Ghosts of Hampton Court
Haunters Include Three of King Henry VIII’s Wives, Two Clergymen
English palace some consider the most haunted building in the UK. Six ghosts are contemporaries of Henry, House of Tudor. One ghost, identity unknown, recorded on film.
Cardinal Thomas Wolsey started building a luxurious palace in Hampton Parish in 1514. Henry VIII received it from Wolsey in the1520s. Wolsey kept apartments there until he fell from favor, was arrested for treason and died before he could be executed.
Ghosts Connected with King Henry VIII
While this monarch’s ghost hasn’t manifested, those of some of his contemporaries have.
Cardinal Wolsey
Anne Boleyn: Second wife, beheaded for alleged adultery. Seen as lady dressed in blue or back.
Jane Seymour: Third wife, mother of Edward VI, who died during or shortly after childbirth. (Sources conflict) appears on the anniversary of her son’s birth, carrying a lit taper.
Catherine Howard: Fifth wife, beheaded for alleged treason. Her shrieks are heard; her phantom, seen. A man saw a ghostly hand wearing an elaborate ring knocking on a door. This was the ring Catherine wore in a royal portrait. King
Dame Sybil Penn, Grey Lady of Hampton Court Palace: King Edward VI’s and Queen Elizabeth I’s nurse. Died of smallpox. After Sybil’s tomb was disturbed, sounds of a spinning wheel were heard. When Hampton Court was searched for the noise’s source, a hidden chamber containing a spinning wheel was found. Her ghost has been sighted as a lady dressed in grey.
Archbishop Laud: Beheaded for treason. His headless ghost stalks Hampton Court.
Other Haunters
King Charles I’s Two Phantom Soldiers
Page Boy Specter garbed in style of Charles II’s reign
Ghost Dog
Sir Christopher Wren: Architect who supervised Hampton’s renovation during William’s and Mary’s reign died there. On the anniversary of his death, footsteps have been heard accompanied by other paranormal phenomena.
White Lady of Hampton Court
Male Ghost Wearing a Top Hat
Group of Two Men and Nine Women in Formal Dress
Overnight Guests’ Experience
Hampton Court offers tours and lodging. Three women stayed overnight. They experienced nothing during the night. When they awoke in the morning, they packed their bags and went into the courtyard in the morning fog. The trio noticed there were doors on all sides of the quad, but they were all locked. Because it was after dark when they were guided to their rooms, they didn’t remember the route. Nobody was in the courtyard to help them find their way out.
Suddenly, an elderly man appeared in the mist. They asked him how to get out. He gestured toward an unlocked gate. When they expressed their thanks, he nodded and walked away.
Later that day, the women’s Hampton Court hosts asked what they thought of their visit. One of the women told them about being locked in the courtyard until an elderly man helped them. The hostess asked what he looked like. When they told her, she looked shocked, then explained the man they described died years before.
Ghost Appears on Surveillance Tape
David Harding wrote about this incident in the UK Daily Mail.
Security staff heard alarms sounding indicating fire doors had been opened. When they investigated, the doors were closed. The CCTV tape showed the doors opening and a figure in a long coat shutting them. The pictures haven’t been proved to be faked or authentic. Judge for yourself .
Related articles:
Ghosts of Three British castles
Sources:
The Encyclopedia of Ghosts, Daniel Cohen, (Dorset Press, 1984)
The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits, Rosemary Ellen Guiley, (Facts on File, Inc., 1992)
Haunted Britain, Antony D. Hippisley Coxe (McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1973)
