Ghosts of The Tower of London Trivia Quiz

Answer: Anne Boleyn

Anne Boleyn was Henry VIII's second wife. Unfortunately however she failed in her prime duty, which was to give him a son and heir, and this led to her losing her life. Accused and found guilty of adultery she was beheaded on Tower Green in May 1536. Her headless body was placed in an arrow case and buried under the floor in the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula. As well as the Chapel her ghost has also been seen on Tower Green, and in The White Tower and the King's House.

Jane Seymour died shortly after giving birth.
Anne of Cleeves was divorced from Henry.
Katherine Parr outlived him.

Answer: Thomas Becket

The Water Gate, popularly known as Traitors' Gate, was the river entrance to the Tower for those condemned to death after trial at Westminster. In 1240 construction work on it was nearing completion when it collapsed in a storm, rebuilding commenced, but the same thing happened again exactly a year later. There was an investigation into this, during which a priest claimed to have seen the ghost of Thomas Becket striking the walls with a crucifix, proclaiming that the new building "was not for the common good but for the injury and prejudice of Londoners".

Thomas Cranmer and Thomas Wolsley all held office under Henry VIII.

Answer: Guy Fawkes

Following the failure of the Gunpowder Plot and the arrest of Guy Fawkes, he was sent to the Tower where he was tortured until he confessed to his part in the plot, and provided the names of his co-conspirators. His screams were heard all over the Tower. He was subsequently sentenced to death and was hung drawn and quartered in 1606.

Many claim to still hear his screams, especially on and around the anniversary of his death.

Anthony Babbington - Leader of the Babbington Plot to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I and replace her with Mary Queen of Scots.
Lady Jane Grey - Queen for nine days after the death of Edward VI. Imprisoned in the Tower by Queen Mary and executed there.
Sir Walter Raleigh - Buccaneer and explorer - executed by James I.

Answer: Lady Salisbury

The Countess of Salisbury, the last of the Plantagenets, was executed by King Henry VIII for his own political ends. In 1538 one of her sons, and various other relatives, had already been executed, and she herself spent two years in the Tower before being condemned to death. She refuted the allegations of treachery and refused to lay her head on the block, and when the executioner came after her she attempted to run from him screaming for her life. He pursued her, axe in hand, and eventually she was hacked to death.

This awful event is said to replay itself each anniversary of her death, and some people claim to have seen the shadow of a large axe falling across the place of her murder.

Answer: A Bear

The Royal Menagerie was housed in the Tower for some years and was home to a variety of animals including lions, leopards, bears, birds, monkeys and an elephant. One night in January 1815, on the stroke of midnight, a Sentry saw a bear emerge from a doorway.

He attempted to run it through with his bayonet, but this passed straight through it. The Sentry fainted and was discovered unconscious a little while later. He died some 2 months later, allegedly of shock.

Answer: Salt Tower

The deep, dank dungeons in this Tower were used for housing Catholic priests who had been captured defying Henry VIII by continuing to preach the Catholic faith and celebrate Mass. Henry Walpole, a Jesuit Priest, was imprisoned here in 1593. Despite being repeatedly tortured he died without revealing the names of his Catholic contacts. Visitors finding themselves alone in his cell have found the room suddenly filled with a yellow glow, and have heard voices murmuring as if in prayer, and then felt the touch of icy fingers on the back of their neck.

Answer: King Henry VI

King Henry Vl was an ineffectual Monarch,who was dominated by his wife, Margaret of Anjou, and who was also prone to bouts of insanity. His reign ended in 1471 with defeat at the Battle of Tewksbury. He was taken prisoner and imprisoned in the Wakefield Tower where, on 21 May 1471, as he knelt at his small window altar he was stabbed to death.

It has long been believed that the murder was carried out by the Duke of Gloucester (later Richard III) though this has never been proved. His ghost briefly appears on each anniversary of his death.

As the clock ticks towards midnight, the time of his murder, he appears and paces round the room, fading slowly out of sight at the last stroke of midnight.

Answer: Walter Raleigh

Sir Walter Raleigh was no stranger to the Tower having been sent there more than once. Queen Elizabeth I imprisoned him for marrying one of her Ladies in Waiting, Elizabeth Throckmorton, without her permission. However, as he remained something of a favourite of hers despite his marriage, he was allowed far more freedom than most prisoners and exercised outside of his cell most days. After the death of Elizabeth, King James I did not feel so well disposed towards him. After a failed search for El Dorado, which led to the sacking of a Spanish town by his crew, James had him imprisoned in the Tower and then, in October 1618, held what can only be described as a show trial in an attempt to appease the Spanish. The guilty verdict was a foregone conclusion and Raleigh was executed. His execution was not in the Tower itself, but in Whitehall.

His ghost can be seen in the Byward Tower where he was imprisoned, and on what is known as Raleigh's Walk, where he used to exercise.

Francis Drake is famous for his part in the victory over the Spanish Armada.
John Oxenham was one of Elizabeth I's captains and was executed by the Spanish for piracy. Henry Teach was a notorious Pirate.

Answer: Katherine Howard

Poor Katherine Howard, Henry VIII's fifth wife, was only 19 when she was executed for adultery. As she was brought to the Tower, via Traitors Gate, she would have been able to see the heads of her two lovers mounted on spikes on Tower Bridge. She is said to have spent the night before her execution practicing laying her head on the block so as not to look undignified. Her sad ghost has been seen on Tower Green just looking at the place of her execution.

Katherine of Aragon died of natural causes.
Katherine Parr survived Henry.
Mary Boleyn was Anne's sister, and Henry's mistress before he met Anne.

Answer: Edward V and Richard Duke of York

Edward V (Age 12) and Richard Duke of York (Age 10), the sons of Edward IV, were housed in the Bloody Tower, allegedly for their own protection, by their Uncle, The Duke of Gloucester (Richard III). They disappeared, and popular opinion held that they had been murdered on the orders of The Duke of Gloucester to enable him to take the throne. The shadows of two small figures, hand in hand, have been seen gliding down the staircase of The Bloody Tower.

In 1674 workmen found a chest containing the skeletons of two small children, who were presumed to be the Princes. Shortly after that discovery the skeletons were given a royal burial, but that was not enough to lay the ghosts, and reported sightings of them continue to this day.

It has, of course, never been proven that the skeletons were those of the Princes and their disappearance remains unexplained.