The Ghost of Anne Boleyn

Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII, was executed at the Tower of London on May 19, 1536. Her ghost is the most frequently reported in England, appearing at the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, Windsor Castle, and Blickling Hall, her childhood home.

The Tower of London

Anne’s headless ghost is most famously reported at the Tower, where she was beheaded. Guards have reported seeing her walking near the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula, where she is buried. A spectral procession, led by a headless woman in period dress, has been reported entering the chapel.

In 1864, a guard reportedly bayoneted a white figure that then passed through him. He fainted and was later court-martialed for sleeping on duty until others corroborated his account.

Hampton Court

At Hampton Court Palace, where Anne lived as queen, her ghost is reported in the corridor leading to the royal chapel. She appears as a pale figure in blue or black.

Blickling Hall

Anne’s childhood home in Norfolk reports annual appearances of her ghost on May 19, the anniversary of her execution. She arrives in a spectral coach driven by a headless horseman, carries her severed head in her lap, and disappears at the door.

Assessment

Anne Boleyn represents the archetypal English ghost: a tragic historical figure whose violent death created a permanent haunting. Whether she truly walks, or whether expectation creates sightings, her ghost remains England’s most famous.