Moon Mausoleum
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Every year the British Royal family celebrates their Christmas at Sandringham House in Norfolk, England. Stories say that the place is particularly haunted during the Christmas season both for the royals and their servants.
Every year the British Royal family celebrates their Christmas at Sandringham House in Norfolk, England. Stories say that the place is particularly haunted during the Christmas season both for the royals and their servants.
One Christmas in 1996, the footman, Shaun Croasdale made his way down to the wine cellar to pick out some wine for the royals that had come to celebrate Christmas at Sandringham House. With wine bottles in his hand, he suddenly saw one of the favorite servants of the late Queen, Tony Jarred.
Perhaps this is nothing to worry about, except that Tony Jarred had died the previous year after almost 40 years in service for her majesty. The footman dropped the bottles and ran screaming from the cellar. No one was really surprised at this however, as it was Christmas time, and Sandringham House is notoriously haunted every year.
England has its fair share of ghostly history and Christmas time is no different. Each year, English haunted buildings come alive with stories of ghosts, spirits and shadows of the past. From extravagant castles to medieval manor houses, spooky apparitions haunt the grounds and make their presence known during the winter season.
Many people believe that these ghosts are lords and servants who once inhabited these old buildings, now returning during Christmas to either fulfill a task or simply bring good cheer and memories to those they left behind. Moreover, Christmas ghost stories have become a beloved pastime among many Brits who can be found throughout England’s haunted buildings searching for their own spooky mysteries.
Sandringham House, located in Norfolk, England, is the private residence of the British royal family and has been since 1862. Every year, the Queen and her family spend Christmas at Sandringham House, a tradition that dates back over a century.
In the later years though, it has also been known as an annual haunting, starting most often at Christmas Eve and lasting for a few weeks.
The tradition of spending Christmas at Sandringham House began in the late 19th century, when Queen Victoria’s son, King Edward VII, purchased the estate. Since then, the royal family has spent every Christmas at Sandringham House, with the exception of a few years during World War II.
The Queen and her family typically arrive at Sandringham House a few days before Christmas, and spend the holiday period together. The festivities include a number of traditions, such as the exchange of gifts on Christmas Eve and a formal dinner on Christmas Day.
Today, Christmas at Sandringham House is a highly anticipated event, both for the royal family and for the public. Members of the royal family attend a Christmas Day church service at St. Mary Magdalene Church, which is located on the Sandringham estate. Crowds of well-wishers gather outside the church to catch a glimpse of the royals as they arrive and leave.
In addition to the church service, the Queen and her family participate in a number of other holiday traditions. These include a Christmas Eve dinner, where the family exchanges gifts, and a Boxing Day pheasant shoot.
So who is it actually that haunts Sandringham House, even in the place of the royals?
The Victorian residence has been said to have some sort of poltergeist-like activity, especially in the servant quarters of the house where blankets are pulled off the beds. They hear mysterious footsteps in the dead of night and the doors are closing and opening by themselves.
The most haunted place is the sergeant footman’s corridor where the maids only go in pair or groups. The lights turn on and off and there have also been said to be a heavy and haunted breathing from the empty rooms in the service corridors, and at one point, servants were refusing to go into certain rooms as they thought the heavy breathing was the ghost of a former footman.
Christmas cards move around and are thrown all over the floor on Christmas Eve.
It is not only the servants that have said they have felt the haunting presence, but even the King himself is said to have noticed.
Ken Stronach, the valet of King Charles said in an interview that:
“Everyone believes there are ghosts because so many have -experienced them, ¬ including Prince Charles. There are old parts of the house where nobody wants to go or be alone,”
The valet also talked about an incident in the mid 80’s where they also had an experience of a drop in temperature and that they both were convinced that someone was there in the room with them.
The uncle of Prince Phillip, Prince Christopher of Greece claimed to have seen the head and shoulders of a woman in a mirror when he was staying in Sandringham. Later he saw a portrait of the woman that he claimed it was of. Her name was Dorothy Walpole, and has been called the Brown Lady as she has been frequently seen haunting her old home in Raynham Hall in Norfolk.
Read More about: The Lady in Brown at Raynham Hall
Also the library in the house is said to be one of the more haunted rooms in the house. A servant was once napping in the room when being woken up by the books flying off the shelves. The hands of an old clock are also said to be moving by themselves, not following the time at all.
One of the more surprising things that happened though, is when the late Queen Elizabeth II had a ritual in one of the rooms because of the ghosts they believed resided in there.
The room in question belonged to the Queen’s late father, King George VI on the ground floor they used for him before his death, and it was said it was so haunted that the staff refused to work there.
According to reports, a person came to hold a service to, as quoted, “not exactly of exorcism, but bringing tranquility.”
The service was to hola a congregation where they took the Holy Communion and said some special prayers.
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