White lady
Experts in the paranormal claim that the Tower is full of ghosts. The main local celebrity is the wife of King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn. The fate of this queen was tragic.
Henry Tudor was only eighteen when he ascended the throne. Princess Catherine of Aragon became his first wife. At first, some semblance of warm feelings arose between the spouses. But the years passed, the queen grew old, and then one day Henry drew attention to a young girl who appeared at the court - the daughter of Thomas Boleyn, Anna, who had arrived very little from France. The cheerful live Anna was the complete opposite of the prim and no longer too young queen, who also suffered from melancholy after the death of her four children … In a word, the king decided to get rid of his first wife and marry Anna. A meeting was called, which was attended by the royal couple, all the members of the House of Lords and the Council of Cardinals. It was one of the most scandalous meetings in English history. But still the decision was made in favor of the king. He divorced his wife and married a new beloved. Offended and forgotten by everyone, Catherine of Aragon soon died of some kind of illness.
However, the idyll between the king and the beautiful Anne Boleyn did not last long. Heinrich got himself another passion. Her name was Lady Jane Seymour. Imagine he was determined to marry this woman too! Queen Anne was charged with terrible crimes: she allegedly cheated on her husband, including with her brother and several court nobles. She was sent to the Tower and sentenced to death. On May 19, 1536, the executioner cut off the queen's head … The decapitated body was buried in the chapel of St. Peter in chains.
The next day, Henry VIII was solemnly married to Jane Seymour. But, as if punishing the king for the murder of an innocent victim, God took away his third wife from him: she died in childbirth.
One day the sentry, who was on duty in the Tower, saw in front of him a woman in a white robe leaving the room. He ordered the stranger to stop, but she continued to move straight towards him. In a panic, the soldier tried to pierce the ghost with a bayonet, but the bayonet went through the ghostly figure … The unfortunate fainted and was subsequently brought to a military tribunal as he fell asleep at his post. However, several other people stated that they saw the White Lady in the Tower. An investigation was carried out with the participation of historians, during which it was decided that the phantom belonged to Anne Boleyn. She left the very room where she was kept before the execution.
Anne Boleyn is the only officially recognized Tower ghost. She is sometimes seen in the courtyard riding a ghostly funeral wagon. Anna's face is covered with a veil, and it is clear that there is emptiness under it. And on the eve of the anniversary of her death, the executed queen solemnly appears in the corridors in a dark silk dress and without a head. She holds her head under her arm …
Queens and bloody boys
In the castle library, you can see the ghost of Queen Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry VIII and the same Anne Boleyn. The phantom walks along the shelves and disappears into the wall. According to rumors, sometimes grunts are heard:
- Failed my case!
We noticed that this usually happens after the British authorities make some kind of political blunder.
One day in 1816, a sentry serving in the courtyard of the Tower noticed a black shadow rushing to the steps of the building. By the light of the moon, he saw a huge bear! Without thinking about where the beast came from, the soldier pulled out a bayonet and tried to stab the beast, but the blade cut only the void. The sentry's terror was so great that he lost consciousness. Apparently, the ghost bear was a herald of death: soon the sentry was killed by an accidental bullet.
Most of the ghosts are allegedly found in Queens House ("the queen's house"). Anne Boleyn, and the fifth wife of Henry VIII, Catherine Howard, who was also executed, and other prisoners of the Tower - Lady Jane Gray, Margaret Lennox and the young Queen Elizabeth … The Lady in Gray is observed here, which for some reason is predominantly women. And sometimes a man in a 15th-century suit walks along the upper floors. His steps are clearly audible on the stairs.
From time to time, screams come from the windows of the building, which are said to be emitted by the ghost of Guy Fawkes, languishing here in prison after the failure of the famous Gunpowder Plot against King James I.
Someone's screams are heard from the White Tower. Sometimes a knight's procession is seen near her, which moves to the chapel of St. Peter in chains.
The bell tower was chosen by a gentleman in an Elizabethan costume. Martin Tower - Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland, nicknamed the Warlock for his alchemy studies. In this tower, he spent as many as 16 years on suspicion of participation in the Gunpowder Plot.
In the tower called Bloody, you can see two ghostly boys in white nightgowns - these are the sons of King Edward IV, killed on the orders of their uncle Richard of Gloucester, who later became King Richard III. Princes usually stand in front of the observer hand in hand and then disappear into the stone wall.
Once a night sentry noticed a light in the windows of the chapel of St. Peter in chains. He put a ladder against the wall and looked out the window. The following picture appeared to his gaze: men and women in ancient robes silently walked in a circle. It seemed to him that he recognized among them the executed Queen Anne Boleyn, Thomas More, the Duchess of Salisbury and the young Lady Jane Gray, marching arm in arm with her husband, Lord Dudley. According to an eyewitness, the hanged participants in the 1745 riot were at the rear. Their faces were isssi-nya-pale, their eyes burned like coals, and a bloody streak was visible on their necks. After going around the room several times in a circle, the procession disappeared, and the light immediately went out.
Peter Ackroyd, in his book "London: A Biography", tells about one of the most unusual tower ghosts, who once appeared to the guardian of the treasury of the British crown. He and his wife were sitting at a table in the main room of the treasury, when a thick glass tube suddenly appeared in the air, filled with some kind of bluish-white liquid. The phantom approached the keeper's wife, scaring her half to death - the woman imagined that the pipe wanted to grab her! However, the object did not harm her: it crossed the room and melted as suddenly as it appeared.
Fight against dark forces
Recently, 54 artifacts were discovered on the territory of the Tower, which, in all likelihood, were used for magical purposes, as well as other items that most likely served to protect the inhabitants of the fortress from evil forces. Archaeologists date them to the XVI-XVIII centuries, which fell on one of the most intense periods in the history of England.
Researchers drew attention to the double V-shaped symbols burned into the logs, mesh patterns and wheel-shaped charms. The first symbol, according to experts, was used to denote the Virgin Mary, the second - a net to capture the devil, and the third lured evil spirits into a trap.
In addition, many cow and sheep bones, leather, broken blades, clay pipes and other "devices" for fighting the devil and dark forces were found on the territory of the ancient castle. Many gizmos were hidden in palace fireplaces about 300-500 years ago. During this time, the Reformation and Civil War were raging in England. The era brought many disasters to people, and it is not surprising that the witch-hunt blossomed in full bloom. However, given the unprecedented number of ghosts within these walls, it is not surprising that the living inhabitants of the fortress tried to somehow protect themselves.
By the way, huge black crows have lived in the Tower for many centuries. They are even given special content. The belief says that when the last crow leaves the residence, England will end … Apparently, the birds somehow "negotiate" with otherworldly forces, preventing them from doing their black deeds.
Magazine: Secrets of the 20th century №28, Margarita Troitsyna