The guard was terrified and struck the figure on the head with his bayonet, only to find the weapon went straight through and into the door of the tower. The story goes that in 1816 that the ghost of a huge black bear was spotted near the Martin Tower by a Yeoman Warder on night duty. There are records of elephants, leopards, lions and even a polar bear, who used to go fishing in the River Thames, living within the Tower’s walls. As early as the year 1210, wild animals were kept at the Tower of London, often referred to as the menagerie. Most peculiar of all, however, is a tale from the Yeoman Warders who guard the Tower.

Others believe they have captured photographs of the young ghosts whilst looking around the exhibits. Over the years, guests and guards alike have claimed to have seen two young boys, dressed in medieval style clothing, playing on the green outside the White Tower. Their bodies have never been officially identified, but during the reign of King Charles II the skeletons of two children were found in a box under a staircase in the Tower and, with the belief that it was the princes, were interred at Westminster Abbey on the orders of the king. The young royals were the sons of King Edward IV and it is speculated that their uncle, King Richard III (then the Duke of Gloucester and Lord Protector) had his nephews killed so he could become the king. Other reported ghost sightings include the small bodies of the ‘princes in the Tower’. He was only saved from a prison sentence because Dundas was a witness.Īnother interesting account is that a figment of Queen Elizabeth I’s cousin, Arbella Stuart, can still be seen in the Queen’s House where she starved whilst imprisoned for marrying without consent. The guard charged through the form with his bayonet, then fainted. He appeared to challenge something, which Dundas recalled “looked like a whitish, female figure sliding towards the soldier”. One day he noticed a Yeoman Warder acting strangely whilst he was standing in the courtyard where Anne Boleyn had been beheaded. Dundas was living in the Tower of London. There are several memorable accounts that the ghost of Anne Boleyn has been spotted at the Tower of London several times almost 500 years after her death.Ī poignant example was in 1864 when Captain J. She was beheaded on Tower Green on May 19, 1536. The second wife of King Henry VIII, and mother to the future Queen Elizabeth I, had failed to produce a male heir and was later accused of adultery by her husband and sentenced to death. One of the most famous deaths to take place at the tower was that of Queen Anne Boleyn. The Tower has been the backdrop to royal life, beheadings, scandals and political turmoil for centuries, but did you know about the ghosts? Read on to learn about the haunting experiences reported by guards and guests alike. Just hope they aren’t in the mood to put on a show on the day you visit.Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress of The Tower of London is steeped in history and has occupied a major part in royal life since it was constructed by William the Conqueror almost 1,000 years ago. A few Tower of London visitors have even witnessed this bizarre and terrifying scene reenacted by spirits on the green. Visitors to the Tower may also encounter the tormented ghost of the Countess of Salisbury: In 1541, this English peeress refused to place her head on the scaffold, and was chased around Tower Green until the executioner caught up with her and brutally hacked her to death. Anne’s apparition is particularly gruesome she is often spotted wandering the grounds carrying her own severed head. A few of the Tower’s most famous ghostly figures include Anne Boleyn, who was beheaded on Tower Green in 1536 on orders from her husband Henry VIII after giving birth to a stillborn son. The historic castle has seen its fair share of torture, execution and murder in its nearly 1,000-year history the sheer number of spirits that haunt its stone passageways attests to that. The ominous Tower of London is not only one of the city’s top tourist attractions, it’s also considered the most haunted.

Tower of london haunted