| Haunted London Halloween 2007 |
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| Happy Halloween all! I have brought you tales from all over the place and not once have a focused on my own happy little haunt of London. Believe it or not London is the world’s most haunted capitol city. (As it should be, after the entire city is 2000 years old) There are so many tales to be shared that it is almost impossible to choose which to share. In London you can take as many ghost tours as you can Tours of local charm and history. I want to start with the most famous or infamous cemeteries in the world. Highgate is one of the magnificent seven in 1839. The first burial cost 6 pence and was a woman. Her grave is still there amongst the overgrown ivy and brush. With all beautiful places that are old you expect some type of ghostly tale to pop up but oddly this place of the dead in not plagued with ghosts…. The most famous tales are in fact about vampires… Yes the Highgate vampire tales date back to the 60’s. But personally I have yet to see a cape clad bad accented freak walking about the beautiful to ingest the blood of virginal Londoners. In all reality this is the British version of an urban legend. AS far as I know there have never been sanguine attacks in or near Highgate. But if you are in the UK you need to go here for the beauty alone it is a must see for anyone. All the cemeteries here are just unique with some great stone work. I was fascinated by the statues the wildlife and the lack of sound. There is nothing frightening about them at all, they are just beautiful. The Tower of London is rich with the violent history of the land and holds a few ghosts to get your blood to a hot boil. Some of the most famous tales are associated with the Tower and Hampton Court. Both are interlocked with Henry the VIII and his lovely and not so fortunate wives. Disembodied heads have been seen walking the tower grounds and at Hampton Court and many have witnessed the frantic cries of Catharine Howard (That would be wife five killed for adultery) Personally I have never felt a cold brush of death from the ladies of the tower or the Court but I am sure that its history is enough to get your hair on edge. Spooky apparitions of soldiers and the young queen that was only queen for nine days Miss Jane Grey are said to haunt the battlements of the tower of London. It was the housing for the elite prisoner. It was a place where the condemned royals and the like could have their heads removed in privacy. Believe it or not the death of Anne Boleyn was not a public spectacle. Many stories circulate about Anne and her demise. Her body with her head tucked under her shoulder is said to roam the White tower. Anne is also spotted in the Chapel of Saint Peter ad Vincula where she watches over her own grave under the altar. If you want to see more of Anne She is said to also wander the famous Hampton Court looking for some reprieve of her suffering. Catharine Howard is also known to reside here. It is said that before she was beheaded that she thought pleading with her husband would be the way to save her life. It is said that her frightened wails can be heard as she runs and bangs on the door still pleading with Henry to spare her life. Women have been touched by her ghost.. On more than one occasion several women have fainted. When they wake they speak of fear and a cold that has surrounded them before feeling a blunt sharp pound to their throats. It is said this is her entity reliving the blow of the blade. And of course there are the princes, 12-year-old King Edward V and his 9-year-old brother Richard Duke of York Who were locked away in the tower for their own Protection and never seen again. It is thought that their uncle Richard murdered the boys in their sleep and since then they have been seen in white night shirts playing, staring out from a window in the bloody tower or they appear cowering and shivering only to fade into nothing. Recently two skeletons of their ages were found in the Tower under an old stair case; both were buried in Westminster Abbey with full Royal honours. And walking to the local News-agent that was open late was a little unnerving when you past the closed gates of the station. Sometimes you could hear things but you would tell yourself it was just the locals moving about late at night. Aldgate is also a haunted tube station. Recently it was the home of the bombings in July of 05 and was also heavily bombed during WWII. It is said that late at night that you can hear footsteps and whistling from the bowels of the station when no one is there. It is rumored to be a rail worker from the stations beginning in the 1870’s. The Cleopatra needle and the Thames aren’t without their own stories either. A nude figure is seen jumping into the dark Thames. Yet there are no splashes or bodies… And moans can be heard up and down along the banks near the needle. In the 1800’s it wasn’t uncommon for people to jump into the Thames to commit suicide. So ghosts here wouldn’t be out of the question. Last stop on the tour would have to be Whitechapel As we all know this is where Saucey Jack made a mess of a few Bang tails in the East end. If there is anything in history that could warrant a haunting it was the demise of these ladies. Anne Chapman was murdered on September 8 1888. She was Jack’s Second victim and was found in the backyard of 29 Hanbury Street. She was laid out knees apart and mutilated. Her throat slit from ear to ear. Some say that two men actually heard her and the Ripper speaking and one heard her state no and then something hit the wooden fence. Is this why it is said that you can still hear Miss Chapman calling out in the darkness of Hanbury street on Foggy nights? I would think it would be a right fit reason that she would. The Ten Bells is a place where you can get a bit of Absinthe and See Dark Annie as well. She is said to move in and out of the old pub, never speaking or looking at anyone. Another ghostly tale of a Ripper victim is Polly Nicholls. (His first) She is seen as a tiny little wraith of a woman huddling in a gutter or walking the streets of Whitechapel at night when it is the darkest she seems to glow where there is no light and moves through the alleys and roads almost looking for something. And finally the most unnerving of all Ripper ghost tales is that of Catharine Eddows. It is said on the anniversary of her death a woman’s body appears in Mitre Square. Those who have attempted to aid her come to the corpse only to watch it fade away before their eyes. |
As far as ghostly sightings, there has been two
that I know of. One was a sighting of a man on
a bike peddling up the long hill to one side of the
cemetery and the other.. was a man dressed in
the trappings of a man of wealth from the
Victorian ear. He was walking across the road
that divides Highgate East from Highgate West.
