With nearly a thousand years of history – full of royal mysteries, betrayals, and executions – it’s no surprise that The Tower of London’s ancient walls hold more than just memories. From the tragic Princes in the Tower to Anne Boleyn’s ghostly presence, we’ve uncovered some of the most hair-raising sightings reported by the Beefeaters, the Tower’s resident guards. We asked Barney and Fraggle, two of the Tower’s Yeoman Warders (or Beefeaters, as they’re more famously known), about their own eerie encounters.
Let’s just say – we won’t be wandering around the Tower alone after dark anytime soon…
The Ghostly Princes in the Tower
The Ghostly Princes in the Tower
Perhaps the most heartbreaking tale in the Tower’s long history is that of Edward V and his younger brother, Richard, Duke of York. Imprisoned in the Bloody Tower in 1483 by their uncle, Richard III, they mysteriously vanished, never to be seen alive again. Their disappearance remains one of history’s greatest unsolved mysteries – but maybe they haven’t disappeared entirely.
Beefeaters and visitors alike have reported strange sightings of two young boys dressed in period clothing, playing outside the Bloody Tower. But it’s not just adults who’ve witnessed them. Children who have lived in the Tower have spoken about “the boys”. One Beefeater described how he heard his son chatting away to someone in his room, but when he went in, the child was alone. “Just the boys” was his answer when asked who he was speaking with.
Then there’s the case of Barney’s daughter, who would set up her toy soldiers every night before bed. Without fail, she’d wake up complaining that someone had moved them. One night, her mother watched carefully as she arranged them in a single line facing forward, but by morning, the soldiers were in two neat lines, facing each other, as if ready for battle. No one had entered the room, and the young girl had been asleep all night.
Coincidence? Or were the princes still playing their childhood games, centuries later?
Anne Boleyn – The Headless Queen
Anne Boleyn – The Headless Queen
Few figures loom as large in the Tower’s ghostly history as Anne Boleyn, the ill-fated second wife of Henry VIII. Executed on Tower Green in 1536, her spirit is said to wander the Tower grounds, sometimes headless, carrying her own severed noggin in her arms.
She’s most often seen near the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula, where she was hastily buried after her beheading. Some say her spectral figure has been spotted gliding through the chapel, while others claim to have heard the sound of weeping from within its walls late at night.
One Beefeater swears he saw a flickering light moving through the chapel, only to find nothing there when he went to investigate…
The Mysterious Tudor Woman of Traitor’s Gate
The Mysterious Tudor Woman of Traitor’s Gate
A particularly chilling encounter occurred near Traitor’s Gate, the infamous entrance through which many doomed prisoners arrived at the Tower.
One early morning, a Beefeater on sentry duty spotted a woman in full Tudor dress emerging from the mist. Thinking she was a lost visitor, he called out to her, as the grounds weren’t open to the public that early in the day. But as soon as he spoke, the river mist rolled back over the wall, and the woman turned and disappeared into it – as if she had never been there at all.
Who was she? A forgotten Tudor prisoner? A wronged queen? The Tower isn’t saying…
A Beefeater’s Haunted Hound
Not all ghostly encounters involve royalty – some involve the Tower’s four-legged residents. One Beefeater was home alone at the Tower one evening when he suddenly heard his dog’s squeaky toy being played with in another room. There was just one problem – his dog was away with his family that weekend.
The Beefeater checked the room and found the toy sitting exactly where it had been left. No one else was in the house. But as he turned to leave, he swore he heard one last little squeak…
Visiting the Tower? Keep Your Eyes (and Ears) Open!
Visiting the Tower? Keep Your Eyes (and Ears) Open!
Whether you believe in ghosts or not, there’s no denying that something (or someone) lingers within the Tower of London’s ancient walls.
If you’re visiting with The London Pass, take your time exploring the Bloody Tower, Traitor’s Gate, and the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula – you never know who (or what) might be watching. And if you hear the sound of children laughing when no one’s around… well, don’t say we didn’t warn you!
