The Ghosts of the Tower of London

The Tower of London has served as a royal palace, prison, and execution site for nearly a thousand years. Hundreds were killed within its walls. Their ghosts remain, making the Tower one of Britain’s most haunted locations.

The Princes

In 1483, two young princes were imprisoned in the Tower by their uncle, Richard III. They were never seen again. Their ghosts, dressed in white nightgowns, are seen holding hands in the Bloody Tower where they presumably died.

Anne Boleyn

Henry VIII’s second wife was executed at the Tower on May 19, 1536. Her ghost walks Tower Green, where she died, and haunts the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula, where she is buried. A captain of the guard once challenged her with his bayonet.

Lady Jane Grey

The “Nine Days Queen” was executed in 1554 at age sixteen. Her ghost appears on the anniversary of her death, February 12, on the battlements. She appears as a white figure fading into the stones.

The Bears

The Tower housed a menagerie from the 13th to 19th centuries. The ghost of a large bear has been seen in the Martin Tower, so terrifying a guard that he died of fright shortly after his encounter.

The Experiences

Yeoman Warders (Beefeaters) regularly report strange experiences. Footsteps echo in empty galleries. Cold spots manifest in warm rooms. Figures are glimpsed in period costume before vanishing.

Assessment

The Tower of London concentrates nearly a millennium of imprisonment, torture, and execution. The suffering absorbed by these ancient stones manifests in one of the world’s most consistently haunted locations.