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Ancient castles are home to a treacherous past

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and terrifying modern mysteries,

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strange sounds,

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bizarre visions,

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and nightmares that are said to come back again

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and again.

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Truth or Scare is daring to enter the haunted castles of England.

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Don't you just love a good ghost story?

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In England, one out of every seven people say they've seen a ghost.

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Lots of these strange sightings happen in and around historic castles.

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They say the spirits won't leave this world, and they believe in the ghost.

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The English countryside is known around the world for its pastoral beauty.

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But on its ancient estates, there are castles that conceal an ugly history.

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Ghostly apparitions from beyond the grave.

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The Cumbria are the most beautiful castles in the world.

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The castles are the most beautiful castles in the world.

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The Cumbrian region is in the northwestern part of England.

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And for hundreds of years, Monkester Castle has been a part of the landscape.

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A silent witness.

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To wicked deeds.

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Visitors have been frozen in their tracks by an unexplained sound.

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A strange thumping comes from the old palace stairs,

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but no one seems to be there.

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The spirit of this man might have been the cause.

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Tom Skelton.

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In the 1500s, he was part of the castle staff.

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The Pennington family's last court jester.

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They say he knew Shakespeare and was the model for the fool in King Lear.

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They even called him Tom Fool.

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The inspiration for the word Tom Foolery.

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In 1585, Hellwise Pennington, the daughter of the castle lord, started a scandal.

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She was a noble woman with a rebellious streak.

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And a strict father who refused to tolerate disobedience.

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Sir William had arranged for her to marry the son of another powerful family.

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But no one could tell Hellwise who to love.

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Her heart belonged to a common carpenter from the village.

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Even though they tried to keep their romance a secret,

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they couldn't fool Tom Fool.

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Sir William was furious.

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He ordered his jester to break up the happy couple.

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By whatever means necessary.

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Tom Skelton came up with a plan.

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He invited the carpenter up to Muncaster, pretending Hellwise wanted to see him.

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A simple lie that the young man couldn't resist.

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Tom promised that Hellwise would be there soon.

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He offered the carpenter a drink of a potent cider.

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And then another.

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When Hellwise Pennington's boyfriend passed out, Tom reached into the carpenter's tool bag.

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He found a chisel and a mallet.

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And then he ended the man's life.

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The loyal servant had stopped Hellwise's relationship dead in its tracks.

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But some say you can still hear the carpenter in the halls of the castle to this day.

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Over 400 years later, Patrick Pennington can't deny that he has heard the echoes of Muncaster's gruesome history.

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I thought it was rather silly the story, but then, when we'd been here a little while,

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we used to work terribly hard.

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Started in the office at six in the morning.

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And after tea, I would walk across the hall sometimes.

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And there were footsteps used to follow me.

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And I've tried it with sort of shoes that didn't make a noise.

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But I've always heard the behind me.

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Tom Skeleton lost his life a few years later when he drowned in the cold, dark waters of the River Esk.

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Even the master trickster couldn't fool fate.

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Today, every thump in the night leaves the castle's new inhabitants to wonder,

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did he ever really leave Muncaster Castle?

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Which of England's famous queens is reportedly still haunting the halls of Soodley Castle?

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Find out next on Truth or Scare.

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Our next stop is Soodley Castle.

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Over the years, Soodley has seen more than a share of suffering.

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Some people say that intense emotional forces could have left an impression on the castle's stones.

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An imprint so strong that they believe they see ghosts walking through the halls.

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Soodley Castle can be found in the southwest of England.

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The locals say it is home to the country's most powerful unearthly presence.

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Employees have heard inexplicable sounds in the castle and smelled apple-scented perfume.

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The strangest stories are about the appearance of a tall, beautiful woman in a long green dress.

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The Lady of the House, Catherine Parr.

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Catherine was known for her intelligence and artistic talent.

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She was also exceptional for being nearly six feet tall with stunning auburn hair.

