Moon Mausoleum
An online magazine about the paranormal, haunted and macabre. We collect the ghost stories from all around the world as well as review horror and gothic media.
Uncover the hidden shadows of England’s majestic Tower of London, home to stories of more than one ghost haunting the rooms, the hallways and the prison cells from many dark parts of England’s history.
Uncover the hidden shadows of England’s majestic Tower of London, home to stories of more than one ghost haunting the rooms, the hallways and the prison cells from many dark parts of England’s history.
Shrouded in centuries of fear and mystery, the ancient walls of the Tower of London on the north bank of the River Thames, hide within them a plethora of ghost stories that have been passed down through generations.
From secret passageways to encounters with mysterious apparitions, visit the legendary Haunted Ghosts Tower to uncover its dark history and uncover its spine-tingling tales of beheaded royals, tortured prisoners and missing princes as well as menacing forces following the guards.
Since its inception in 1066, the Tower of London has served as a royal residence, prison, armory and execution site. The White Tower gave the castle its name and was built by William the Conqueror in 1078. It was a symbol of the oppression over London after the new Norman ruling class.
Over the centuries it has seen kings and queens come and go, watched prisoners be tortured and witnessed countless executions within its walls. It ended up being a symbol of royal power and one of the most secure fortresses in the country. It is not only a stronghold of history but also an enduring source of horror stories that continue to haunt us today.
The Tower of London is known for its grisly past, having been the home to many famous and infamous prisoners until 1952. These included some of England’s most treasured monarchs, such as Anne Boleyn who was beheaded on May 19th 1536 and Sir Walter Raleigh, imprisoned in 1603 by King James I.
Other more notorious prisoners held at the tower were Guy Fawkes and conspirators involved in the Gunpowder Plot, who were later hung, drawn and quartered.
The Tower of London is reportedly one of the most haunted places in England, possibly due to its long and dark history. Ghostly figures are said to wander the dungeons, some even claiming to have seen Anne Boleyn’s headless ghost roaming its corridors.
One of the most recorded ghost sightings is that of Lady Jane Grey, a young girl who was crowned Queen for nine days before she was imprisoned and eventually beheaded at the ripe age of 17.
She was originally put as a queen to prevent the Catholic Mary Tudor from sitting on the throne. She first came to the Tower for her coronation, but was soon back as a prisoner. Mary I was ready to spare both her and her husband’s lives if they converted to catholicism. Lady Jane, a devout protestant refused. She was executed on 12 February in 1554 on Tower Green.
She is seen as a lonely ghost, wandering the battlements of the Tower. Her husband, Lord Guildford Dudley is also supposedly haunting the place. He can be seen in Beauchamp Tower, sitting in his cell and crying in the middle of the night.
Henry IV was the only English monarch to have been crowned King of France as well and he inherited the Hundred Years War from his uncle. He was crowned king of England at only nine months, the youngest person to have succeeded the English throne.
This was also the start of The War of Roses, a series of civil wars and Henry VI was imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1465, reinstated as king in 1470, but then imprisoned again in 1471.
Henry VI died that year, possibly killed on orders from King Edvard IV who took his crown.
Strange legends started to form around the late king after his death and he was hailed as a martyr and a saint that had done plenty of miracles. It is also said that he is one of the ghosts still haunting the tower.
It is said that he is seen at the last stroke of midnight in the Wakefield Tower, where some say he was praying when he was stabbed to death.
Margaret Plantagenet, Countess of Salisbury was a powerful woman who was one of the few of the House of Plantagenet to have survived the Wars of the Roses.
She was tried and sentenced to death to be executed whenever the king wanted. She spent two and a half years in the Tower of London as a prisoner before her execution happened in 1541.
Margaret Pole claimed her innocence until her last hour. This poem was found carved on the wall of her cell:
For traitors on the block should die;
I am no traitor, no, not I!
My faithfulness stands fast and so,
Towards the block I shall not go!
Nor make one step, as you shall see;
Christ in Thy Mercy, save Thou me!
