The Tower of London Pt. 2

[00:00:00] Hi there, and welcome to Out There, a cryptid podcast. I'm Josh. And today, we're stepping back inside one of the most infamous places in history to hear stories throughout the years of the ghosts that haunt the Tower of London. Let's dive in. It's baseball, but so much more. Go bananas for banana ball with ESPN on Disney+. The greatest show in sports is the phenomenon everyone's talking about.

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[00:00:44] Terms apply. Last time we talked about the history of the Tower of London, the executions,

[00:01:23] the prisoners, and the events that built its reputation over the centuries. But there is another layer to this place. Because long after the history ended, people who have lived and worked inside the Tower began reporting something strange. Not once, not occasionally, but repeatedly. Across generations. So now we are coming back, not to talk about what the Tower was, but what some people

[00:01:51] believe is still behind those stone walls. We'll get into the Tower of London right after this. There are places that feel old, and then there are places that feel like they remember everything that has ever happened inside them. The Tower of London is one of those places. Because this is not just a

[00:02:15] building with history. It's a place where that history feels like it never really left. The same walls that held prisoners, witnessed executions, and saw people disappear, still stand exactly where they have always. And in a city like London, a place already filled with mystery and centuries of dark stories,

[00:02:38] the Tower stands out in a way that is hard to ignore. And it is not just the people that claim this place is haunted. It's how often those claims repeat. The same figures, the same locations, the same experiences described over and over again by people who had no connection to each other. And when that starts to happen, it raises a different kind of question. Not whether something was seen once, but

[00:03:07] why the same thing keeps being seen over and over again. We know the history of this building. We have seen how many people entered these walls without ever knowing what would happen to them. Some walked inside as prisoners, some as political enemies, some as queens, and many of them never walked back out

[00:03:31] again. In the paranormal world, there is a long-standing belief that places connected to intense emotion or traumatic events can somehow hold on to that energy. Not necessarily in a conscious way, but almost like an imprint. A moment that repeats. A feeling that never fully fades. And whether you believe that or not,

[00:03:54] it is hard to ignore how often that idea comes up in places tied to fear, grief, violence, or death. Because the Tower of London is not just one tragedy. It's centuries of them layered on top of each other, inside the same stone walls. Interrogations, executions, imprisonment, betrayal, disappearances,

[00:04:23] torture. People spending their final days in cold rooms, not knowing whether they would be released or led to their deaths. Over time, the Tower stopped feeling like just a structure and started feeling like a place where history settled into the walls themselves. And maybe that is why for centuries, guards, visitors,

[00:04:46] and even staff have continued reporting the same strange experiences inside these walls. Figures appearing and disappearing, footsteps in empty corridors, voices where no one should be. The same stories repeating across generations, as if something inside the Tower never fully moved on. We are going to go through

[00:05:10] the most famous and most consistently reported hauntings connected to the Tower of London. Not just random stories pulled from the internet, but the figures and encounters that continue to come up again and again throughout the Tower's history. The figures most commonly reported, the stories that never fully disappeared, and the encounters that helped turn the Tower of London from a place known only for its

[00:05:37] history into one of the most infamous haunted locations in the world. It seems fitting we start with possibly the most famous person to be tied to the Tower, and it is even more fitting that she is the most reportedly seen spirit. The most famous sightings of Anne Boleyn's ghost are said to happen near the Chapel Royal of St.

[00:06:01] St. Peter and Vincula, the small chapel inside the Tower where she was buried after her execution in 1536. Late at night, witnesses have claimed to see a pale figure in white Tudor clothing silently drifting across the grounds toward the chapel. But as the figure gets closer, they realize something horrifying.

[00:06:25] She has no head. Instead, Anne is said to carry it tucked beneath her arm as she moves through the darkness before suddenly disappearing near the chapel entrance. Over time, that image of the doomed queen wandering the Tower where she died became one of the most famous ghost stories in all of England.

[00:06:51] But there is one specific story connected to Anne Boleyn's ghost that stands out, because this wasn't just someone claiming they saw a shadow in the distance or felt cold air in a hallway. In 1864, a guard named Captain J.D. Dundas claimed to have come face to face with the queen herself years after her death.

