Everlasting Screams

Hampton Court Palace just outside London is reknown for the well established ghostly appearance of Queen Catherine Howard. You may find this hard to believe, but her ghost was such common knowledge and accepted as fact that for years the Palace shop at Hampton Court sold postcards depicting her ghostly image. But let me give you the full facts behind this famous yet eerie haunting. It all started when the infamous Henry VIII, yes the same Henry that beheaded Anne Boleyn took his fifth wife, Queen Catherine Howard. The fact is Henry married Catherine when he was rather old. Catherine was less that five feet tall and a plumpish woman, but he referred to her as 'a rose without a torn'. Catherine was a mere 20 year old. And this light hearted, lively young girl had a lover or two besides Henry. But Catherine was playing a very dangerous game. In those pre-Victorian days, infidelity was not just grounds for a quick divorce, it was classified as an act of treason. Anyways, the careless Catherine was caught with her pants down, so to speak. She was accused of high treason and Henry wasted no time in demanding her head, he literally ordered she be beheaded. The story goes that on 4 November 1541, Queen Catherine escaped from her guards after she had been arrested at the Palace. She rushed towards the chapel, within the Palace, to make a last minute appeal for her life to Henry VIII. But it was of no use. Henry Showed no mercy. Infact, he piously continued his prayers, pretending he did not see or hear her. Catherine was beside herself. She sobbed for mercy but Henry continued to ignore her.

By then the palace guards had caught up with her. They shoved her out of the chapel and rushed her along the Gallery of the Palace towards her room, where she was to be held prisoner. Catherine shrieked with terror as she was escorted to her room. She knew the fate that awaited her, she only left her room to be taken to the Tower of London for her execution in front of a disapproving public, in February 1542. Catherine and Henry lived and loved and enjoyed each other's company in various rooms and apartments of Hampton Court. But nothing of that remains. The only traumatic event that has survived them are the screams of the terrified young Queen as she was rushed along what has become known as the Haunted Gallery. The screams, in particular, have been reported by any of the residents at Hampton Court. In the stillness of the night, her agonising cries often echo far down to the other side of the castle. But some of the regulars in the castle have experienced much more than those terrifying  screams. They have actually seen the ghostly figure of Queen Catherine Howard. They have glimpsed a figure in white with loose flying hair, rushing along the same paneled gallery. The fear of the apparition was so real that for many years the Haunted Gallery was shut off. Servants slipped by its doors hastily, and until today the passage outside it is rarely used at night. But still the inexplicable screams continue to be heard.....