The ghost of Anne Boleyn

History of Ghosts: The Ghost of Anne Boleyn

Medieval Europe has certainly had its share of ghostly sightings, as well. England’s 16th century king, Henry VIII, sought a male heir. Having no success with previous wives, Henry married Anne Boleyn. Sadly, however, she never bore him a son, only succeeding in miscarrying a male child. As the Church did not permit divorce, King Henry sought to trump up false charges against Anne, including adultery, so as to have her executed (thereby allowing Henry the opportunity to re-marry and have a male heir to the throne of England). Henry succeeded in setting up his his wife, Anne Boleyn, and she was beheaded at the Tower of London on May 19, 1536 and subsequently buried within the Tower of London in an arrow chest. Since that fateful day, Anne Boleyn has become perhaps the most famous ghost in perhaps the most haunted location in all of Europe, the Tower of London.

 It is said that, in 1817, a sentry at the Tower encountered Anne’s ghostly, headless apparition and promptly died of a heart attack. Later, in 1863, a guard at the Tower was court-martialed for having “fallen asleep on duty.” What had actually taken place, according to the guard, was that he had encountered the figure of a headless woman, wearing a “queer bonnet” steadily approaching, failing to heed his orders to halt. He then thrust his bayonet into the woman, which sent a fiery shock through him, causing him to lose consciousness. After witnesses corroborated the guard’s story, he was fully acquitted of all charges. A similar event occurred in 1933 when Anne’s headless figure walked into his bayonet, and he ran screaming into the guardsroom for help. Read about The Haunted Tower of London.