[00:07:17] The story takes place during a late night watch near the chapel grounds. The tower would have been almost completely silent, lit only by torchlight and the faint glow of lanterns reflecting off the old stone walls. Captain Dundas was standing guard when he suddenly noticed a pale figure slowly approaching through the darkness. At first, he likely assumed it was an intruder, wandering where they shouldn't be.

[00:07:44] As the figure moved closer, he called out, demanding whoever it was to identify themselves. But there was no answer. The woman kept moving toward him in complete silence. So Dundas shouted again. Still, nothing. No footsteps, no voice, just this pale figure gliding toward him through the night air.

[00:08:08] At that point, he reportedly panicked, believing he was dealing with a trespasser. He lowered his bayonet and charged forward, thrusting the weapon directly at the figure. But instead of striking a person, the blade allegedly passed straight through her, as if she wasn't even there. And then the figure

[00:08:32] vanished. The guard collapsed unconscious on the spot. According to the story, Dundas was later brought before his superiors because falling asleep or abandoning your post at the Tower of London was considered an extremely serious offense. But before punishment could be handed down, another guard reportedly stepped forward and claimed he had seen the same ghostly woman that night, backing up his story.

[00:09:03] And if that story is true, then it would mean Anne Boleyn's ghost may still be wandering the very same path as she walked during her final moments of life. Because another one of the most chilling sightings tied to the Tower doesn't happen near the chapel where she was buried, but at the exact place where she died.

[00:09:27] Inside the Tower walls, there is a small area known as Tower Green, which was the private execution site reserved for the nobles. On the morning of May 19th, 1536, Anne Boleyn was led there to be beheaded before a small crowd after being accused of treason against King Henry VIII. And according to countless ghost stories over the centuries, some believe she never truly left. Late at night, witnesses have

[00:09:56] claimed to see the figure of a woman standing silently near the execution memorial, dressed in a flowing Tudor clothing. Some describe her as almost transparent, like a faint outline appearing in the darkness before fading away again. Others say the figure appears headless, standing completely motionless, as if frozen in the final moments before her execution. And just as suddenly as she appears,

[00:10:26] she vanishes within seconds. What makes the sighting even more strange is that many of them are said to happen around the anniversary of Anne's death, leading some people to wonder if whatever happened on Tower Green that morning in 1536 somehow left a permanent mark behind. And then there are the sightings that feel

[00:10:51] less like a single ghost, and more like something that replays itself. As if the tower is holding on to a moment it cannot forget. Now this is where the legend of the phantom procession comes in. In some accounts, Anne Boleyn is not seen alone at all, but instead appears as part of a silent procession moving through the tower grounds. Witnesses describe the first signs not as a visual at all, but a sound.

[00:11:20] The faint echo of footsteps on stone, the soft ruffle of fabric, sometimes even the impression of movement before anything is visible. And then, out of the darkness, figures begin to take shape. Tudor-era guards, noblemen dressed in period clothing, and among them, Anne Boleyn herself,

[00:11:44] walking calmly as if being escorted once more through the final path she took toward her execution. There is no struggle in the scene, no chaos, just a slow quiet procession moving through the shadows of the tower. As if time has folded back in on itself. And then, just as quickly as it appears,

[00:12:09] it's gone. No figures, no footsteps, only silence again. Stories like this are often tied to the idea that moments of extreme emotion or tragedy can imprint on themselves, and they imprint into a place. Almost like the past is not fully past at all, but something that occasionally replace in fragments

[00:12:34] when conditions are right. But while most of the stories about Anne Boleyn's ghost are tied to the chapel, or Tower Green, or even the grounds outside, there are also quieter, more unsettling reports that place her inside the tower itself. Inside the white tower, where thick stone walls hold centuries of history, there are occasional accounts of something that does not quite belong to the present. Visitors and staff

[00:13:04] have described brief sightings of a woman in pale clothing appearing, for just a moment, in long, empty hallways before fading out as quickly as she appeared. In some cases, there is no clear visual at all. Just an overwhelming feeling that someone else is there, watching from just out of sight. Along with these sightings come sudden drops in temperature, like pockets of cold air that seem to form without

