The Ghosts of the Tower of London

For nearly a thousand years, the Tower of London has stood on the banks of the Thames—a royal palace, a fortress, a prison, and an execution ground. Within its ancient walls, kings have been crowned and deposed, queens have lost their heads, and prisoners have met their ends in ways both public and secret. With such a history, it’s little wonder that the Tower is considered one of the most haunted places in the world.

A Fortress of Blood

The History

William the Conqueror began construction of the Tower in 1066, shortly after his victory at the Battle of Hastings. The White Tower, the central keep, was completed around 1078. Over the following centuries, successive monarchs expanded the complex into the formidable fortress it remains today.

The Tower has served many purposes:

• Royal residence for medieval monarchs
• Treasury housing the Crown Jewels
• Armory and military headquarters
• Menagerie (the Royal Zoo until 1835)
• Mint where English coins were struck
• Prison for high-status captives
• Execution ground for traitors and enemies of the Crown

It is the latter two functions that have given the Tower its dark reputation—and its ghosts.

The Executions

The Tower was not primarily a place of public execution. Most common criminals met their fate at Tyburn or other public sites. The Tower was reserved for special cases—royalty, nobility, and those whose deaths required discretion.

Seven people were executed on Tower Green, the private execution ground within the walls:

• William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings (1483)
• Anne Boleyn, Queen of England (1536)
• Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury (1541)
• Catherine Howard, Queen of England (1542)
• Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford (1542)
• Lady Jane Grey, Queen of England (1554)
• Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex (1601)

Many more died within the Tower’s walls by other means—murder, starvation, torture, and “accidents.”

The First Ghost: Thomas Becket

1241: The Phantom Archbishop

The first recorded ghost sighting at the Tower dates to 1241—remarkably, of a man who was not killed there.

Thomas Becket (1118-1170) was Archbishop of Canterbury, famously murdered by four knights in Canterbury Cathedral after his conflict with King Henry II. However, before becoming Archbishop, Becket was a Londoner who had served as Constable of the Tower under Henry II.

According to medieval chronicles, during the reign of King Henry III (grandson of Henry II), workers were constructing the Inner Curtain Wall. Twice during construction, the newly built walls mysteriously collapsed.

Witnesses reported seeing the ghost of Thomas Becket appearing at the construction site, striking the walls with his cross—causing them to crumble. The interpretation was that Becket’s spirit was taking revenge on the Tower that had once been his responsibility, and on the descendants of the king who had caused his death.

The story is likely an embellished folk memory of a real calamity: records show the western gatehouse collapsed in 1240 “as if struck by an earthquake.”

Henry III responded by building a chapel dedicated to St. Thomas within the Tower. According to legend, once the chapel was complete, no further disturbances occurred—as if Becket’s spirit was appeased.

Anne Boleyn: The Tower’s Most Famous Ghost

The Queen’s Fate

Anne Boleyn (c. 1501-1536) was the second wife of King Henry VIII and mother of the future Elizabeth I. Her marriage to Henry caused England’s break with Rome and the creation of the Church of England.

After failing to produce a male heir and facing charges of adultery, incest, and treason (almost certainly fabricated), Anne was imprisoned in the Tower on May 2, 1536. She was held in the Queen’s House, the same royal apartments where she had stayed before her coronation three years earlier.

On May 19, 1536, Anne was executed on Tower Green by a French swordsman specially imported for the task—a mark of “mercy,” as the sword was considered more dignified than the axe. Her final words were:

“I pray God save the King and send him long to reign over you, for a gentler nor a more merciful prince was there never.”

Her body and head were placed in an arrow chest (no proper coffin had been provided) and buried in the Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula, within the Tower.

The Sightings

Anne Boleyn is the most frequently reported ghost at the Tower of London. She has been seen:

In the Chapel Royal — Multiple witnesses have reported seeing a ghostly procession moving down the aisle toward the altar. The figure at the head is a woman in Tudor dress, sometimes described as headless, sometimes carrying her head.

In 1864, a Captain of the Guard reported seeing a light burning in the locked and empty chapel late at night. He climbed to a window to investigate and witnessed a spectral procession of knights and ladies, led by a woman resembling Anne Boleyn.

On Tower Green — Where she was executed. Guards have reported seeing a female figure in Tudor dress near the execution site.

In the Queen’s House — Where she was imprisoned. Staff have reported unexplained phenomena including doors opening and closing, cold spots, and the sensation of being watched.

