The Ghosts of the Tower of London
The Tower of London is said to be among England's most haunted places, with a queen in the chapel and a bear on the stairs.
What was reported
The Tower of London, a royal fortress begun in the 1070s, has been a palace, a prison and a place of execution. Over the centuries guards and visitors have reported many ghosts: Anne Boleyn, executed there in 1536, said to walk near the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula; two young princes said to have vanished there in 1483; and a White Lady.
One of the strangest stories dates from the early 1800s, when a sentry said a huge bear came at him on a staircase and his bayonet passed straight through it.
Explanations offered
For six centuries the Tower housed a royal menagerie, including bears, which may have fed the bear story. Most of the ghost tales were written down in the 19th and 20th centuries and are part of the Tower's tradition rather than evidence. The Yeoman Warders still tell them to visitors.
- When
- Reported for centuries
- Where
- Tower of London, London, England
- Witnesses
- Yeoman Warders, sentries and visitors
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.