[00:13:32] reason. Some people report an uneasy pressure in the atmosphere, a feeling of being watched even when the corridors are completely empty. And when anyone tries to focus on what they think they saw, the figure is already gone. Unlike the more famous stories tied to specific locations, like Tower Green or the chapel, these reports are harder to pin down. There's no single moment or documented event that

[00:14:00] anchors them, just scattered accounts that continue to surface over time, adding another layer to the mystery of Anne Boleyn's presence inside the Tower of London. Now, there is one recent and disturbing rumor tied to Anne Boleyn's name. Something that is spread mainly online rather than through traditional Tower of London folklore. In these modern retellings, it is said that Anne Boleyn's spirit is not

[00:14:27] seen walking calmly or standing still in the older accounts, but instead appears in a far more unsettling way. The story claims that she is seen moving in a crawling, almost spider-like manner through the dark parts of the tower, her body contorted in an unnatural way as she drags herself across the stone floors.

[00:14:55] She was then supposedly heard asking something along the lines of, quote, Henry, have you seen my head? And in some versions, this is even connected to the idea that King Henry himself witnessed her after her death. But this version doesn't come from historical records, eyewitness accounts, or the older ghost stories associated with the tower. It seems to be an internet-borne rumor.

[00:15:24] Still, it gets mentioned again and again in online discussions about the tower, and because of how widely it has spread in recent years, we needed to include it here, of course. Beyond the specific sightings around the former Queen, there are also smaller scattered reports that seem to build atmosphere more than they tell a single clear story. Some visitors have claimed that bells can sometimes be heard

[00:15:50] ringing without any visible source or explanation, echoing through the grounds when nothing appears to be moving them. Others describe strange, low-lying mists forming around Tower Green, even on nights when the air should be completely clear, as if the ground itself is holding on to something unseen. There are also more unsettling accounts of distant crying or faint screaming at night, sounds that seem to come and go without

[00:16:19] any identifiable origin. Of course, those aren't directly related to Anne Boleyn, but they could be the spirit of her, or they could be any of the countless people trapped inside these walls. The thing is that many of these reports are said to become more frequent around May 19th, the anniversary of Anne Boleyn's execution, as though the tower itself reacts to the date.

[00:16:46] And in more modern accounts, some visitors even claim that cameras or electronic equipment begin to glitch or fail when pointed towards certain areas near the chapel, as if something is interfering with what can and cannot be recorded. And when you put all these accounts together, it kind of becomes clear why Anne Boleyn is the most commonly reported ghost.

[00:17:10] Out of everyone connected to this place, she is easily one of the most famous figures to have ever walked through these walls, and also one of the most famously executed. Her story is already so dramatic and so well-known that it almost feels like it would stick here more than anyone else. So, whether people are actually seeing something or just interpreting shadows and atmosphere through the weight of history,

[00:17:38] it makes sense that her name keeps coming up again and again. Because, if there is one person tied to the tower that people are always going to recognize, it is Anne Boleyn. And in a place like this, that kind of history has a way of lingering. More on the Tower of London, right after this. Now moving on from Anne Boleyn,

[00:18:04] inside the Tower of London, there is one story that always feels heavier than the rest. It's the story of the princes in the tower, Edward and his younger brother Richard. They were last seen alive within those walls, and whatever happened to them has never been fully proven. That uncertainty is exactly what fuels the ghost stories that followed. One of the most unsettling accounts comes from inside the White Tower.

[00:18:33] Workers in the 1500s Officers reportedly began noticing something strange during quiet moments in the building. In the dim corridors, two small figures appeared. They were boys, standing side by side, dressed in what looked like simple night shirts, almost as if they had been pulled straight out of sleep. Witnesses described how still they were, not running or speaking, just standing there, together,

[00:19:01] in a way that felt disorienting, almost wrong. It wasn't just what they saw, but how the atmosphere changed because the air reportedly felt heavy and unnaturally quiet, like the entire space had paused around them. And then, as soon as someone tried to get closer, it ended. The workers stepped forward, and then the figure simply vanished without a sound.