Near the White Tower — In 1817, a guard reportedly saw a white figure emerge from the fog and approach him. When he challenged it with his bayonet, the weapon passed through the apparition. The guard fainted and was found unconscious at his post.

In 1864, a guard named General Dundas witnessed Anne Boleyn’s ghost in the courtyard—a white figure moving toward him, feet not touching the ground. He charged with his bayonet but passed straight through her form. He fainted on the spot. Remarkably, he was not court-martialed for abandoning his post; instead, he was acquitted when he described what he had seen.

Anne’s ghost has also been reported at Hever Castle (her childhood home), Blickling Hall (where she may have been born), and even at Windsor Castle and Hampton Court.

The Princes in the Tower

The Disappearance

Perhaps the greatest mystery in English history occurred within the Tower’s walls.

In 1483, following the death of King Edward IV, his two sons—Edward V (age 12) and Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York (age 9)—were lodged in the Tower, ostensibly in preparation for Edward’s coronation.

Their uncle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was named Lord Protector. Within months, he declared the princes illegitimate and claimed the throne as Richard III.

The boys were last seen in the summer of 1483. They simply disappeared.

While Richard III remains the prime suspect in their presumed murders, no bodies were found during his lifetime. In 1674, workmen discovered the bones of two children beneath a staircase in the White Tower. These were placed in an urn in Westminster Abbey, though their identity has never been confirmed.

The Ghostly Princes

The ghosts of the two princes have been reported for centuries:

In the Bloody Tower — Guards and visitors have seen two small figures in white nightgowns, holding hands, wandering the corridors. They appear sad and lost, as if searching for someone.

Near the White Tower — Where their remains may have been found. Witnesses describe two child-sized figures that seem to be playing or hiding.

The sightings typically describe the figures as:

• Two children, clearly brothers
• Dressed in white nightclothes
• Holding hands
• Appearing sorrowful or frightened
• Fading away when approached

The princes’ ghosts are among the most poignant reported at the Tower—children who never grew up, murdered for political convenience, their final resting place uncertain even after five centuries.

Lady Jane Grey: The Nine Days Queen

The Tragic Queen

Lady Jane Grey (1537-1554) was queen of England for just nine days in July 1553. A pawn in a power struggle following the death of Edward VI, she was deposed by the rightful heir, Mary I, and imprisoned in the Tower.

Jane was only 16 years old when she was executed on Tower Green on February 12, 1554. Contemporary accounts describe her as composed and dignified, refusing to look at her husband’s headless body as she passed it on the way to the scaffold.

Her final words included: “Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit.”

The Anniversary Ghost

Jane Grey’s ghost is unusual in that she reportedly appears primarily on the anniversary of her death—February 12.

In 1957, two guards independently reported seeing a white shape form atop the battlements on February 12. As they watched, it coalesced into the figure of a young woman.

Other sightings have been reported in the Beauchamp Tower, where Jane was imprisoned and where her husband, Lord Guildford Dudley, carved her name into the stone wall.

Jane is typically described as a small, slight figure dressed in white, appearing peaceful but sad.

Margaret Pole: The Botched Execution

The Countess of Salisbury

Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury (1473-1541), was 67 years old when Henry VIII had her executed—the oldest woman ever put to death at the Tower. Her crime was being the mother of Cardinal Reginald Pole, who had criticized Henry’s religious policies from the safety of Rome.

Margaret had committed no crime herself. She was simply convenient revenge against her son.

Her execution on May 27, 1541, was horrifically botched. According to witnesses, the inexperienced executioner missed her neck with his first blow. The elderly countess leapt from the block and ran, with the executioner chasing her and hacking at her until she finally collapsed.

It took multiple blows to complete the execution. The scene was described as a massacre rather than an execution.

The Running Ghost

Margaret Pole’s ghost is said to re-enact her terrible death on the anniversary. Witnesses have reported:

• A female figure running across Tower Green, arms flailing
• Screaming sounds near the execution site
• A white figure appearing to collapse near the chapel

Her ghost is considered one of the most disturbing at the Tower—not a peaceful shade but a spirit trapped in the horror of her final moments.

The Bear: A Ghost from the Menagerie

The Royal Menagerie

From approximately 1210 until 1835, the Tower housed the Royal Menagerie—a collection of exotic animals given as diplomatic gifts. The collection included lions, elephants, an Arctic bear, and various other creatures.

