the Gallery was forced to close for several years. In more recent years she has been seen walking in the gardens, but still occasionally frequents her old haunts.
During the 1960s, Sir Harry Secombe (best known for his appearances in The Goon Show) and his dresser saw "the figure of a tall man in a grey cloak" at the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane. On one occasion, after a performance of The Four Musketeers, Sir Harry said that "the whole ruddy cast saw him once".
Surely we cannot dismiss these, and hundreds of other well documented accounts, as being mere figments of overactive imaginations? Paranormal happenings are all too real to the people who experience them and it would be foolish to completely deny the existence of 'ghosties and ghoulies and things that go bump in the night'.
So, if you fancy a vacation with a difference, why not try out a spot of ghost hunting in Britain's ancient capital city.
|