[00:19:29] No footsteps echoing away, no movement down the hall. Nothing left behind except empty stone corridors, again. But beyond that single sighting in the White Tower, there are a bunch of other reports that keep building that same unsettling picture inside. Over the years, guards, workers, and visitors have described similar experiences that always seem to circle back to the same thing,

[00:19:56] even if they come from completely different times. People often talk about seeing two small figures near the staircase where their bodies were found, like that specific sighting. They are usually just standing there, together, in silence, sometimes holding hands before slowly fading away or vanishing completely. Some even claim to see the boys playing outside on the battlements.

[00:20:21] Others don't see anything at all, but they report hearing footsteps in empty corridors when no one is around, or feeling sudden drops in temperature in the same exact spots where the princes were believed to have been kept. There are even accounts of that uneasy feeling of being watched while standing alone in those passages, like something is still there, but just out of sight. Many have also claimed to hear children laughing,

[00:20:51] or sounds of light footsteps going up and down the stairs. Unlike with Anne's ghost, it doesn't seem like these sightings ever play out exactly the same way, but it does always seem to be the same image or idea. Two children, lost to history, still being seen in the places where their story supposedly ended. While the princes in the tower tend to dominate a lot of the darker ghost stories from the tower,

[00:21:20] they are not the only young lives said to still be tied to the place. Their story actually opens up a wider pattern that shows up again and again throughout the history of the tower, where figures connected to power, imprisonment, and early death seem to leave behind something that lingers. The same pattern carries into one of the quieter, but still really unsettling presences tied to this place.

[00:21:49] The Spirit of Lady Jane Grey Lady Jane Grey was held and later executed at the tower in 1554, when she was only 16 or 17 years old. After her extremely short and unwilling time as Queen, and after her execution, she was buried in the chapel of St. Peter, inside the tower grounds.

[00:22:15] The chapel is where most of the reports connected to her come from. People have described seeing a young woman in a pale or Tudor-style clothing near the chapel, who appears briefly and then fades away, very similar to Anne Boleyn. Other accounts do not describe anything visual at all, but instead talk about a sudden feeling of sadness or heaviness that comes over them, especially in the area where she is believed to be buried.

[00:22:46] There are also a few reports that place her presence in or around the White Tower and nearby corridors, which is where she was held before her execution. In those accounts, she is usually described as still and quiet, almost like she is just standing there or observing, before disappearing when someone gets closer. Compared to some of the more dramatic stories from the tower, her presence is usually described as subtle,

[00:23:14] more like a brief impression of someone who should not still be there, rather than something openly active. What makes her story even more interesting is how it connects and overlaps with other well-known tower legends. With the chapel of St. Peter, it's also the burial site of Anne Boleyn, which physically links the two of them, even though their ghost stories are often described very differently. Jane Grey is almost strongly tied to the chapel itself,

[00:23:43] while Anne is usually reported all across the tower grounds, especially around Tower Green and the areas connected to her execution. Because they share the same burial space, their stories sometimes get mixed together, even though the way people describe them tends to feel different. With Jane, it's usually a quiet kind of sorrow that feels anchored to one place. With Anne, it's a more restless presence that seems to move through different parts of the tower.

[00:24:12] But together, they add to this lingering feeling that the tower does not just hold history, but in some way, still hold on to their spirits. And then, there is another queen, one whose fate was also sealed within the tower's walls. Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry VIII, is most commonly linked to sightings inside the Tower of London that are described as unusually intense

[00:24:41] compared to other reported figures. While many historical hauntings are quiet or distant, more like apparitions standing still or fading in and out, her reported presence is something very different. In the most repeated accounts, she is seen running and screaming, moving through the grounds in a way that feels panicked, almost like she is still trying to escape something that is already over. And whether or not you believe in the paranormal,

[00:25:11] that image alone is unsettling, because it turns a historical moment into something that feels like it's still happening. But even that version of the story is not the only one. Because there is another figure tied to almost the exact same pattern. Margaret Pole, the Countess of Salisbury, was also imprisoned and executed within the same complex. Her death is remembered as

[00:25:40] chaotic and violent in its own right. Accounts describe confusion, resistance, and an execution that did not go as cleanly or orderly as others of that time. Accounts of the execution of Pole describe something far from orderly. As the axe was about to come down on her neck, she reportedly rose from the block and ran. The executioner followed, striking at her

[00:26:09] as she tried to escape, continuing until she was finally killed on the grounds. Over time, that detail has become important because it mirrors the same kind of running and screaming imagery later attached to Catherine Howard's ghost. So, whether this spirit is associated with Howard or Pole, you can see how the trauma of the tower continues to surface like echoes of its violent past.

