Christmas Regret
Although the Tower of London is said to be teeming with ghosts from the past, there is little doubt the most famous spirit that haunts the Tower is that of Anne Boleyn, a former Queen of England. Till today there are many eyewitness accounts of seeing her ghost nearly four and a half centuries since her execution at the Tower of London. But when you learn of the circumstances of her death at the age of just 32, it is no surprise, really, that her restless soul still stalks the Tower, Heck, if I had to go the way she did, I would still be around haunting the premises too. Let me tell you in brief, the sordid but sad tale of why and how Anne was executed. Anne was queen for only two brief years when she was accused of cheating on her husband, Henry the VIII, and of being a spy. She was even accused of casting spells on him, would you believe? Mind you, Henry the VIII was himself married when he spied Anne and took a fancy of her. He then started to woo Anne, who in turn played it cool and insisted he marry her and not just have her as a mistress. On reflection, perhaps that was not the best thing for her. But anyways, back to the story. The randy Henry agreed and by the time they got around to marrying in January 1533, Anne was already pregnant. But three months into their marriage, Henry's love for her began to cool. And her birth to a baby girl did not help. To make matters worse, the following year she suffered a miscarriage and her hopes of producing the all important male heir to the throne was dashed. Henry consoled himself by falling in love with one of Anne's maid of honor. And it was then that he trumped up the charges of infidelity and treason against Anne. I guess he had to get her out of the picture to pursue his new romance. Anne was charged with committing adultery with her own brother and casting spells on Henry. You must hand it to Henry, he had no lack of imagination. But somewhere in that evil body of his, there must have been half a heart. Because Henry did grant Anne a few mercies. For one, he spared her the horror of being executed by the axe. The axe was a heavy, ill balanced and inaccurate weapon that often needed more than one blow to finish off the suffering victim.
Although the Tower of London is said to be teeming with ghosts from the past, there is little doubt the most famous spirit that haunts the Tower is that of Anne Boleyn, a former Queen of England. Till today there are many eyewitness accounts of seeing her ghost nearly four and a half centuries since her execution at the Tower of London. But when you learn of the circumstances of her death at the age of just 32, it is no surprise, really, that her restless soul still stalks the Tower, Heck, if I had to go the way she did, I would still be around haunting the premises too. Let me tell you in brief, the sordid but sad tale of why and how Anne was executed. Anne was queen for only two brief years when she was accused of cheating on her husband, Henry the VIII, and of being a spy. She was even accused of casting spells on him, would you believe? Mind you, Henry the VIII was himself married when he spied Anne and took a fancy of her. He then started to woo Anne, who in turn played it cool and insisted he marry her and not just have her as a mistress. On reflection, perhaps that was not the best thing for her. But anyways, back to the story. The randy Henry agreed and by the time they got around to marrying in January 1533, Anne was already pregnant. But three months into their marriage, Henry's love for her began to cool. And her birth to a baby girl did not help. To make matters worse, the following year she suffered a miscarriage and her hopes of producing the all important male heir to the throne was dashed. Henry consoled himself by falling in love with one of Anne's maid of honor. And it was then that he trumped up the charges of infidelity and treason against Anne. I guess he had to get her out of the picture to pursue his new romance. Anne was charged with committing adultery with her own brother and casting spells on Henry. You must hand it to Henry, he had no lack of imagination. But somewhere in that evil body of his, there must have been half a heart. Because Henry did grant Anne a few mercies. For one, he spared her the horror of being executed by the axe. The axe was a heavy, ill balanced and inaccurate weapon that often needed more than one blow to finish off the suffering victim.
Henry ordered Anne be headed by the sword. Up to then the sword had never been used in England, but it was a much more precise and swift method of execution compared to the clumsy axe. The other exception he made was to allow her the dignity of having a private execution. The public were not allowed to see her killed. And Anne had yet another surprise when she was brought to the Tower of London to be executed. When she asked the guards, 'Will I be put in a prison cell?' The guards replied, 'No madam, you have been allowed to stay in the residence of the Royalty. You will stay in the room you slept in on the day you were crowned Queen.' On the day of her execution, Anne was said to have been the picture of bravery. Unlike most of us who would have gone down kicking and screaming our innocence, she was composed and dignified. She mounted the platform where she was to be beheaded and in a calm and brief speech, typical of British stiff upper lip tradition, she accused no one of her death. She did not admit to the crimes she was charged with, but she expressed her submission to the law. Then she went down on her knees and the gruesome execution began. A French executioner brought down specially from Calais, step forward. He was a big, formidable man, clad in black from top to toe and he towered over poor Anne.
