One of the most haunted castles in the United Kingdom, Windsor Castle is also the most famous. Built by William the Conqueror in 1070, it is the oldest continuously inhabited castle in the world. With a floor area of 484,000 square feet (44,944 sq m.), about 250 average homes could fit in the royal residence giving ghosts plenty of rooms to roam around. The list of ghosts said to be living in Windsor Castle is almost as long as the list of royals who have lived there. One of the most famous residents, King Henry VIII, who reigned from 1509 until his death in 1547, has been seen on several occasions limping through the halls of Windsor, moaning in agony with each footstep.
Henry VIII is famous for having had six wives and several mistresses, but the treatment of his second wife, Anne Boleyn, has allegedly had a lasting effect on residents of Windsor. Boleyn ma ried Henry in 1533, but their relationship soured when Anne gave birth to a daughter before having several miscarriages. Unhappy that Anne could not produce a son to be his heir, Henry had her arrested, saying she had used witchcraft to entrap him in marriage. He also accused her of adultery, incest with her brother, and treason for conspiring to kill him. Even though the charges were false, and the case was presided over by Anne's uncle, the queen was beheaded in May 1536. Since that time, her ghost has been seen dozens of times standing at the window in the castle's monastery.
King George III, who reigned from 1760 until 1820, was known to have suffered from depression and madness. During the long spell of his illness, Mad King George, as he was known, would talk ceaselessly for long hours, sometimes reaching 58 hours, claiming that he was talking to angels. The king would then be locked away in the Royal Library. After his death, rumour has it that his ghost would be seen wandering around the bookshelves or staring at the window.
Other famous ghosts of Windsor include Queen Elizabeth I, who died in 1603, and King Charles I, who was beheaded during the English Revolution in 1649. Windsor is also purportedly home to a horned demon with the head of a stag that is said to bring disease or death to anyone who sees it. Few have reported the presence of this spirit, however, perhaps because of the ghost of Herne the Hunter. In the fourteenth century, Herne saved King Richard II from being mauled by a cornered stag. Since his death, Herne's spirit is said to roam Windsor Woods searching for souls and hunting hellish demons.
Source:
Haunted Houses by Kallen A. Stuart. San Diego: ReferencePoint Press, 2007.
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