The execution is said to have been bloody and grisly and the proud lady refused to kneel on the scaffold as that was for traitors, and she was none. The executioner had to chase her around as she tried to run and hacked her to death. She is now thought to be one of the many nobles that are haunting the Tower of London with her screams echoing on the Tower Green.
Many believe that the ghost of Anne Boleyn haunts the Tower of London due to her untimely demise. She married Henry VIII and altered the British church forever when she did so as the king had to divorce his original queen and wife for it. They were only married for three years though and she was unable to give him any sons. What she did though was give birth to what would be Queen Elizabeth I that would be one of the longest regents in the country.
During King Henry VIII’s reign, she was famously arrested, accused of treason and beheaded in 1536 at the Tower and has since become one of the most famous people in England’s history.
Anne Boleyn is supposedly a very busy ghost and she is said to haunt not only the tower but Hever Castle, Blickling Hall, Salle Church as well as Marwell Hall.
In the Tower of London she supposedly haunts the chapel of Church of St Peter ad Vincula in the tower where she is buried. She is also said to walk around the White Tower and on the Tower Green where she was held captive until her execution.
Her ghost is often spotted wearing a gray dress and walking with her head tucked under her arm—mirroring how she was killed. According to legend, if you see her apparition it means that death is soon to come.
One of the greatest mysteries in English history remains unsolved—the fate of the two young princes whose uncle, Richard III, had them sent to the Tower of London in 1943 where they were never seen again.
They were the sons of the late King Edward IV and were 9 and 12 years old when their father died and they were sent to the Tower of London. They grew up in great political turmoil during the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars of two branches of a family were fighting for the seat of the throne.
During their disappearance many assumed that Richard III was responsible for their murder, although this has since been disproven, or at least, bare little hard evidence to. But the most talked about theory is still that they died or were murdered pretty soon after they disappeared. To this day no one knows what happened to them, giving rise to a host of different theories about the missing princes.
Many of the paranormal activity and ghost sightings have been connected to the two missing princes, and many believe they are some of the ghosts that never left the tower at all. They are seen holding hands and wearing nightshirts in the White Tower as well as playing and giggling on the battlements.
Other ghosts that are said to haunt the Tower is that of Sir Walter Raleigh who were imprisoned in the tower once for a secret marriage and the second time for treason. The second imprisonment ended in an execution and his ghost is said to haunt the Bloody Tower where he was held.
The Ghost of Sir Walter Raleigh is also said to be seen along the battlements who is now known as Raleigh’s Walk
The Gray Lady is an unidentified ghost as well, but she is haunting the Queen’s House of the Tower and her presence is only seen by female visitors. This place is also where the ghost of Arbella Stuart is seen after she was either murdered or refused to eat at all.
Other unnamed ghosts that have been reported on are the White Lady whose presence is made known by the smell of cheap perfume that has made visitors sick.
Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.
Fawkes led the infamous Gunpowder Plot with a group of English Catholics that planned to kill the Protestant King James by blowing up the parliament. They were found out though and the plot failed and Fawke was arrested and sent to the Tower.
After torture, possible “on the rack” a famous torture instrument in the Tower, he gave in and told them all about their plan and named his accomplices as well.
For his execution in 1606 he was dragged from the Tower to Westminster to have the last sight be the building he tried to destroy. He was the last to die and had to watch his accomplices be hanged. He begged forgiveness of the King and the state as he walked to the scaffold. He was hanged and his body parts were distributed to the four corners of the kingdom as a warning sign to others that had their mind on treason.
Guy Fawkes are also one that are said to haunt the grounds and some claim to hear his screams from where he supposedly was tortured. .
Can animals become ghosts? According to the lore in the Tower of London, there are plenty of them. Having exotic animals like lions, pumas, tigers and elephants were something the rich often were gifted and a popular thing to have in your home to show off your wealth and power.
The most famous animal ghost in the Tower was a grizzly bear that supposedly charged at a guard around the Jewel Room who died of a fever two days later. There have also been spotted a Black Bear near the Martin Tower in 1816.
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