London, United Kingdom
The ominous Tower of London is not only one of the city’s top tourist attractions, it’s also considered the most haunted. The historic castle has seen its fair share of torture, execution and murder in its nearly 1,000-year history; the sheer number of spirits that haunt its stone passageways attests to that. A few of the Tower’s most famous ghostly figures include Anne Boleyn, who was beheaded on Tower Green in 1536 on orders from her husband Henry VIII after giving birth to a stillborn son. Anne’s apparition is particularly gruesome; she is often spotted wandering the grounds carrying her own severed head. Visitors to the Tower may also encounter the tormented ghost of the Countess of Salisbury: In 1541, this English peeress refused to place her head on the scaffold, and was chased around Tower Green until the executioner caught up with her and brutally hacked her to death. A few Tower of London visitors have even witnessed this bizarre and terrifying scene reenacted by spirits on the green. Just hope they aren’t in the mood to put on a show on the day you visit.
