One of the UK’s most interesting historic buildings, Hampton Court Palace is rumoured to be one of the most haunted buildings in the country. That comes as no surprise, given the building’s immense history.
Ghosts and ghouls are said to prowl the palace’s darkest corridors, and today, we’re going to explore some of Hampton Court Palace’s most famous ghosts.
History
Located twelve miles from central London, the palace was first built in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, Henry VIII chief minister. Unfortunately for Wolsey, he fell from the King’s favour and was forces to hand over the palace to the crown.
Hampton Court went on to become one of Henry VIII’s favourite residences, and it was expanded under his orders. By the 1690s, William III decided to expand it again, destroying much of the original Tudor architecture I the process, and resulting in a palace of variable styles. Despite its elegance and opulence, Hampton Court Palace was last used as a royal residence by George II.
Since becoming open to the public, it has become a major tourist attraction, but tales of ghostly happenings have been shared since its Tudor beginnings. It seems these spirits are the most restless, and honestly, who can blame them?
The Ghost of Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour was the third of Henry VIII’s six wives, and as is the case with each of them, her tale is a sad one.
Jane Seymour became queen ten days after the execution of Anne Boleyn in May of 1536. She was considered by the public and courtiers to be a compassionate woman with much sympathy for her new stepdaughter, Mary and although unable to restore little Mary to the line of succession, was able to reconcile her with her father, Henry.
On October 12th, 1537, she gave birth to Henry’s the long awaited male heir, Edward VI, but this was not without complication and, sadly, Jane died on 24th October.
Had she not died so tragically, her life with the King may have continued to be a happy one. After her death, Henry took up a period of mourning, wearing black for three months and becoming obese. When he died (three wives later) in 1547, he was buried next to her.
After her death, the ghost of Jane Seymour has been spotted wandering the palace, sometimes carrying a lighted candle. She is said to have been spotted on the anniversary of Edward’s birth on the Silverstick Stairs, leading to the room where she gave birth and later passed away.
The Ghost of Catherine Howard
Another of Henry VIII’s unfortunate wives, Catherine Howard, is also said to haunt Hampton Court Palace.
She was said to have been joyous and carefree and – still being a teenager – was too young to have taken part on administrative state matters. This was not to last however, as Henry VIII had young Catherine arrested on the grounds of adultery and treason.
When this news was delivered to her, she is said to have ran through the Gallery at Hampton Court, screaming and begging the king for forgiveness. She was dragged away and never saw Henry again, being executed in the Tower of London.
The gallery has since become known as ‘The Haunted Gallery’ and visitors today often report strange sensory experiences and even fainting whilst there.
The Grey Lady – Dame Sybil Penn
In 2015 a 12 year old girl, named Holly, was visiting Hampton Court Palace when she snapped this photo of her cousin, Brooke, and an apparently uninvited guest.
Although many spirits are said to inhabit Hampton Court, this particular ghost is thought to be that of the infamous Grey Lady – known in life as Dame Sybil Penn.
Dame Sybil was a servant to the Tudor monarchs, said to have nursed both Prince Edward and Elizabeth I. She helped the later through a bought of smallpox, which eventually took Dame Sybil’s life.
Her spirit seemed to be at rest until 1829, when her burial place was relocated with the rebuilding of the Palace’s church. She has since been known to the buildings state apartments and Clock Court.
This particular photograph features the towering spectre, dressed in a full length black or navy blue gown, with a possible shawl draped around her shoulders and hair partly pulled into a bun.
Despite her intimidating height, the lighting from the chandelier above bounces off her hair as it would a living person. The light coming from a window, on the left but out of frame, is also consistent.
Although the back of Brooke’s coat is also illuminated by the chandelier, the spectre’s dress doesn’t seem to be highlighted with the same artificial yellow light. I’d reason this would still be consistent, due to the spectre’s position underneath the light source.
That being said, when comparing the first and second image – where the ghost has mysteriously disappeared – the position of the rope int he foreground changes.
Perhaps the figure is standing in front of the rope and under the chandelier at the same time, despite the light fixture appearing to be on the far side of the rope. Maybe that’s ghost logic.
Alternatively, maybe the end of the rope – in the bottom of the middle of the photo – is curving downward at a strange angle, rather than being an additional shadow on the ghost’s dress.
Either way, the rope in the first image doesn’t line up with its position in the second.
Does that mean the image is faked? I have no idea.
Articles on this particular image claim that a photography expert has declared it free of photoshop tampering, but I can’t seem to find any evidence or further details of this examination.
“Skeletor”
In the winter of 2003, the Hampton Court Palace security team was met with a stance coincidence. On three consecutive nights, a the fire door near Clock Court opened inexplicably.
CCTV showed the doors flinging open each night, but on the second night, something even stranger happened.
The doors were closed by a spectral figure in period dress.
On the third, and last, night, the doors opened again, but no spirit could be seen.
The figure itself has been dubbed “Skeletor” due to its apparent recumbence to the classic villain, and the CCTV clip itself has appeared in paranormal reality series all over the world since.
It’s been claimed that the figure is merely a costumed actor, as the palace is known to feature costumed guides. That’s probably the case here, but staff at the Palace don’t seem to think so. They maintain the figure is a ghost, and was in fact, spotted by a visitor earlier that same day, in the same area.
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