Anne Boleyn’s was one of the fantastically colorful people of medieval times. Her name has carried on through the centuries. She was the second wife of Henry the VIII and mother to Queen Katherine the I. She could play the kings game as well and she did. She vowed to “be his wife and queen or nothing at all.’ She played a coy game of cat and mouse with the king until she got what she wanted. Her union with King Henry VIII would forever change religion. Katherine of Aragon called her “the scandal of Christendom.” Anne didn’t expect the king’s fickle heart.
Soon, he grew tired of her as well and sought a new queen. The king had a secret investigation done and found Anne guilty of treason. She was beheaded at 8 a.m. on May 19th, 1536.
You would think that would be the end of her. As she proved to be a worthy player during medieval times, she has also been one of the most enduring ghosts in England. She is said to haunt several places across the countryside.
There is one place she returns to every year for one night. On the anniversary of her death, she can be seen at her ancestral home, Blickling Hall in Norfolk. She is dressed in a white gown with her head neatly tucked under her arm, dripping with blood. She rides in a coach driven by a headless driver and pulled by four headless horses. As she reaches the door, the driver and coach disappear and Anne glides in the door to wander the halls until daybreak.
She isn’t alone though. Her brother, Lord Rochford, who was accused of having carnal knowledge of Anne, often shows up the same night. He, however, is not carried by horses but dragged by them. The home that sits on there today was built on the ruins of the Boleyn home. It’s a perfect place to visit and get a glimpse at the ancestral home of Anne Boleyn and, if you choose to go on the anniversary of her death, you may very well catch a sighting of the queen herself.
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