The Tower of London
London EC3N 4AB England
Tel: 44 (0) 870-756-6060
Website: www.hrp.org.uk
The Tower of London has seen a millennium of British history. The fortress has been home to the Crown Jewels, it's served as an armory, a prison, a mint, a royal palace, and a place of execution from some royals and other notable enemies of the king. Today, the Tower of London is considered one of the most haunted places on earth.
The Tower's earliest structure was built by William the Conqueror of Normandy between 1066 and 1067 c.e. King William I chose the site along the shores of the river Thames because of its defendable position. He had the initial structure built into the southeast corner of the early Roman city walls. The central White Tower was the tallest building in London for many centuries. Today, more than 20 towers make up the Tower of London fortress.
Ghost encounters have occurred all over the grounds and in almost every building. One of the most predominant specters at the tower is that of Anne Boleyn. Boleyn was the second of King Henry VIII's six wives. Henry VIII found his wife guilty of infidelity and treason. She was beheaded at the tower on May 19, 1536.
Some have reported seeing her headless ghost walking the grounds, and reports (and even the lyrics of an old folk song from 1935) claim some see her with her head tucked underneath her arm.
Today, there are many people who live and work at the Tower of London. The Yeoman Warders (better known as the Beefeaters), and their families live in accommodations within the tower. No one knows the tower's ghostly legends better than members of this elite guard.
Yeoman Sergeant Phil Wilson has been a Yeoman Warder and full-time resident of the tower since 1996. Wilson relayed an account told to him by a retired Yeoman Warder. Wilson said, "He told me that he lived in one of the quarters around the casements, which are in the outer circle of the tower. His story goes that he was fast asleep one night, no problems at all, and then he was shaken awake by his wife, who said, 'Who were those two children standing at the end of the bed in white nightgowns?' Of course he woke up and had seen absolutely nothing. She then went on to describe these two children as looking quite distressed, and they were in long, white nightgowns cuddling each other in front of a Victorian fireplace. Of course, there was no Victorian fireplace there at all. So you put it down to a dream or whatever. Anyway, [the couple] moved from the quarters to somewhere else, and they started redecorating the quarter and found there was actually a false wall be- hind which was a Victorian fireplace. So that gave that story a bit more credence."
Perhaps the saddest ghostly tale within the tower is that of the two princes—12-year-old King Edward V and his 9-year-old brother, Richard, Duke of York. The two boys were murdered under suspicious circumstances in 1483, and their bodies were hidden—buried near the foundation of the White Tower. Could this retired Yeoman Warder's wife have caught a glimpse of the two princes?
There are almost as many ghost stories within the Tower as there are cobblestones in its walkways.