I have not seen anything and though while we
were there we took many photos we didn’t
have many electronic difficulties. Perhaps the
ghosts were being shy that day.
that I know of. One was a sighting of a man on
a bike peddling up the long hill to one side of the
cemetery and the other.. was a man dressed in
the trappings of a man of wealth from the
Victorian ear. He was walking across the road
that divides Highgate East from Highgate West.
I have not seen anything and though while we
were there we took many photos we didn’t
have many electronic difficulties. Perhaps the
ghosts were being shy that day.
My favourite ghost tale of the Tower has to be the unfortunate Lady
Salisbury. She was an elderly woman with the horrible fate of being the
daughter of the Duke of Clarence. (He was the bloke that happened to be
rather openly against the Antics of Henry the VIII and his heretical
behaviours) She was beheaded for speaking against him over religion. When
she was brought down to the chopping block she refused to lay her head
down. At this point the axmen hit her in the head and an odd game of cat
and mouse ensued. She run around screaming bloody murder as the
executioner hacked her to pieces. It was the eldest prisoner and one of the
most gruesome of executions. Her ghost is said to still run screaming and
begging for her life.
The tower has been standing for nearly 900 years it is a realization to the
past and to the violence that was part of the London Royal court, when in
London you have to check it out.
Our next stop would have to be the Underground. Several stories come out
of Covent Garden. Ghostly figures walk along Floral Street and in the bustle
of the tiny station lives a ghost. He is known and the man in the hat. He is
seen wearing a grey suit and a hornburg hat. There are odd sounds of doors
rattling, ghostly passengers and even the occasional pinch. Many think that
the ghost is of a murdered actor. I traveled this tube a lot. As a matter of
fact lived on Floral and to be honest at night after the corner pub was closed
I will admit the streets gave off an eerie sort of presence.
Salisbury. She was an elderly woman with the horrible fate of being the
daughter of the Duke of Clarence. (He was the bloke that happened to be
rather openly against the Antics of Henry the VIII and his heretical
behaviours) She was beheaded for speaking against him over religion. When
she was brought down to the chopping block she refused to lay her head
down. At this point the axmen hit her in the head and an odd game of cat
and mouse ensued. She run around screaming bloody murder as the
executioner hacked her to pieces. It was the eldest prisoner and one of the
most gruesome of executions. Her ghost is said to still run screaming and
begging for her life.
The tower has been standing for nearly 900 years it is a realization to the
past and to the violence that was part of the London Royal court, when in
London you have to check it out.
Our next stop would have to be the Underground. Several stories come out
of Covent Garden. Ghostly figures walk along Floral Street and in the bustle
of the tiny station lives a ghost. He is known and the man in the hat. He is
seen wearing a grey suit and a hornburg hat. There are odd sounds of doors
rattling, ghostly passengers and even the occasional pinch. Many think that
the ghost is of a murdered actor. I traveled this tube a lot. As a matter of
fact lived on Floral and to be honest at night after the corner pub was closed
I will admit the streets gave off an eerie sort of presence.
London is full of some of the most bone chilling tales as well as the
rest of the UK. You can get lost in the History, the shopping and the
wonderful Museums. But you can also take home a memory that is
from it’s past. From the Petticoat lane fire to the Rippers victims’
pleas. When in London make sure you take the time to visit the
cemeteries, take a ghost walk and end up in the Ten Bells, You may
just get more than you paid for.
rest of the UK. You can get lost in the History, the shopping and the
wonderful Museums. But you can also take home a memory that is
from it’s past. From the Petticoat lane fire to the Rippers victims’
pleas. When in London make sure you take the time to visit the
cemeteries, take a ghost walk and end up in the Ten Bells, You may
just get more than you paid for.
