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Most historic sites require a fair amount of imagination to fill the gaps between a few artefacts and famous events long gone. But at Hampton Court Palace you can stand in the very rooms where Henry VIII eyed up the ladies, where Charles I was kept prisoner and where Georgian royals feuded like a German ‘EastEnders’ plotline.
It would be a waste, then, to only visit the palace by day, when there are 500 years of nighttime tales to be told, too. And standing on a chilly night in a dark courtyard, our two tour guides, Mr Packer and Mr Lax, relish every second of their storytelling duties.
They’re attired like Victorian gents, their patter perfectly pitched. Even if you don’t believe in ghosts, Messrs Packer and Lax have a knack for recounting unexplained incidents in a manner that makes you start to question what’s really lurking in the shadows. Our small group trails through cobbled alleyways, into the kitchens and along the colonnades. You have to mind your step in the dim lighting and there’s no dawdling between this key spot and that notorious corner.
On the way up to the royal apartments we pause on the stairs where Jane Seymour’s ghost is said to appear, passing from the room in which she gave birth to Prince Edward (and died 12 days later) and the apartments where her baby was nursed. It’s this mix of historic fact and legend that make the tour truly engaging. By the time we’re walking along the Haunted Gallery where the doomed Catherine Howard was dragged screaming, with just a few tiny tealights and the creaking floorboards for company, most of us have found a stranger to link arms with. You know, just in case.
The Ghost Tours (minimum age 15) run on selected dates through the dark, winter months and get booked up long in advance, but they are an absolute treat. There are even Family Ghost Tours aimed at eight- to 14-year-olds and accompanying adults – your kids will never watch ‘Scooby-Doo’ again.