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She's famous for being King Henry VIII's sixth wife and his last.

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When Henry VIII died in 1547, Catherine married this man, Thomas Seymour.

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He was an ambitious man, desperate to climb the political ladder.

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A man who would do anything for power.

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When Catherine accepted his proposal, he'd gotten what he'd wanted.

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They moved here to Soodley.

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In just a few months at the age of 35, Catherine was pregnant.

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In the 16th century, this must have seemed like a miracle as women that age hardly ever had children.

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The castle buzzed with excitement and celebration as everyone prepared for the birth.

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Then tragedy struck.

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Catherine gave birth to a baby girl named Mary.

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But all was not well.

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The new mother came down with a fever.

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A week later, she passed away.

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Everyone at Soodley Castle was in shock.

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Everyone, that is, except her husband.

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Instead of grieving for his wife, Thomas Seymour left his newborn daughter and moved on to London.

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He proposed marriage to a string of other royal women, but it was turned down by everyone.

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Eventually, he was beheaded for treason.

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No one knows what happened to little Mary.

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But as for her mother, some claim that Queen Catherine's spirit is not resting in peace at all.

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Employees of the castle have allegedly witnessed the return of the Queen.

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Like the maid, Margaret Parker.

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What made her?

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One day when Margaret was cleaning, she thought she saw a woman standing at the window.

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She assumed it was one of the guests, a visiting artist.

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But the artist had just come down from the nursery, so it couldn't have been her.

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But then, who was that at the window?

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Many in the castle believed it was the image of the former Queen.

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If it is Catherine Parr haunting her old home, she doesn't bother anyone.

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People who live and work here consider her a friend.

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Night night, Katie.

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After she died, Catherine's daughter Mary disappeared from the history books.

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To this day, no one knows what became of the unfortunate orphan.

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Some speculate that after 400 years, mother and daughter are still trying to find each other.

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Here at Soudli Castle.

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The 19th century housekeeper who ruled Soudli Castle with an iron fist, and reportedly, still does.

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Next on Truth or Scare.

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Next on Truth or Scare.

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The gaggle will be back on Discovery Kids.

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The gaggle is back on Discovery Kids.

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Soudli Castle is the scene of many so-called ghost sightings.

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Some say even the spirit of a loyal servant still shows up for work.

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After lying abandoned for almost 200 years, Soudli Castle came to life again in the 1800s.

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It was restored and renovated and new owners moved in.

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Human residents and some say a few roommates from the other side.

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Some feel a restless Victorian soul is responsible for the latest sightings at Soudli.

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Today, Elizabeth Ashcomne owns the castle.

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She heard the story of Janet from her husband, Mark Dent's Brockelhurst.

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Well, her name is Janet and she was the housekeeper here for many, many years. She was here for 50 years.

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My late husband, Mark, used to tell me stories about her when he came home from school.

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That she was still here and everyone still terrified of her.

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And she was still ruling the roost with the iron glove.

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And so that's why I think she's still here. She just won't give it up.

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As housekeeper, Janet, along with the butler, was responsible for managing the rest of the staff.

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Together, they made sure that everything ran like clockwork.

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There were very strict social rules about how and when boys and girls could interact with one another.

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And it was Janet's special mission to see that the boys and girls stayed in their own rooms.

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Janet would watch over the girls to make sure that nobody got into trouble.

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Even today, they say Janet still has the run of Soudli Castle.

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Young girls who come into the building seem to attract the housekeeper's attention.

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In 1993, a teenager was taking a guided tour of the castle.

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She told the story of an eerie encounter with something out of this world.

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Suddenly, she had a strange feeling.

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She said it was like a force telling her to go up the stairs.

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When she got to the top, she claims to have seen a vision of the past.

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Soudli's castle's current owner hasn't run into Janet herself,

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but she feels the grounds are definitely home to more than meets the eye.

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Soudli, to me anyway, has always had a wonderful atmosphere.

