Haunted Isles -in the company of Grace Clairmont

 Image: Jacobus Houbraken via Wiki Commons  After a long labour that started on the 9th October Jane Seymour gave birth to Henry's longed for son at Hampton Court Palace on Friday 12th Oct 1537. Three days later, wrapped in furs for warmth, she made her last public appearance at the reception for Prince Edward's christening. Jane quickly sickened after her son's christening and by 17th October she was receiving last rites, she died in the early hours of 24th October 1537 probably from some form of child bed fever.  Her embalmed body remained at Hampton Court until November 12th when it was removed for burial in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. There's a legend that Jane's heart was buried, by order of Henry VIII,  under the stone altar in the Hampton Court Chapel Royal where her body lay in state. Jane Seymour's ghost has been seen on both the Silver Stick Staircase where she carries a lighted taper and in Clock Court. Visitor information:  Clock Court i...

  Catherine of Aragon, the daughter of  King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile, originally came to England in 1501 as the bride to the 15 year old heir to the Tudor throne, Prince Arthur, Prince of Wales who died shortly after their marriage. Catherine always denied that their marriage was consummated. During her brief marriage to Arthur she resided in a property close to Ludlow Castle where the Elizabethan mansion Castle Lodge now stands. The Lodge is said to be haunted by a teenage girl believed by some to be the ghost of Catherine of Aragon. I've written about that previously: https://hauntedisles.blogspot.com/2015/01/catherine-of-aragons-ghost-castle-lodge.html Catherine eventually married Henry VIII a few weeks after his accession to the throne, they were crowned together in 1509. After 23 years of marriage Henry separated from Catherine in 1531 in order to marry Anne Boleyn. It took another 2 years for Henry to get the marriage annulled, something that...

Lady Jane Grey 12th February - Lady Jane Grey The tragic Nine Day Queen, Lady Jane Grey, was executed on the 12th February 1554 at the The Tower of London. Her ghost is said to haunt the vicinity of The Tower's Bloody Tower on this day, it appears as a white shape. 13th February - Lady Luvibond The Lady Luvibond ran aground on the Goodwin Sands on 13th February 1748 resulting in the loss of all hands. The ghost ship Lady Luvibond is said to re-enact the tragedy every 50 years. On one occasion, 1848, long-shoremen actually saw the ship run aground and attempted a rescue, but there was no ship there! 15th February - The Drummer Boy of Hickling Broad, Norfolk The Drummer Boy of Hickling Broad is said to appear skating across the Broad on the 15th of February. It was in February 1815 that the drummer boy lost his life skating across the frozen Broad to meet with the village girl he'd fallen in love with. Ghostly drumming sounds have also been reported. 25th February - Sir Christoph...

  This is Emily a porcelain doll belonging to a 50 something witch we'll call Angela (name change for the sake of anonymity).  Angela purchased Emily from Ebay as a "little sisiter" to a haunted doll already in her possesion. She says that she had never thought about collecting haunted dolls until one day she noticed a doll for sale in a new age type shop she had visited to buy some coloured spells candles. The doll that caught her attention was said to be haunted by the spirit of a 7 year old girl named Louise and for some reason unknown to herself Angela was very drawn to her. At first she ignored this feeling, bought the spell candles and left the shop, but, she couldn't get Louise out of her mind so returned next day and bought her. Nothing much happened with Louise, or so Angela thought, though she did find herself putting children's TV programs on for the doll to watch. Also she began to feel that Louise was lonely and needed a companion, a sister. This led ...

  The 18th century folksong "A Spanish Lady's Love to an English Sailor" is reputed to tell the story of Sir John Bolle and Donna Leonora Oviedo. There are serval versions of the story, one states that Donna Leonora fell in love with Sir John Bolle ( 1560 -1606) when he was in charge of keeping her in custody at the time of the Siege of Cadiz. The other version has Sir John Bolle as the prisoner and Donna Leonora arranging his escape. Both versions agree that Donna Leonora loved Sir John Bolle very much, and that he returned to his wife Elizabeth. Upon parting Donna Leonora gave Sir John a portrait of herself in a green dress. Versions differ as to what happened next, some say Donna Leonora Oviedo entered a convent where she spent the rest of her life. The more dramatic version of this tale of unrequited love has the Spanish lady following Sir John to his home, Thorpe Hall, in England where she committed suicide in the garden.  Wherever Donna Leonora died, ...

Shirley Jackson's 1959 novel "The Haunting of Hill House" has been adapted to film a few times, the 1999 Jan de Bont adaptation with Liam Neeson, Catherine Zita Jones and Owen Wilson used Harlaxton Manor near Grantham in Lincolnshire for the exterior shots. Harlaxton is a house which is itself believed to be haunted. Built by Gregory Gregory (1786-1854) the current Harlaxton Manor replaces a 14th century manor house formerly used as a hunting lodge by John of Gaunt, later purchased by Gregory's ancestor Daniel De Ligne.  Sadly Daniel's first child died in a tragic accident. The death of the baby had been foretold to Daniel and his wife Elizabeth who did everything they could to prevent this tragedy. They employed a nursemaid to stay with the child at all times. The nurse did her best to obey her employers instructions but fell asleep whilst holding the babe who slipped out of her arms and into the fire. (Source: Mrs Delves Broughton "Beautiful Homes: Harlaxto...