Palace 'ghost' caught on camera

Palace 'ghost' caught on camera



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The ghost of King Henry VIII's fifth wife may be little more than a draught of air, say psychologists

The famous Haunted Gallery at Hampton Court Palace near London, UK, is reputedly stalked by the spirit of Catherine Howard, who was executed on 13 February, 1542, by a monarch apparently enraged by her pre-marital affairs.

Visitors to the room have described hearing screams and seeing apparitions in the gallery.

Concerned by the reports, Hampton Court authorities called in the professionals.

Elizabethan figures

A team of ghost-busting psychologists, led by Dr Richard Wiseman of Hertfordshire University, installed thermal cameras and air movement detectors in the gallery.

About 400 palace visitors were then quizzed on whether they could feel a "presence" in the gallery.

More than half reported sudden drops in temperature and some said they sensed a ghostly presence. Several people claimed to have seen Elizabethan figures.

But Dr Wiseman's team said the experiences could be simply explained by the gallery's numerous concealed doors.

These elderly exits are far from draught-proof and the combination of air currents which they let in cause sudden changes in the room's temperature.

Column of cold air

In two particular spots, the temperature of the gallery plummeted by up to 2C.

"You do, literally, walk into a column of cold air sometimes," said Dr Wiseman. "It's possible that people are misattributing normal phenomena.

"If you suddenly feel cold, and you're in a haunted place, that might bring on a sense of fear and a more scary experience."

At one stage, the experts thought they might have discovered a supernatural intruder.

It was 0600BST when the thermal cameras detected a figure moving about the gallery. But when it walked to a cupboard and took out a vacuum cleaner the experts realised it was no ghost.

'Ghosts' of plague victims

Dr Wiseman is not only an expert in the psychology of the paranormal but a professional magician.

He said people's own beliefs in ghosts or other phenomena, coupled with the power of suggestion, played a large part in any reports of a ghostly presence.

About one in seven people believe they have seen or felt a ghost at some time in their lives, he said.

Dr Wiseman's team is due to visit Edinburgh to look at reported hauntings in the city castle, its South Bridge Vaults and Mary Kings Close, where plague victims were walled up.

Originally posted by masonite
About one in seven people believe they have seen or felt a ghost at some time in their lives, he said.

I think everyone would if they would just stop; quiet down; and pay attention. Spooks are everywhere. They are trying to get our attention all the time. Just quiet down and pay attention. They are there .... and they want you to know!
IMHO

Why would a ghost use the handrail to go down the stairs?

Because thats what they used to do when they were in the physical perhaps.. thats assuming that it isnt an actual spirit but just an impression left in the atmosphere.

Originally posted by corsig
Why would a ghost use the handrail to go down the stairs?

Those are not hand rails, they are the push bars on the doors. Interesting, that ghost has to open doors

I've seen another pic of that ghost before. I couldn't say if it was real or not. This one looks a bit clearer.


Pie

Originally posted by corsig
Why would a ghost use the handrail to go down the stairs?

Yep. We have a few spooks in our house. When you hear the stairs creeking and the footsteps, you also hear the handrail moan when it is leaned on by the spirit. It sounds strange, I know, because spirits don't have weight. But I guess the ghost used the handrail while alive and still does in death. The handrail definately creeks along with the footsteps up the stairs.

" It's possible that people are misattributing normal phenomena. "


I had to double check that sentence twice coz I thought misattributing said something else at first

Originally posted by corsig
Why would a ghost use the handrail to go down the stairs?

shes very old lol

Well why would she have to toutch doors true, though if it's cause she had to their in physical form, are you sure those doors were even their back then?

Or is whole building remaining intact since then.

I hope when I die and turn into a ghost I can float through walls and thru the doors.

Originally posted by Clarky
Because thats what they used to do when they were in the physical perhaps.. thats assuming that it isnt an actual spirit but just an impression left in the atmosphere.

But that building must be alot different now. For some reason I tend to believe it would take a huge amount of energy for a ghost to appear so fully. Energy that they don't have.