Chilling tale of Anne Boleyn’s ‘headless’ ghost

Britain is said to be one of the world’s most haunted countries. Thousands of years of history means its lands have seen bloodshed, war, murder, and all other manner of gruesome events. Towns and cities up and down the country are said to be haunted by spectres, lurking in the shadows, like the ghost of Anne Boleyn at Blicking Hall. Built in 1616 for Sir Henry Hobart, and designed by Robert Lyminge, the mansion is one of Norfolk’s most cherished.Its historical significance is huge, and it is described as having one of if not the best collections of manuscripts and books anywhere in England, with some 14,000 volumes stored there.According to the National Trust, Boleyn, who was infamously beheaded on the orders of her husband, King Henry VIII, after she was unable to give him the son he desired, was reportedly born on the site of Blickling Hall, which was an old medieval manor, in around 1500.Her presence is said to be felt at the Hall throughout the year, but definite sightings of her happen, or so the myth says, on May 19 – the anniversary of her beheading by Henry in 1536. Anne Boleyn’s ghost: Inside the home headless royal haunts with her father (Image: GETTY) Blickling Hall in Norfolk (Image: GETTY)The National Trust’s website reads: “As night falls, Anne Boleyn’s ghost rides up to the house, in a coach drawn by a headless horseman, with her own head on her lap. The moment the coach arrives in front of the house it vanishes into thin air.”Tradition also has it that when news of Anne’s death reached Blickling Hall in 1536, four headless horses were seen dragging the body of a headless man across Norfolk.”But it’s not just Boleyn who stalks the mansion’s grounds, as her father, Sir Thomas Boleyn, is also said to haunt the property. Folklore claims that Sir Thomas was cursed after taking no action to prevent two of his children being beheaded by Henry.The Trust added: “Each year his ghost has to attempt to cross 12 bridges before cockcrow. His frantic route takes him from Blickling to Aylsham, Burgh, Buxton, Coltishall, Meyton, Oxnead and Wroxham.”JUST IN: Anne Boleyn: NEW EVIDENCE shows friends with ‘huge roles’ An artist’s impression of Anne Boleyn’s execution (Image: GETTY)Boleyn and her father aren’t the only figures that roam the Jacobean home. Sir John Falstofe, the inspiration behind William Shakespeare’s character Falstaff, and Sir Henry are among those seen.Visitors have even reported hearing Sir Henry’s voice, the Trust claiming that his “dying groans are said to be heard emanating from the West Turret Bedroom on the anniversary of his death”.Boleyn, who was among the six fabled wives of Henry VIII during the controversial monarch’s life, was beheaded three years after her wedding, on charges of adultery, incest and conspiracy against him.To add insult to injury, claims from the time also show that Henry had an intimate relationship with Boleyn’s mother, Elizabeth Amadas. Reports show MP Sir George Throckmorton alleging the affair, telling the monarch: “It is thought you have meddled both with the mother and sister.”DON’T MISS:Anne Boleyn bombshell as ‘close’ friend aided Thomas Cromwell plot [INSIGHT]Anne Boleyn breakthrough as NEW EVIDENCE looks ‘inside’ inner circle [LATEST]Anne Boleyn: Historian ‘shocked’ by ‘huge myth’ about former Queen [UPDATE] The moment Anne Boleyn became Henry VIII’s second wife (Image: GETTY)In a blunt reply, Henry, though, said: “Never with the mother.”Boleyn’s daughter Queen Elizabeth I would assume control of the monarchy, and remains one of British history’s most enduring and affectionately remembered rulers, later given the moniker the ‘Virgin Queen’.