He lifted his gleaming sword over his head and brought it down swiftly. In one fell swoop his flashing blade sliced off Anne's head from her body. In accordance with the custom then, he held her head up high for all present to see. And the few who were there to witness the private execution gasped in horror. Her eyes and lips continued to move. Her husband, Henry the VIII, no doubt was unmoved by the horror of her barbaric execution. He remarried the very next day. And perhaps Anne's show of bravery was just a front masking her real anger and revulsion at the way she was treated. Because it seems Anne is still with us, unable to accept her own brutal death. many brave and level headed soldiers of the British army have sworn under oath to have seen her ghost. And most of these cases have been carefully documented and investigated. One such unfortunate soul was a sentry of the King's Royal Rifle Corps. He was on duty at the Tower of London, just outside the Queen's residence where Anne Boleyn was confined before she was executed. It was the night before Christmas. his mind was far away from the job at hand, anticipating the merry making ahead of him with his family and friends; until something caught his eye through the swirling mist over the river that ran just outside the Queen's residence. It was the unthinkable figure of a female, clad in a long, flowing white robe. There was something unearthly about the way she moved. She did not seem to walk but rather to float and move very quickly. It made the poor sentry shudder to see her glide in his direction. Before he knew it, the figure in white was fast approaching him. He couldn't make out who it was in the darkness of the night. But her white, loose gown stood out in the dark.
As was his duty, he commanded the figure to stop and identify herself. But the figure continued to glide swiftly forward, ignoring his command. The sentry called out three times. His quivering voices echoed in the still, quiet night. But she ignored him. After the third warning, it was standard practice to challenge the intruder. The sentry swallowed hard and steadid his shaking nerves to confront her. She was now only a few steps away from him. He finally managed to make out her facial features. It was then that a great wave of fear washed over him and goose bumps broke out all over his body. Her face was deathly white and her eyes had a vacant, empty stare that pierced right through him. When she was right before him, an icy breeze suddenly started to blow around him. Shaking with fright, the sentry nevertheless did his duty. He plunged his bayonet into the figure. But the bayonet went right through the ghostly woman. No one knows what happened after that, except that hours later the sentry was found unconscious by his sentry box at the entrance to the Queen's residence. To be asleep or drunk while on guard duty is obviously one of the most serious military offences one could commit, so the sentry was brought before a court martial. he was forced to tell the tribunal about his eerie encounter. He was afraid he would be laughed at and called insane. But lucky for him, there happened to be two witnesses looking out from a window at the Queen's residence.
They too saw the ghostly female. Their testimony was given with such sincerity, the sentry was acquitted of any military misconduct. But there was more to the story on further investigation. The description the three witnesses gave of the ghostly figure seemed to fit Anne Boleyn. And that was not the last of Anne Boleyn's ghost. Her ghostly apparition has been seen by other sentries over the years. Infact, that particular sentry post has one of the most dreaded reputations within the ghostly Tower of London. One sentry spotted a bluish form hovering in the bushes and then gliding swiftly towards the Queen's residence. Another sentry stationed at this infamous post swore he saw a headless woman float towards him. Anne's ghost has also been seen gliding over the bridge across the river, in the castle grounds. On every occasion she has been seen, it has been the eve of Christmas. They say Henry VIII proposed to her on that fateful day. You have got to wonder what would have happened had she not said yes. Perhaps she would not have died in that tragic and brutal way. Maybe her tortured, ghostly form feels that way too, and that is why she is always seen on that fateful day.
Deadly Room
But Anne's ghostly presence is not confined to the area around the entrance to the Queen's residence. My gang and I have it on good authority that she also haunts one of the room in the Queen's residence. An evil atmosphere surrounds the room in which she spent her last days before her execution. They say anyone who enters the room will instantly break out in goose bumps. But it is not just because the room is strangely colder, much colder than all the other rooms in the house. It is more because of a still, death like atmosphere in the room. On top of that, there is a strange, sickly sweet smell that many describe as the 'smell of death', that stubbornly refuses to leave that room ever since Anne's death. Reportedly, successive members of the Royal Family have ordered the room to be cleaned and aired from top to bottom to rid it of that strange, suffocating smell. But there's no chance of that. The smell refuses to go away. It is almost as if Anne had vowed to make that room cold and uninviting for any other living person. And for those who do not get the message and choose to spend a night in there, well, they have had a heck of a night. They have woken up in the dead of the night, screaming in terror. Unseen hands have tried to slowly suffocate them. So menacing is the atmosphere in that room, sources close to the Queen say there is an unwritten rule on who can sleep there, no girl or child is ever permitted to sleep there alone. So we can safely conclude they have got the message.
