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A House Fit for a Queen… and Her Ghosts

The Queen’s House was commissioned in 1616 by Anne of Denmark, wife of King James I as an apology from him after swearing at her in public. It is worth noting though, she did just shoot his dog, although it was an accident. Designed by the revolutionary architect Inigo Jones, it was England’s first consciously classical building—a stark contrast to the Gothic styles that came before.

The home has been inhabited by many female royals over the centuries. However, Anne never got to enjoy her royal retreat, as she died in 1619 before its completion. The house was eventually finished in 1635 under Queen Henrietta Maria (wife of Charles I), but from the get-go, it seems this regal residence was destined to be haunted.

**Ghosts Haunting the House:** There is said to be more than one ghost haunting the place. A lot of the paranormal activity is said to be around the grand tulip stairs. // Source: Elliott Brown/Flickr

Over the centuries, the Queen’s House has been home to royalty, naval officers, and later, the National Maritime Museum. With so many lives passing through its halls, it’s no wonder that whispers of eerie encounters began to surface. Strange voices, phantom footsteps, and inexplicable shadows have all been reported within its grand walls. But none of these compares to the chilling mystery of the Tulip Staircase.

The Ghost Caught on Camera

Let’s rewind to 1966—when the famed image of The Tulip Staircase Ghost was taken at the stairs. A retired Canadian reverend, R.W. Hardy, and his wife were visiting the Queen’s House on a casual tourist outing. Around 5.00pm Rev Hardy was taking photographs of the interior of the building. He was using a Zeiss Ikon Contina camera with a Zavar Anastigmat lens and skylight haze filter and K2 daylight film. He took a seemingly innocent photograph of the house’s famous Tulip Staircase, an architectural marvel with its elegant spiral design and delicate wrought-iron railings.

At the time there was no one there, this was according to his wife as well, standing by his side. There was also a ‘no admittance’ sign, and no one was around them.

**Ghost on the Stairs**: The picture was said to be sent to experts to check the validity of the image. Although it certainly could be a classic case of double exposure, the image of The Tulip Staircase Ghost *still holds a lot of credibility with some.*

When the film was developed, what should have been a simple snapshot became one of the most famous paranormal images in history. The photo clearly shows a shrouded, shadowy figure ascending the staircase, gripping the railing with an almost skeletal hand. Not one, but two hands, in fact, as if someone—or something—was climbing upward.

Experts—including Kodak in their laboratory—examined the negative, ruling out tampering or double exposure. The eerie, translucent figure remained unexplained, solidifying its place in ghost-hunting lore.

Who—or What—Haunts the Queen’s House?

Theories about the Tulip Staircase Ghost abound, but the Queen’s House doesn’t just have one restless spirit. Some believe the spectral figure belongs to a 17th-century maid who was murdered on the staircase. Legend has it that she was pushed—or fell—to her death, and her tormented soul lingers to this day. Visitors and staff have reported hearing phantom footsteps on the staircase, feeling unseen hands brush against them, and even spotting a woman in old-fashioned clothing drifting through the halls, cleaning up the pool of blood before vanishing into thin air.

Read Also: The Brown Lady of Raynham Hall, another ghost allegedly caught on cam in a mansion in England.

But she’s not alone. Other ghostly residents allegedly include the sound of disembodied children laughing, the echoes of mysterious chanting, and the sudden appearance of shadowy figures that dissolve when approached. One particularly unnerving report comes from a group of restoration workers in the 1960s, who claimed to hear loud, violent footsteps following them—only to turn around and find no one there.

The Haunting Continues Through a Séance

As news of the spectral photograph of The Tulip Staircase Ghost spread, seven members of paranormal investigation organisation The Ghost Club decided to spend the night of Saturday 24 June 1967 in the Queen’s House to investigate the claims. They had to wear soft-soled shoes, synchronise their watches and carry a working torch, notebook and pencil at all times. Everything was to be noted down, from odd noises and smells to any feeling of a presence.

**Séance in the Queen Anne House:** held at night by members of The Ghost Club at the Queen’s House on 24th June 1967 after they saw the photo of the The Tulip Staircase Ghost.

According to some sources, they found some startling discoveries, such as bells ringing and shadowy figures. However, the vigil and séance produced no conclusive evidence of the paranormal that night, or any other night after.

A Haunting That Stands the Test of Time

Today, the Queen’s House is a part of the Royal Museums of Greenwich and what is now known as the Old Royal Naval College. While it’s best known for its art collection and architectural significance, those with an eye for the supernatural know better. The Tulip Staircase Ghost remains one of the most compelling pieces of paranormal evidence ever captured, and the building itself continues to exude an air of mystery.

Skeptics might scoff, dismissing the ghostly figure as a trick of light or an overactive imagination. But those who’ve felt the chill of unseen eyes watching them, or heard the spectral echoes of the past, know that the Queen’s House is more than just a historical landmark—it’s a place where the past refuses to stay buried.