[00:26:39] More on the Tower of London right after this. One of the most unsettling reports does not come from a queen or a prisoner, but from the gallery where the armor of Henry VIII is kept. Guards stationed there have described something they cannot explain in simple terms. A sudden pressure in a room. A feeling like the air changes. And then, in some cases, the sensation

[00:27:09] of something physically forcing itself onto them. A guard reportedly felt something like a heavy cloak drop over him out of nowhere. As he struggled, it tightened around his neck as if it were being pulled from behind. When he finally freed himself, the room was empty. Another account describes a guard alone in the gallery when a voice whispered right behind him, quote,

[00:27:38] there's only you and I here. When he turned, there was nothing there at all. This could be Henry VIII himself or something else tied to the White Tower, but either way, the stories all share the same unsettling idea. Not just that something is seen, but that something seems aware you are there and can make physical contact. And, speaking of physical contact,

[00:28:08] there are other reports from within the Tower where the experience goes beyond sightings and into direct interaction. One of the more unsettling modern accounts comes from the period when the governor of the Tower lived there with his family in the 1990s. During that time, his wife reportedly experienced something that she could not explain. While in one of the rooms, she felt a sudden, violent force push her so hard

[00:28:37] that it drove her into the hallway. There was no one else in the room. Others who have spent time in the Queen's house have also described unexplained moments, including feelings of unease and sightings of a sorrowful female figure moving through the space, often described as weeping or deeply distressed. All of this adds to a pattern that shows up again and again inside the Tower, different areas,

[00:29:06] different time periods, different witnesses, but the same kind of unexplained experiences being reported. However, there is one sighting that definitely doesn't fit the pattern, because this one has to do with what was once a wild animal. In one of the more unsettling reports tied to the Tower of London, there is a story that people often call the ghost bear attack. The account describes a guard working a late night shift inside the Tower,

[00:29:36] who hears heavy movement in an area that should have been empty. At first, it is written off as normal, old building noise, just the kind of sounds you expect from a place like that, settling and shifting. But then, the story changes when the guard reportedly sees something large and dark moving in the shadows. He described it as something that did not look like anything that should have been there. It suddenly moves

[00:30:05] toward him in a way that feels aggressive. And so, he backs off and calls backup. When others arrive, there is nothing there. No tracks, no damage, and nothing that explains what he saw. Now, you may be asking why the hell a bear ghost would be in the Tower of London. However, the Tower did house exotic animals for centuries. Bears were kept there along with other creatures

[00:30:35] that were gifted to royalty or brought in as symbols of power. So, while the ghost bear attack itself sounds insane, it does have history to back up its haunt. And that is what makes the story stick because it isn't a normal woman in white. It's an animal ready to attack. Now, moving away from probably the craziest sighting at the Tower, there is one more specific story that reinforces the idea that some sightings

[00:31:04] might just be replays of the Tower's dark history. And it comes from a soldier during World War II during the Blitz in 1940 at the Tower Gates. The city around the Tower and this soldier were already under constant bombardment and the fog that night was thick enough to swallow most of the skyline. But then he saw something in the mist. At first, it was just shapes. Four men slowly emerged out of the haze,

[00:31:35] walking, in step, like they already knew exactly where they were going. And they were carrying something between them, a stretcher. The soldier later claimed everything about them felt wrong from the start. Their movement was too steady, too quiet, almost unnatural. Like they were not reacting to the ground or the weather at all, just getting closer and closer through the fog. And then he saw what was on the stretcher.

