The tours explore the palace’s haunted history.
Halloween may be over but anyone still looking to be spooked can try out Hampton Court’s ghost tours.
Exploring the palace’s haunted history, State Apartment Warders guide you through the skeletons in Henry VII’s closet on a night-time tour.
The evening is not for the easily scared and participants must be over 15, although there are also family ghost tours for the more faint-hearted.
The night I visit, there is an atmospheric storm.
“I hope you appreciate the storm, they’re very expensive to arrange,” said the warder.
The tour takes in the inside and outside of the palace as well as the wine cellar.
The cellar is home to the Cardinal Spider and the female can grow to 15cm, so arachnophobes may have more than spectres to worry about.
We hear of recent and historical ghost sightings, including one party of ghosts heading towards the palace from Thames Ditton.
“Thames Ditton used to be the equivalent of Las Vegas. It was full of houses of temporary and negotiable affection,” said the guide.
We learn about Dame Sibell Penn, the palace’s most prolific ghost and watch a video projection of a ghostly figure known as Skeletor captured on CCTV.
One woman on my tour screams as the doors in front of us burst open as they do in the Skeletor video.
The tour is a good mix of historical information and less tangible stories of paranormal activity.
The guides keep the narrative light and entertaining but gently introduce the sinister sides of the palace.
Some rooms are said to be so haunted that members of the current palace staff refuse to enter them.
Horror-movie fans probably won’t be quaking in their boots but a lone walk along a candlelit corridor is enough to spook an active imagination.
The tours run every Friday, Saturday and Sunday throughout November and December. To book tickets call: 0844 482 7777.
Photo courtesy of edwin.11, with thanks.
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