Location: Beside the River Thames, 2 miles south-west of Kingston-upon-Thames. 1568)
Judging by the number of ghosts reportedly seen there, Hampton Court Palace must be one of the most haunted places in England, and much more deserving of the title than Borley Rectory. 'I'he ghosts include several of King Henry VIH’s wives. Jane Seymour is said to walk through Clock Court and the Silver Stick Gallery, carrying a lighted taper; Anne Boleyn has also been seen; but the best-known apparition is that of his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, who was arrested in 1541 only a year after her marriage on a charge of adultery. At the time of her arrest the King was in the chapel nearby, and she escaped from her guards and ran to plead for his mercy, shrieking frantically. But he ignored her cries and she w'as dragged away. Now she is sometimes seen running screaming through what is now known as the Haunted Gallery.
Unidentified ghosts have been seen in the grounds, like the group of eight or nine ladies and two men in evening dress, seen by a policeman in Ditton Walk. They vanished as he watched them, .-ctor Leslie PTench saw a figure in Tudor costume whom he thought must be one of the actresses from a performance of Tzvelfth Night, but she was not seen by Lady Grant w'ho was accompanying him, though she did feel a coldness in the air as Mr PTench moved aside to let the ghost pass.
.•s Hampton Court Palace is a very popular tourist attraction, it is best visited out of season if you wish to try and sense the haunted atmosphere. Would any self-respecting ghost put in an appearance among crowds of tourists? Perhaps it would, for ghosts usually look as solid as living people, and unless they do something une. xpected like walking through a wall or vanishing in mid-air, you are unlikely to realise that you are seeing a ghost and not a living person. So a ghost could easily blend in unnoticed among a tourist crowd (though it might appear to be wearing theatrical costume!), and might appreciate the opportunity to wander unrecognised around former haunts.
World History