The animals were kept in poor conditions, and many died. The menagerie was eventually closed and the surviving animals transferred to the newly established London Zoo in Regent’s Park.

The Spectral Bear

One of the Tower’s strangest reported ghosts is that of a bear—presumably one of the animals that died in captivity.

In 1816, a sentry was guarding the Jewel House when a huge bear-like shape emerged from beneath a door. The guard attempted to bayonet it, but the weapon passed through. The guard reportedly died of fright shortly afterward.

While the details may be embellished, the story has persisted, and other guards have reported seeing animal shapes in the area where the menagerie once stood.

Catherine Howard: The Fifth Wife

The Queen’s End

Catherine Howard (c. 1523-1542) was the fifth wife of Henry VIII, executed at the Tower for adultery at approximately age 19. Like Anne Boleyn before her, she was almost certainly innocent of the charges.

Catherine was held in the Tower for several months before her execution on February 13, 1542. The night before her death, she reportedly asked for the execution block to be brought to her cell so she could practice laying her head upon it.

The Screaming Queen

Catherine Howard’s ghost is most famously associated with Hampton Court Palace, where she reportedly runs screaming through a corridor now called the “Haunted Gallery.”

However, she has also been seen at the Tower:

• In the Queen’s House
• Near the Chapel Royal where she is buried
• On Tower Green

Witnesses describe a young woman appearing distressed or terrified.

Sir Walter Raleigh

The Explorer’s Imprisonment

Sir Walter Raleigh (c. 1552-1618), the famous explorer, poet, and courtier, was imprisoned in the Tower for 13 years under James I. He was relatively comfortable, allowed to write and receive visitors, and even grew tobacco in the garden.

He was finally executed at Westminster in 1618, not at the Tower. Nevertheless, his ghost has been reported at the Tower where he spent so much of his later life.

Witnesses describe:

• A tall figure in Elizabethan dress walking the walls
• A ghostly presence in the Bloody Tower where he was held
• The smell of tobacco in areas he once frequented

Modern Sightings

The Tower Today

The Tower of London remains an active site with Yeoman Warders (Beefeaters) and their families living within the walls. Sightings continue to be reported:

The 1980s and 1990s — Guards reported numerous encounters with inexplicable phenomena, including doors opening by themselves, cold spots, and apparitions.

2015 — A Yeoman Warder reported seeing a figure in Tudor dress in the chapel who vanished when approached.

Ongoing Reports — Visitors occasionally report seeing figures in historical dress who seem to be staff members but are later determined not to be there.

The Tower remains open to visitors, and ghost tours are popular. The Yeoman Warders, while officially neutral on the subject, have accumulated centuries of stories passed down through generations of guards.

The Evidence

What Makes the Tower Credible?

The Tower of London’s ghost claims have several factors that make them particularly compelling:

Continuous Documentation — Reports span nearly 800 years, from the Becket sighting in 1241 to modern times.

Multiple Independent Witnesses — Many sightings have been reported by soldiers, guards, and officials with no reason to fabricate stories.

Consistency — Descriptions of specific ghosts (Anne Boleyn, the princes) have remained remarkably consistent across centuries.

Historical Correlation — The reported ghosts correspond to documented historical figures who died at the Tower.

Professional Witnesses — Guards court-martialed for abandoning posts have been acquitted based on testimony about what they saw.

The Skeptical View

Skeptics offer alternative explanations:

• Suggestion and Expectation — People see what they expect to see in such a famously “haunted” location
• Misidentification — The Tower is full of staff in historical costume; visitors may mistake living people for ghosts
• Embellishment — Stories have been elaborated over centuries for entertainment value
• Natural Phenomena — The ancient stone buildings create acoustic effects, temperature variations, and shadows that can seem supernatural

Visiting the Tower

The Tower of London remains one of Britain’s most visited attractions, drawing nearly 3 million visitors annually. It houses the Crown Jewels, the Royal Armouries collection, and centuries of history within its walls.

Ghost tours and evening events are occasionally offered, and the Yeoman Warders include tales of hauntings in their regular tours.

Whether or not the ghosts are real, the Tower’s history of violence, power, and tragedy is undeniable—and that history seems to linger in the ancient stones.

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For nearly a thousand years, the Tower of London has witnessed the darkest moments of English history. Those who died within its walls—the innocent and the guilty, the powerful and the helpless—may never have left. The ghosts of the Tower walk on, bound to the place of their endings, awaiting visitors brave enough to meet them.