Hampton Court Palace
Henry VIII's kitchens and the haunted gallery — Catherine Howard's screams.
History & haunting lore
Begun by Cardinal Wolsey and seized by Henry VIII, Hampton Court on the Thames became one of the most important royal palaces in England, later remodelled by William III and Mary II. Its Tudor courtyards and vast historic kitchens have absorbed five centuries of court intrigue, childbirth, illness and death.
Its most celebrated ghost is Catherine Howard, Henry's fifth queen, said to run screaming through the "Haunted Gallery" as she did when arrested for treason in 1541. The palace also reports the "Grey Lady," often linked to Sibell Penn, a royal nurse, and in 2003 CCTV famously captured a cloaked figure — nicknamed "Skeletor" — apparently opening a fire door, an image that was never fully explained.
With its documented Tudor history, ghost surveys and even a piece of security-camera footage, Hampton Court is one of the most measurable haunted sites in Britain — a place where you can weigh record, experiment and anecdote side by side.
Current site status
Hampton Court Palace is managed by Historic Royal Palaces and open to visitors year-round with paid, timed admission, including the Tudor kitchens, state apartments, gardens and famous maze.
Book online in advance. The palace hosts seasonal ghost tours and evening events through official channels; standard tickets cover daytime visits only, and some interiors restrict flash photography.
More photos
Images sourced from Wikimedia Commons and other open references where available.