Ghostly Spirits of London and Liverpool

The Ghosts of the Tower of London

One of the most popular tourist attractions in London is the Tower of London. It has a long and varied history and through the year it has become one of the most haunted places in England with over ten ghostly spirits roaming about. Among the best known ghostly apparitions is the one of Queen Anne Boleyn.

While visiting the Tower of London you can also meet King Henry VI who haunts the Wakefield Tower and appears at the midnight hour. The lonely apparition of Lady Jane Grey wanders along the battlements. At the Beauchamp Tower, you're sure to meet Lord Guildford Dudley who is head weeping at night. The ghostly cries of Margaret The Countess of Salisbury can be heard on the Tower Green. Her fate was to refuse to kneel claiming she was no traitor and should not be beheaded. As she ran the executioner ran after her hacking at her till she died a horrible death. Not only her screams are heard but also the ghostly reenactment of the chase can be seen. The White Tower has the ghostly presence of the White Lady but it is not sure who she once was but the scent of her perfume is strong and visitors have been tapped on their shoulders.

These are just some of the ghostly spirits you can encounter at the Tower of London. There are more and even the apparition of a bear that charged at a guard who tried to bayonet the animals only to find that the sword went right through him. The unfortunate guard was carried away unconscious and died two days later.

The Spirits of King Henry VIII's Wives

Back in the Victorian Era, the owners of Hampton Court Palace were looking for new ways to get people interested in British history. One of their innovative ways was to sell tickets to people saying there had been sightings of ghosts in the palace. The palace did supposedly have ghostly spirits roaming about two of them Jane Seymour and Catherine Howard the wives of King Henry VIIi. Also the ghostly apparition of Sybil Peen, who had been a servant to four of the Tudor Monarchs. Modern-day sightings include security footage on CCTV at the palace showing a mysterious figure that opens and shuts doors.

Ghostly Apparitions of Clowns

The Theater Royal is a well-known theatre on Drury Lane and is also among the most haunted theatres in the world. There are the ghostly apparitions of two clowns and a mysterious figure known as The Man In Gray. There are many performers at the theatre who claim to have seen these ghostly spirits. They seem to have made the theatre their permanent haunting place.

Unusual Specks of Light

At the Brookside Theatre, the manager saw that one of the chairs was askew. Since the theatre had been cleaned for the day he checked the CCTV footage to see if anyone had entered the theatre. On the tape, he saw that there were unusual specks of light whirring about the hall. Both the chair and a nearby table moved all on their own.

The Haunting of Constantia

Bruce Castle has a long history. In the 17th century, famous historian Henry Hare moved into the castle along with his wife Constantia. Legend has it that his wife became enraged when she discovered her husband was having an affair. To avoid further confrontation her husband locked her up in one of the highest rooms in the castle. From that room, Constantia jumped from the window with her child in her arms. Now every year in November on the day of her death she returns to haunt the castle grounds.

The Vampire of Highgate Cemetery

Highgate Cemetery is known for being one of the most haunted places in London. It became a cemetery that was overcrowded and by the end of WW II, it had become abandoned. The gates to Highgate Cemetery were closed in 1960 and the once well-kept grounds became overgrown and the buildings began to crumble. The cemetery was used for filming horror movies.

Stories began circulation of men in dark robes, practising dark rituals. Ghostly apparitions haunting the alleyways and people spotting demons with red eyes looking at them through the fence. Then came the Highgate Vampire, said to be once a medieval nobleman who dabbled in black magic in Romania. In the 18th century, his coffin was brought to England and his cult of followers bought him a house in the West End. At his time he was buried at the site that would become Highgate Cemetery. All might have ended there but after Satanists performed some kind of ritual at the cemetery they awoke the vampire.

Soon there were stories of a tall, dark figure that glided through Highgate Cemetery as temperatures sudden plummeted. He has cause both clocks and watches to stop and terrifies any creature of the wild. He has been blamed for the dead foxes found on the cemetery grounds. If anyone encounters the Highgate Vampire they get a shocking hypnotic stare and he has a frightful effect on people particularly on those who might dare to spend a night at the cemetery.

Other problems at Highgate Cemetery began in the Victorian era with coffins that exploded. The cemetery has a series of tombs built for people who wished to be buried above ground. At that time the tombs had to be encased in lead to prevent "miasma" from leaking out. As the bodies of the dead decomposed and gave out gases in their hermetically sealed tombs their coffins exploded.

The solution to this problem was to have small holes drilled in the coffins, placing pipes in the holes and lighting a match so gassed could burn off. Once this problem was solved there began heart-pounding banshee wailing and spectral faces floated around. The grounds have the ghostly apparition of a cyclist wandering about and the floating spirit of a nun.

Today at Highgate Cemetery there have been 170,000 people buried in 53,000 graves and some plots are still for sale even though they are subject to government restrictions,. The cemetery has become a favored place for enthusiasts of the paranormal, the occult, and of course, vampires.

Ghostly Apparitions In Liverpool

The Ghostly Spirits of Adelphi Hotel

Back in 1914, the present hotel on this site was known as Britannia Adelphi. Through the years the hotel has become home to many ghostly spirits. Guests staying at the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool have seen the ghost of "George" standing next to their bed on the fifth floor. He is supposedly the spirit of a guest who leapt or was pushed out of a window back in the 1920s. Other ghostly apparitions here are a bell boy who died tragically when he was caught between floors in the old lift and a young lady with staring eyes and long black hair.

The Ghosts of Penny Lane

The Beatles made Penny Lane in Liverpool popular with a song by the same name and it brought tourists to this street. Penny Lane was named after a Liverpool slave trader named James Penny. There is also the Penny Lane Poltergeist at number 44 that has been here since Victorian times. At the window of this house, you can also spot a young girl with long blond hair.

Headless Apparition

Newsham Park Hospital was once an orphanage in the Victorian Era that became a hospital and then a mental asylum closing its doors in 1997. While it was a working asylum a nurse once reported strange sightings while she was with patients. Later on, the nurse was found dead in one of the wards. Patients here have said they've seen children and people who are not really there.

Visitors have told of seeing ghostly apparitions and hearing voices when no one is around. Within this abandoned building you can see broken beds, anti-suicide grilles, and wheelchairs in the rooms and corridors. A former worker says he still has nightmares being traumatized by the feelings of evil in the building. He remembers going to the basement to get a blanket and saw a man in a white coat with no head walking by and then straight through a wall. It was a traumatic experience. The old matron from Victorian times when the place was an orphanage is still hanging around as well.

The Beast of Speke Hall

Speke Hall was built 400 years ago by the Norris family. At that time the Victorian home was surrounded by lovely gardens. Through the years many ghostly apparitions have chosen to make their home here among them a lady dressed in white, a Victorian gardener, a priest, and a beast similar to a werewolf. In the upper corridors, footsteps can be heard and the sounds of children crying, Visitors have reported feelings of nauseousness.

Ghostly Sightings At the Empire Theater

The Empire Theater dates back to 1866 and was rebuilt in 1925. The theatre appears to be home to The Black Phantom who roams the dressing rooms. Performers at the theatre have reported seeing a dark shape that appears in the mirrors. Among the other ghostly residents here are a schoolboy, a little girl, and a tall, dark man.

The Haunting of the Queensway Tunnel

The Queensway Tunnel is a roadway that goes under the River Mersey. It was chosen as the site for filming Part One of the movie "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." The roadway was built between 1925 and 1934. Many motorists have seen the ghostly apparition of a woman who died here, after falling from a motorbike many years ago. You can also see a police car from the 1960s driving along here.