Mary Rose Museum
Tudor-era ghosts haunt the remains of Henry VIII's warship, raised from the Solent after 437 years underwater.
The Mary Rose, King Henry VIII’s favorite warship, sank in the Solent in 1545 with the loss of around 500 men. After the ship’s hull was raised from the seabed in 1982, paranormal activity began almost immediately. Museum staff, conservators, and visitors have reported encounters with Tudor-era spirits, believed to be the sailors and soldiers who went down with the ship and whose remains were found during the excavation.
The most disturbing reports come from the conservation halls where the ship’s timbers and artifacts are preserved. Workers have described seeing wet, bedraggled figures in Tudor clothing wandering among the remains, as if searching for something or unable to understand what has happened to them. The smell of seawater, rotting wood, and death occasionally pervades certain areas despite rigorous climate control. Some staff members have heard voices speaking in Middle English and the sounds of men drowning and crying out.
The main museum building, which houses the preserved hull, experiences regular paranormal phenomena. Visitors report sudden cold spots, the sensation of being touched or pushed, and feelings of overwhelming dread in certain areas. Security cameras have captured unexplained mists and shadow figures moving through the galleries after hours. One particularly active spirit is believed to be that of Vice-Admiral George Carew, who commanded the Mary Rose when she sank. Witnesses describe a richly dressed Tudor nobleman appearing near the ship’s stern, looking out as if still watching for the French fleet. The activity seems tied to the ship itself, as if raising her from the depths also brought her crew back to the surface.