Paranormal - The Tower of London Date Tuesday, April 23, 2024 - 09:05 AM PST Topic Oogie Boogies I thought that for this paranormal article we would stick with the theme of “Most haunted place in England”. So far I have found many locations that claim to hold that title so now that we have looked at the Borley Rectory, let’s now take a look at the history and reported haunting of The Tower of London. The Tower of London is located on the southeastern corner of London on the north bank of the Thames River. However, it was not the first fort to exist in this location. The Roman Emperor Claudius chose the site to build a fort over 1,000 years before the Tower of London was built. On October 14, 1066, William of Normandy defeated his brother-in-law Harold at the battle of Hastings. One year later, William the Conqueror was crowned King of England and immediately had forts built everywhere. One of these forts was built next to an old Roman wall (a remnant of the old Roman fort) on the north side of the Thames River. In 1078, William ordered that this Fort be removed and a huge stone stronghold built as a symbol of his power to be used for defense and a prison for his enemies. Around the year 1240, King Henry III made the tower his home and it remained the home of Kings and Queens until the death of Henry VII. Henry III whitewashed the tower, widened the grounds and renamed the area the Tower of London while naming the tower itself the White Tower. The grounds remained a prison but Henry enjoyed throwing great parties and built a zoo near the drawbridge. This fact brings us to the most unusual haunting on the grounds. There have been many reports of ghostly animals wondering the grounds. In January of 1815, a sentry saw a bear emerge from the doorway of the old zoo area. He lunged at it with his bayonet but it passed right through it. The sentry was found later, unconscious. Now begins the recorded history of executions and beheadings at the Tower of London. On June 14, 1381, a group of overtaxed farmers stormed the Tower. Richard II and his brothers hid but the farmers found the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Royal Treasurer, a tax official and a doctor. These men were beheaded on Tower Hill. Later, Richard II had their leader, Wat Tyler, beheaded. The first execution to be done on Tower Hill (by the ruling party and not the farmers) was Sir Simon Burley in 1388. This was only the beginning of all those who would die at the Tower of London. Prisoners executed on Tower Hill were royalty. Commoners were executed at Tyburn which was not located at the Tower of London. Some of those executed on Tower Hill include John Dudley in 1553, his grandson Lord Guilford Dudley in 1554, Sir Thomas More in 1535 and others. There were many royals who were given public executions in Trinity Square Gardens that included 2 Archbishops, 6 Dukes, 10 Earls, 1 Marquis, 1 Viscount, 15 Barons, 33 Knights, 1 Bishop and 1 Prior. There was also the Tower Green where Queens, Lords and Dukes were executed. And finally, heretics were burned alive at Smith Field outside the Tower Walls. Royal prisoners were expected to pay their own cost of upkeep. Once convicted, their property was confiscated by the Crown and they were given an allowance according to their rank in the peerage of the clergy. The unlucky prisoners were tortured using the rack and the “scavenger’s daughter” which were only located at the Tower. This meant that prisoners were brought in from other locations specifically to be tortured on these devices. As you can see it is no wonder that the place is haunted. But let’s get away from all these boring facts and move onto the hauntings themselves (though I admit I find none of this boring at all). One of the sadist tales regarding the Tower of London are the princes. The princes of the Bloody Tower were the thirteen year old King Edward V and his younger brother, the duke of York. When Edward the V’s father, Edward the IV died, his uncle Richard, the Duke of Gluocester had the young King and his brother taken to the tower. Lord Hastings, a royal officer, tried to protect the young King but he failed and was beheaded on the Tower Green. In 1883, the two brothers mysteriously disappeared from their locked rooms where they lived in the Garden Tower which was later renamed to the Bloody Tower. Their ghosts have been seen by many visitors and workers of the tower wearing white night gowns and holding hands. They stand silently before fading into the stones of the tower. [pagebreak] The most famous ghost of the Tower of London and most frequently seen is Queen Anne Boleyn, the second wife to King Henry VIII. On May 19, 1536 she was executed at the Tower Green. Henry had her executed under false charges of witchcraft, incest and adultery when she was unable to give him the son he wanted and had instead given him a daughter who later became Queen Elizabeth I. Her headless spirit has been seen near the Queen’s House, which was built in 1530 and housed many of the people who now haunt the grounds. She has also been seen moving down the aisle of the Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula and walking the corridors of the Tower. The most grisly reported haunting is that of the 70 year old Countess of Salisbury. She was executed by Henry VIII for political reasons. After refusing to put her head on the block like a common traitor she fled the executioner. The executioner pursued her with axe in hand, hacking at her until he had killed her. Her ghost has been seen replaying this event. Another sad story of the Tower of London is Lady Jane Grey who was executed by Mary I. Her life was a truly tragic tale. The Duke of Northumberland knew he would lose everything when Henry VIII’s son, who was very sickly, died so he went to Jane’s father and arranged for his son, Guildford Dudley, to marry her and for Jane to be announced heir to the thrown. When Henry died, she was crowned Queen but Mary’s supporters overthrew her. Her father, being the back stabber he was, immediately ran to the Tower Hill and proclaimed Mary I the rightful Queen. He was set free and Lady Jane Grey and her husband were imprisoned. They were later released until her father was involved in a rebellion against Mary I, at which point, Mary again had Lady Jane Grey and her husband imprisoned. Jane watched from the Queen’s House as her husband was taken to Tower Hill where he was beheaded and again watched as his body was carried back to the Chapel. She was then taken to Tower Hill where she was also beheaded at the age of 17. Her spirit was last seen by two guards on February 17, 1957 on the 403rd anniversary of her death. Her husband has also been seen weeping in Beauchamp Tower. And finally, I leave you with the most reported haunting of the Tower of London. Catherine Howard was Henry VIII fifth wife and the cousin of Anne Borleyn. Now you would think that the fate of her cousin, his second wife, would have given this woman some brains. She even played with fire by being a flirtatious woman who Henry later had arrested for adultery. She was accused of having an affair with a music teacher named Mannox though Catherine and Mannox both swore they never had sex. On February 12, 1542 she was informed she would be executed the next. In a frenzy, she escaped from the Queen’s House and ran down the hallway towards where Henry was dining screaming for help and mercy. She was caught and returned to her room. After regaining her composure she requested that the block be brought to her so she could “know how to place herself”. The next day she was so weak and frightened she had to be helped up the steps to the scaffold. Her spirit has been seen and heard by many people running down the hallway, screaming for help. Other spirits seen include a woman with no face, phantom funeral carriages and other royalty who had been executed on the Tower grounds. I have been unable to find any of the photos that are reported to have been taken of ghosts at the Tower of London which I find very disappointing. This article comes from Shmeng http://www.shmeng.com/ The URL for this story is: http://www.shmeng.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=754