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I've often been in the garden, but it's a particular time in the evening when the light is at a certain level.

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There is this sense of timelessness here.

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I can't really explain it, but one merges into it.

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And I think that all the people who lived here,

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our presence is still somehow in this sense of timelessness.

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Two young princes are spotted playing in the Tower of London,

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500 years after they died.

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Next, on Truth or Scare.

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The Tower of London has been standing for almost a thousand years,

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watching over the United Kingdom through some of its darkest hours.

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What's in the Tower of London itself?

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Eternal reminders of torture and executions,

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and possibly the walking spirits of the victims themselves.

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The Tower of London has been a home to kings and their courts.

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There's an old saying,

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he who holds the Tower holds the power.

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Morning, ladies and gentlemen.

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Welcome to the royal palace and fortress of Her Majesty's Tower of London.

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It looks so harmless now.

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It's easy to forget the Tower's dark past.

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Centuries ago, the Tower was used as a prison.

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Back then, it was the site of unspeakable torture and violent death.

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Hundreds of victims were subjected to the cruelty of the hot poker,

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the spikes of the Iron Maiden,

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and in many cases, the executioner's axe.

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And some say the victims of these unspeakable horrors often reappear after death,

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as ghostly apparitions.

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World War II, the Germans were bombing London,

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trying to destroy the docks and factories near the Tower.

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Explosions rocked the city during an attack known as the Blitz.

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Total chaos rang.

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At the Tower Gates, a terrifying vision was forming.

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As the legend goes, it was the autumn of 1940.

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A soldier was guarding the battlement.

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There was nothing in his military training to prepare him for these invading forces.

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Halt! Who goes there?

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Four men came walking out of the mist.

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Between them, they were carrying some kind of stretcher.

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The soldier reported that the strange group kept coming closer...

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and closer.

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He said that they were carrying what looked like a body under a stained bloody blanket,

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and they were dressed just like sheriff's officers from the 14th century.

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Then, they disappeared like the mist that had brought them.

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It's been said this was a vision of the Tower's past crimes against humanity.

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And even more gruesome acts have been committed in other parts of the building.

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The Bloody Tower was the site of the ultimate tragedy.

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People talk about two young boys who have been seen playing here in the Tower.

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Believers say that these are the spirits of two princes.

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Richard was nine and his brother Edward was twelve when they were victims of a shocking crime.

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Richard the third was the boy's uncle. He was ambitious and hungry for power.

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Sometimes called England's favorite villain, Richard was cursed in a number of ways.

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His enemies described him as a jealous and malicious man, short and hunched over.

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Some even blame him for a string of unexplained deaths.

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The princess's father was King Edward IV, the ruler of England.

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When he passed away, the boys were put under Richard's protection.

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It was just the chance he'd been waiting for.

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The boys were the only thing keeping Richard from the throne.

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As long as they were alive, he could not become king.

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So the princes were locked in the Bloody Tower.

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For their own safety, their uncle said.

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For months, the locals saw them playing around the Tower and in their room.

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Then suddenly, in the fall of 1483, the Tower was empty.

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Even today, no one can say exactly how the brothers disappeared.

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But with them gone, Richard was crowned King of England.

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Two skeletons were later found near the Tower and identified as Edward and his brother Richard.

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They were buried at Westminster Abbey.

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Their spirits, on the other hand,

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if the witnesses are correct,

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the souls of the young princess still play in the Tower of London.

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They seem to be hanging on to each other in this world, as though they know they left it before their time.

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England's grand estates were home to more than royalty in their courts.

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Over the ages, they were also the setting for ruthless acts of violence and cruelty.

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Some believe the tortured souls who lost their lives will not move on to the next world.

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Of course, no one knows for sure if ghosts really do exist.

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But those who believe will continue to study the strange sights and sounds that haunt the ancient world.

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But those who believe will continue to study the strange sights and sounds that haunt the ancient castles of England.