Funeral March
Anne Boleyn's pitiful remains were buried in St Peter in Chains, the chapel within the Tower of London. But is her tortured spirit really resting in peace there? Not according to many eyewitness accounts. One famous documented case of a sighting of her ghostly figure in the chapel itself was recently experienced by an Officer of the Guard within the British Army. One late night in autumn, the officer in question was making a tour of inspection at the Tower of London when he thought he saw something rather strange. The lights in the chapel were burning brightly. From memory, he knew the chapel normally in darkness at that hour. Why were all the lights on tonight? He cornered a sentry and asked why the chapel lights were ablaze. The soldier shrugged and said he had no idea. But he added that he too had often noticed them on while he was on duty in the area. On hearing this, the officer grew more curious. He was determined to get to the bottom of this. He marched up to the chapel and tried to open the main door. It was securely locked. Then he tried the side entrance. Still no luck. But at the side entrance, he chanced to spot a ladder. He decided that would do. he propped the ladder up against the wall, climbed up and peered into the chapel through the side window. What he saw would haunt him for the rest of his days. There in the huge, grand old chapel he saw a group of people. But they were not ordinary looking people. They were all dressed in elaborate, old fashioned costumes from long ago. They walked in a slow, mournful procession down the main aisle. At the head of the procession was a woman. Although her head was averted, the officer's mouth fell wide open when he realized with a start who she was. he recognised her instantly as Anne Boleyn. The officer was so stunned by this discovery, he almost fell off the ladder. When it finally dawned on him what he was witnessing, his whole body began to tremble. he had to grip the ladder tightly with both hands to keep himself on it. He looked on at this sad procession with a mixture of disbelief and horror. The ghostly procession continued up the aisle towards the altar, underneath of which lay the sad remains of Anne Boleyn, buried there centuries ago. As the procession got nearer to the altar, he noticed the vision before him slowly began to fade. The chapel too slowly became darker and darker until finally, the officer was left staring into a pitch balck church. The shaken officer got off the ladder, his mind racing to comprehend what he has just seen. No doubt his life was changed forever by what he had witnessed.
Deadly Room
But Anne's ghostly presence is not confined to the area around the entrance to the Queen's residence. My gang and I have it on good authority that she also haunts one of the room in the Queen's residence. An evil atmosphere surrounds the room in which she spent her last days before her execution. They say anyone who enters the room will instantly break out in goose bumps. But it is not just because the room is strangely colder, much colder than all the other rooms in the house. It is more because of a still, death like atmosphere in the room. On top of that, there is a strange, sickly sweet smell that many describe as the 'smell of death', that stubbornly refuses to leave that room ever since Anne's death. Reportedly, successive members of the Royal Family have ordered the room to be cleaned and aired from top to bottom to rid it of that strange, suffocating smell. But there's no chance of that. The smell refuses to go away. It is almost as if Anne had vowed to make that room cold and uninviting for any other living person. And for those who do not get the message and choose to spend a night in there, well, they have had a heck of a night. They have woken up in the dead of the night, screaming in terror. Unseen hands have tried to slowly suffocate them. So menacing is the atmosphere in that room, sources close to the Queen say there is an unwritten rule on who can sleep there, no girl or child is ever permitted to sleep there alone. So we can safely conclude they have got the message.
Funeral March
Anne Boleyn's pitiful remains were buried in St Peter in Chains, the chapel within the Tower of London. But is her tortured spirit really resting in peace there? Not according to many eyewitness accounts. One famous documented case of a sighting of her ghostly figure in the chapel itself was recently experienced by an Officer of the Guard within the British Army. One late night in autumn, the officer in question was making a tour of inspection at the Tower of London when he thought he saw something rather strange. The lights in the chapel were burning brightly. From memory, he knew the chapel normally in darkness at that hour. Why were all the lights on tonight? He cornered a sentry and asked why the chapel lights were ablaze. The soldier shrugged and said he had no idea. But he added that he too had often noticed them on while he was on duty in the area. On hearing this, the officer grew more curious. He was determined to get to the bottom of this. He marched up to the chapel and tried to open the main door. It was securely locked. Then he tried the side entrance. Still no luck. But at the side entrance, he chanced to spot a ladder. He decided that would do. he propped the ladder up against the wall, climbed up and peered into the chapel through the side window. What he saw would haunt him for the rest of his days. There in the huge, grand old chapel he saw a group of people. But they were not ordinary looking people. They were all dressed in elaborate, old fashioned costumes from long ago. They walked in a slow, mournful procession down the main aisle. At the head of the procession was a woman. Although her head was averted, the officer's mouth fell wide open when he realized with a start who she was. he recognised her instantly as Anne Boleyn. The officer was so stunned by this discovery, he almost fell off the ladder. When it finally dawned on him what he was witnessing, his whole body began to tremble. he had to grip the ladder tightly with both hands to keep himself on it. He looked on at this sad procession with a mixture of disbelief and horror. The ghostly procession continued up the aisle towards the altar, underneath of which lay the sad remains of Anne Boleyn, buried there centuries ago. As the procession got nearer to the altar, he noticed the vision before him slowly began to fade. The chapel too slowly became darker and darker until finally, the officer was left staring into a pitch balck church. The shaken officer got off the ladder, his mind racing to comprehend what he has just seen. No doubt his life was changed forever by what he had witnessed.
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