Hampton Court Ghost Caught on Tape

Evidence of a Ghost or Evidence of a Hoax?

Nov 14, 2008

In 2003, a camera in London's Hampton Court captured a cloaked figure on video. Once home to King Henry VIII, reports of paranormal activity are common at Hampton Court.

The 16th century palace known as Hampton Court, once home to King Henry VIII, was built in 1525 and has long been a hotspot for claims of paranormal activity. In 2003, one of those claims was allegedly verified by closed-circuit security camera footage that shows a cloaked and hooded figure reaching out to slam shut a set of doors after they mysteriously open by themselves. The footage was discovered when security guards reviewed the tape after a fire alarm sounded near an exhibition hall with no apparent cause.

Details of the Hampton Court Ghost Footage

At the same time one day before the Hampton Court ghost appeared to slam shut a set of heavy doors in security camera footage, the same camera caught the same set of doors opening on their own. When the figure appeared the following day, word quickly spread that a ghost had been caught on video at Hampton Court.

Security guard James Faukes said to BBC News that “It was incredibly spooky because the face just didn’t look human”. According to BBC News, an Australian visitor had written in a guest book earlier that day that she’d seen a ghost in that same area.

The fire alarm near the exhibition hall had gone off two previous times without an apparent cause. The alleged apparition only appeared in the doorway during the third fire alarm incident.

Could the Hampton Court Ghost be a Hoax?

Palace staff affirmed that tour guides did not own costumes like the one in the footage and also assured the press that guides had no access to the area shown on the tape.

Ever since the footage was released, the alleged ghost has been a source of extreme debate between skeptics and paranormal enthusiasts. While some paranormal experts dismiss the footage as a hoax, others call it a major paranormal discovery.

Common arguments from skeptics of the footage note that the camera seems to move as if someone is holding it and that the person would have been able to push the doors open to give the allusion that they opened on their own. Defenders of the video cite that the fire alarm went off on three separate occasions due to these doors opening and the figure was not seen in the doorway two of the three times.

Ghosts of Hampton Court Palace

Some people have asserted that the figure seen in the security camera footage resembles King Henry VIII, who married six times and was the father of Queen Elizabeth I. Other apparitions of Hampton Court include the ghost of Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry, who was charged for adultery and placed under house arrest. After escaping the guards and begging Henry for her life she was executed. The ghost of Jane Seymour apparently lingers as well. Seymour was Henry’s third wife who died in childbirth, who has been seen walking through the courtyard holding a lit candle. Another ghost, a woman in gray, is often connected with Sibell Penn, the nurse of Edward, Henry’s only son. Finally, the apparition of a dog has been spotted several times in and around a closet known as the Wolsey closet.

The copyright of the article Hampton Court Ghost Caught on Tape in Ghosts & Hauntings is owned by Emily Eppig. Permission to republish Hampton Court Ghost Caught on Tape in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.