[00:32:04] A body wrapped in a blanket, soaked through with blood. The fabric was dark and heavy with it, leaving no doubt about what he was looking at. He tried to call out and tried to step forward, but they kept coming until they were almost at the gates. And then, right as they reached him, they disappeared. No footsteps, no men, no stretcher. Just empty fog where all four figures had been

[00:32:34] a moment before. What makes this account even more interesting is how familiar it feels when you line it up with other tower sightings, especially the stories connected to Anne Boleyn. In both cases, people describe figures appearing briefly, moving in a very specific way, and then disappearing without any interaction or physical trace. That similarity is why a lot of paranormal researchers would label something like this as a possible example

[00:33:02] of a residual haunting. A residual haunting is the idea that a traumatic or emotional intense moment can somehow imprint itself onto a location. Instead of a spirit consciously interacting with the present, it is more like a replay of an event that already happened. The idea is that under certain conditions, people might witness that imprint almost like a recording playing back on repeat.

[00:33:31] These kinds of hauntings are often tied to places with heavy emotional or violent history where something significant or traumatic occurred. The theory suggests that strong moments, especially those involving fear, death, or a sudden tragedy, could leave behind an echo that repeats itself over time. And that is what makes stories like the blitz sighting at the tower feel so unsettling. Whether it is

[00:34:01] a soldier in the fog or figures tied to older legends like Anne Boleyn, the pattern people report is often the same. Brief appearances, no interaction, and then complete disappearance. Almost like the tower is not just remembered for its history, but still replaying parts of it. Of course, there are so many stories at this tower. Little one-off encounters scattered throughout the tower history, and even more

[00:34:30] spirits that people claim to have seen over the years. Some of the most well-known include the figure of Sir Walter Raleigh, who is often described as a tall presence pacing near windows or appearing lost in thought, almost as if he is still writing or processing everything that happened during his long imprisonments inside the tower, especially around the Bloody Tower. And then, there are smaller, more personal reports that do not always get as much attention.

[00:35:00] Visitors to the Bloody Tower have described sudden drops in temperature, whispers that sound quite like help me, and even the feeling of being gently touched when no one was there. Others have reported unexplained activity in staff-only areas, like a bathroom near Trader's Gate, where the sound of shoes moving under empty stalls was heard, only for nothing to be there when checked. In the White Tower, staff have also reported repeated unexplained noises,

[00:35:30] sometimes linked to a presence they refer to as Maud. Beyond the name figures and specific incidents, there are also the more general accounts that seem to show up everywhere inside the tower. The footsteps in empty corridors, bare or sandal-like sounds moving through stone passages, the feeling of being watched during night patrols, a sense that something is standing just out of sight, something, behind guards, or just off to the side, especially near

[00:36:00] older medieval sections, and along the riverside entrances. And what ties all of this together is that almost none of it ever comes with a clear visual confirmation. It is always just enough to make people stop, question it, and remember it. And when you step back and look at all of this together, it starts to feel less like isolated stories, and more like a pattern that has never really stopped repeating. Because the Tower

[00:36:29] of London is not just an old fortress, or a historical landmark. It's a place that has held centuries of imprisonment, execution, fear, and suffering within its walls. So, maybe it is not that surprising that so many people describe the same kinds of experiences. When a place carries that much history, that much emotion, and that much trauma, it raises the question of what actually stays behind. Whether it is memories,

[00:36:59] echoes, or something else entirely, the Tower seems to hold on to its past in a way that people still feel today. And, if any of these stories are even partly true, then maybe what people are seeing are not just ghosts in a traditional sense. Maybe they are moments still playing out, final scenes that never fully let go, or something inside the Tower still reaching out to the living, even now.

[00:37:29] Either way, one thing is clear. The Tower of London has never, really, ever been empty. So what do you think? Are the haunts of the Tower of London really out there? Be sure to follow us on Instagram at OutThere Cryptids for episode posts, updates, and more. Join our community on Discord where we dive even deeper into the mysteries we explore here on the

[00:37:59] podcast. The link can be found on our Instagram. And if you're loving the show, consider supporting us on Patreon. As a patron, you'll get exclusive perks like bonus episodes, early access, and even surprises. See you next week!