Hauntings in Great Britain
Great Britain, with its long history of political intrigue and murder, has scores of ancient structures that are said to be haunted. Some reports go back hundreds of years.
The Princes in the Tower
The Tower of London was a royal residence that evolved into a prison where many famous royals were detained while their relatives in power decided their fate. According to the legend of the princes in the tower, two young royals, Edward V, age twelve, and Richard, Duke of York, age ten, were murdered in the Tower of London in 1483. Their uncle, the Duke of Gloucester, had placed them in the tower, ostensibly for their own protection. But Gloucester had the princes removed from the line of succession and seized the throne for himself as Richard III.
The boys disappeared under mysterious circumstances. No one knows what happened to them or how and when they died, but it was widely believed that they were murdered under Richard's orders. Their ghosts were seen in the Tower on many occasions throughout the centuries. Guards in the late fifteenth century reported seeing the shadows of two small figures walking down the stairs in the Tower.
In 1674, workers found a chest that contained the skeletons of two young children, which were believed to be the bones of the princes. They were given a royal burial not long afterward and the sightings of the spirits ceased.
Unusual cold spots can be detected and measured by thermometers and thermal imagers. When a cold spot is detected, unusual or anomalous phenomena usually follow, such as electronic voice phenomena (EVPs), unexplained sounds, unexplained movements of objects, or a sudden feeling of apprehension in witnesses, who may also experience a ghostly touch.
The Ghosts of Stirling Castle
Most of present-day Stirling Castle in Scotland dates from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, but there were defensive structures on the site as early as the twelfth century. William Wallace fought successfully to wrest it from English control in 1297, and it was the site of the coronation of Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1543 — but not all of its history is happy.
Three ghosts continue to haunt the castle, and other strange occurrences point to other supernatural inhabitants.
The Highland Ghost
This ghost allegedly wanders about in period costume, and tourists sometimes mistake him for a tour guide. When asked for directions, he usually turns and walks away, much to their annoyance. Only when he has walked through a wall or into a closed door do they realize what they have seen.
In 1935 the spirit was captured on film by an architect who went to the castle in the wee hours of the morning to take photos of the castle. He deliberately arrived early to avoid crowds. But to his dismay, the developed photos showed one person standing under an archway. Since he had been very careful while taking the photos, he was surprised to see the person there — until he realized the figure must be that of the Highland Ghost.
The Green Lady
The Green Lady was allegedly a maidservant to Mary, Queen of Scots. One night, when she had retired for the evening, she had a premonition that the queen was in danger — specifically, that her bed curtains were on fire. When she rushed into the queen's bedchamber, they were indeed ablaze. Although she managed to save the queen, she died of injuries she sustained.
Now her appearance always foreshadows the coming of bad events at the castle. When she appears, the staff knows to be on the lookout for a fire or some other crisis.
The Pink Lady
The Pink Lady, always bathed in an unearthly pink light, has been seen walking from the castle toward an adjacent church. She is believed to be the ghost of a woman looking for her lost husband, who was killed when the English took the castle in 1304. Others say the beautiful apparition is none other than Mary, Queen of Scots.
Elphinstone Tower
The staff of Stirling Castle avoids Elphinstone Tower, located on the east side of the castle. Many unexplained incidents, perhaps attributable to the castle's bloody history, have taken place there. Much of the tower is gone; only crumbling ruins remain. It is believed that the tower was used as a torture chamber, where people were locked up with no hope of release. Local legend has it that James V kept a pair of conjoined twins locked up within it, using them as an oracle. It is rumored that when one twin died, the other was forced to live on there for ten months, still attached to his brother's dead body. Although this may seem highly unlikely, the legend lives on.
Wotton-under-Edge
The Ancient Ram Inn in the town of Wotton-under-Edge is host to a great deal of unexplained phenomena. Stories of devil worship and grisly deaths fill its long history. Some allege it is one of England's most haunted houses.
Ghost lights and spectral lights have been reported frequently in the literature of the supernatural. In Britain, these ghostly lights are called will-o-wisps and are thought to be an omen of impending misfortune or death. Sometimes called ignis fatuus, or fool's fire, they are thought to be the souls of the dead in some cultures.
The Ram was a pub built on an old pagan burial site. Parts of the ramshackle structure date back to the twelfth century. It has become a popular spot with ghost hunters and is reportedly susceptible to sudden inexplicable temperature drops, orbs, dancing lights, and spectral shadows. Most visitors and investigators feel that whatever is lurking at the Ancient Ram is decidedly unfriendly; many describe the atmosphere as oppressive or evil. The owner states that eight people who stayed there had to undergo exorcisms.
Chillingham Castle
Chillingham Castle, near the Scottish border, bills itself as one of the world's most haunted castles. For almost eight centuries, the castle has been continuously occupied.
The Blue Boy
The Blue Boy's hauntings always began on the stroke of midnight, when wailing and shrieking echoed off the ten foot thick castle walls. After the cries died away, witnesses reported that a bright halo of light began to form near an old four-poster bed in the room. A childish figure in blue appeared, surrounded by an eerie light. In the 1920s, renovations near this room uncovered the bones of a young boy and some fragments of blue material. The remains were removed and properly buried in consecrated ground. The boy's apparition has not been seen since.
Lady Mary Berkeley
Lady Mary Berkeley, wife of the Earl of Tankerville, occasionally strolls the stone corridors looking for her bounder of a husband. He ran away with her sister, Lady Henrietta, leaving Lady Mary and her child to cope with life alone in the castle. Legend has it that the nursery where her portrait hangs has been repeatedly disturbed by her apparition, which steps out of the frame to frighten children by following them.
Other Chillingham Ghosts
Two invisible men have been overheard talking in the library. Exactly what they're discussing isn't clear, and their conversation stops abruptly when they detect eavesdroppers.
In the pantry where the silver is stored, a frail woman in white has been seen repeatedly. One footman whose job it was to care for the silver simply presumed she was a guest — until he remembered he was behind the locked pantry door. When he turned back to confront her, she had vanished.
