The Ghosts of The Tower of London Pt2

By: Stuart Bazga

In this final instalment of The Ghosts of the Tower of
London, you will learn about the fate of Catherine Howard
and discover the treachery behind the death of Lady Jane Grey
who was Queen of England for only nine days.

The most grisly execution and thus haunting is that of
the 70 year old Countess of Salisbury, the last of the
Plantagenets. King Henry VIII had her executed for political
reasons. The feisty Countess refused to put her head on the
block like a common traitor.

When her executioner came after her she ran, but was pursued by
him, with his axe in hand hacking at her until he had hewn the
Countess to death.

Her ghost has been seen reliving this truly gruesome act. Also
the shadow of a great axe has been seen falling across the scene
of her murder.

At one time the Tower of London was home to the Royal
Menagerie. Lions, leopards, bears, birds, monkeys and an
elephant, that was a gift from the King of France, were kept on
exhibit. On the stroke of midnight in January of 1815 a sentry
saw a bear from this menagerie emerge from a doorway. He lunged
at it with his bayonet, it passed right through the apparition.
The Sentry was later found unconscious, it is said he died of
fright within two months of this encounter.

Something unseen and very frightening is in the Salt
Tower. This is one of the most haunted areas of the Tower of
London complex. This is a very old section, dogs will not enter
this ancient building, and ever since one of the Yeoman Warders
was nearly throttled by a force unseen, they will not go in the
area after nightfall.

In 1864, a soldier whose post was to guard the Queen's House at
the Tower of London, saw a apparition so real, that after
ignoring the soldiers three challenges, he charged with all his
might at the intruder with his bayonet, only to go straight
through the figure.

He was found unconscious at his post and was court-martialled
for neglecting his duty. Luckily there were two witnesses who
corroborated his story. The soldier was eventually acquitted.

Lady Jane Grey is another tragic story of a young life
cut short at the Tower, due to the actions of others the most
despicable of who was her own father.

She was the granddaughter of Mary (Henry VIII younger sister)
and Louis XII of France. The Duke of Northumberland would lose
everything if Henry VIII's son was to die and Mary, who was
Catholic, would become queen.

He and her father arranged her marriage to his son and persuaded
her cousin Edward VI to name her his successor in case of his
death instead of his two half-sisters. When Edward VI died she
was crowned Queen of England, but the supporters of Mary
overthrew her.

Her own father got scared and in hopes to save his own skin,
left the Tower of London and went to Tower Hill to proclaim Mary
I, as the Queen of England, Lady Jane never left the tower; she
and her husband were immediately imprisoned and sentenced to
death. Queen Mary carried out the execution of Lady Jane's
father-in-law but set both Jane and her husband free.

Her father was involved in a rebellion against Mary I, Lady Jane
and her husband were again placed in the tower.

Lady Jane watched as her husband was taken to Tower Hill where
he was beheaded. She saw his body being carried back to the
chapel, after which she was taken to Tower Green where she was
beheaded. She was only 17 years old.

Lady Jane Grey's ghost was last seen by two Guardsmen on
February 12, 1957, the 403rd anniversary of her execution. She
was described as a "white shape forming itself on the
battlements". Her husband, Guildford Dudley, has been seen in
Beauchamp Tower weeping.

Catherine Howard escaped from her room in the Tower of
London. "She ran down the hallway screaming for help and mercy.
She was caught and returned to her room." The next day she was
beheaded. Her ghost has been seen still running down the hallway
screaming for help.

Other strange sightings at the Tower of London have been
"Phantom funeral carriages" and "A lovely veiled lady that, upon
closer look proves to have a black void where her face should
be."

This concludes the brief insight to the Ghosts of The Tower
of London. I hope this has fired your imagination enough so
that you want to learn more about the Towers most GRUESOME
PAST.
If you want to read about more haunting tales then visit my Haunted Castles page, where you can find out about the strange happenings at Windsor Castle and read about the Heroic tale of the two Pomeroy Brothers.
Best Wishes and Have a Great Day

Stuart Bazga


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About the author:
A Guide to Castles of Europe was born from childhood dreams and
aspirations. It is my hope to educate and stimulate you into
exploring these castles for yourselves.