Haunted castles for Halloween? 8 royal residences with spooky histories, from Britain’s Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, to the Forbidden City in Beijing

Oct 31 , 2021

Palace of Holyroodhouse. Photo: @Trad_West_Art/Twitter

Queen Elizabeth’s residence and the largest inhabited castle in the world, Windsor Castle is also home to numerous ghost sightings, including King George III

Sandringham House is where Prince William, Kate Middleton and the rest spend Christmas … but its servants don’t want to work in the room George VI lived in before he died

Palaces are well known for their sprawling splendour, but some of them have a dark side. Between executions and still-unsolved deaths, some former and current royal residences house grisly histories.

Peek inside the haunted castles of Britain and beyond … oh, and try not to scream.

Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace is known as the primary residence of the British monarchy and Queen Elizabeth, but most people don’t know the palace’s eerie history.

The site of Buckingham Palace is where a monastery once stood, and some have reported seeing the ghost of a monk who died in a punishment cell, cloaked in a brown cowl, according to VisitBritain.

Another part of Buckingham Palace’s eerie history was the death of Major John Gwynne, King Edward VII’s private secretary. After Gwynne divorced his wife, he is said to have shot himself inside one of the palace’s offices as a result of public criticism. Palace staffers have reported hearing the sound of a single gunshot coming from inside the office.

Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle is said to be haunted by numerous ghosts, including King George III, who was confined in the castle after he descended into madness.