So, if you ever find yourself in Greenwich, take a stroll through the Queen’s House. Admire its beauty, soak in its history… and maybe, just maybe, glance over your shoulder. You never know who—or what—might be following you up the Tulip Staircase.

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References:

The Tulip Staircase Ghost – Burials & Beyond

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The Tulip Staircase, Queens House

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Inside of Dering Woods Nicknamed the Screaming Woods

28. January 2024 Mirror Leave a comment

The Highwayman’s Lament

One of the enduring legends associated with the Screaming Woods involves an unnamed highwayman from the 18th century whose spectral presence is said to haunt the Dering Woods and the nearby road.

According to local lore, this highwayman was captured and met a gruesome end at the hands of vengeful villagers. He was chased through the Screaming Woods when the villagers, or so called peacekeepers got a hold of him, pinned him to one of the old oak trees and decapitated him.

This is said to have taken place close to the Smarden Bell Road that has been nicknamed the Fright Corner and is also the place were people have reported about seeing his ghost.

The blood-curdling screams are often attributed to his tormented spirit, suggesting a lingering grudge that transcends the boundaries of the afterlife and seems to have given the forest its name.

The Ghost of the Colonel

Another ghost said to haunt the grounds of the Dering Woods is the ghost of an army officer that in the 18th century ventured into the forest and committed suicide in one of the trees in the former Park Wood that used to be an adjacent forest.

The trees are no longer there but It is said that the ghost of the 1700 soldier is still seen hanging from the trees, or some even claim he is still marching through the woods still wearing his uniform.

No one really knows his rank, however the locals have dubbed him the Colonel.

The Halloween Massacre of Dering Woods

Delving deeper into the annals of Dering Woods’ haunted history, another tale emerges—the mysterious Dering Wood Massacre of 1948 found on many of the high ranking paranormal blogs as well as most haunted lists in magazines like Conde Nast Traveler. But how many of these more recent tales are actually true?

The first story goes like this: On the morning of November 1, a dog walker was out in the woods where he made a horrifying discovery. Locals were left in shock as 20 lifeless bodies were reportedly discovered in a pile inside of the Screaming Woods. Eleven of the dead victims were children. They were all identified as villagers from the nearby Maltman’s Hill area.

The previous night, Halloween, had been marked by strange lights emanating from the woods, creating an eerie backdrop to the unfolding tragedy.

**Haunted Forest:** Many ghost stories have started circulating around the so called screaming forest. Dering Woods have even gotten a couple of urban legends viral. //Source: David Anstiss/Source

Autopsies failed to determine a cause of death, adding to the mystique surrounding the event. There were no wounds og signs of struggle that could point to what they died of. What they did settle on though after a few weeks was that they had all died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

The public were not satisfied with these answers though and there have been many questions and speculations after it all. One of them was the possible involvement of the police forces as they closed the case down too quickly.

In 1964, there was a private investigator that did a deep dive into the mystery. Robert Collins interviewed and speculated that it could be an unknown religious cult in Smarden village close to the Dering Woods.

His investigation became inconclusive though as he died in a car accident that year.

The Missing Students

The Halloween Massacre was not the last time something strange and tragic happened inside of the forest. On a Friday on November 6th in 1998 the residents of Pluckley reported about some strange strange lights coming from the Screaming Woods. It was described as “Figures of light resembling a spider’s web.”

That night, four university students went missing after they went camping in the woods. They were never found.

Creepy Pasta Lore that Evolved

But how real are these stories really? Both of them are, according to sources and those taking a deeper dive into the stories, said to have originated on the internet as creepy pasta in 2015 or around then.

The stories have both been made to scare and amuse people, but many seem to have taken them to heart and as actual events. With the in depth “sources” the creepy pasta have used with pictures and everything, it could fool many. And with the rate bloggers keep copy and pasting things without further investigations, these stories have often been passed around as real events.

But when looking closer to the supposed news articles confirming the stories, we see many things that points to this being fake. The British newspapers use American spelling, as well as adding a website to it.

The image used as a source of the Smarden Post news article about the massacre is actually a picture of Lithuanians and Soviet Union officers standing together after the first excavations of 20 murdered Jewish men in Utyan in Lithuania in 1944. Source to original picture and its history.

The picture used for the 1998 case with the missing students is actually a photograph from an 2008 article in The Telegraph about Puckley being one of England’s most haunted villagers.

To read the creepy pasta in its full form, head over to CreepyPasta.

A Tapestry of Unresolved Spirits in the Screaming Woods

Dering Woods, with its intertwining narratives of spectral highwaymen and a chilling 1948 massacre, has become a hotspot for paranormal enthusiasts and those intrigued by the unknown.

The Dering Woods ancient trees stand as silent witnesses to the enigmatic occurrences that have unfolded beneath their branches and continue to spark the imagination of new stories.