Ghosts of the Tower of London

by Geoffrey Abbott, Shelagh Abbott (Contributor)

Book like new. Read only once. No marks, highlights, or tears.

Genres: Paranormal, History, Nonfiction, Ghosts, Supernatural, London, Travel

85 pages, Paperback

First published April 8, 1980

About the author

Geoffrey Abbott served for many years as a Yeoman Warder at the Tower of London. Author of nineteen books and contributor to the Encyclopaedia Britannica/, he has made numerous television appearances. He lives in London.

Reviews

[dianne b. · Rating 1 out of 5]

When my young family lived in England somehow - quite by magic, i think - roughly ten thousand books about folklore, tradition, and especially local ghost stories joined our library.

Yesterday while deciding what to read next, i was distracted by the cover illustration of this one. It is the Countess of Salisbury, the innocent 70 year old Margaret Pole, as she is pursued about the scaffold by the axeman as ordered by Henry VIII, because he wanted to punish her son who was safely in France.

This book of totally dry bits is authored by a retired Yeoman Warder and written as if he was signing out to the next shift: "Yeah, at oh-one hundred a white wraith was seen on the balcony, then it disappeared. No, no one else seen it. Just Nigel. No, didn't smell no alcohol on 'im."

Our Yeoman author then goes on to say, essentially, it could have been any number of famous or infamous people who were hacked to death, hung, drawn and quartered, or just withered away - right here!

Worse, each chapter begins with a bit of "verse" written by our Beefeater's dear wife, who manages to rhyme "Oubliette" with "World forgot" just...so awkwardly.

The best of this book? the shiny, thick pages and the incredibly sexy picture of Anne Bolelyn on page 46. From an ancient isle, rich with history and ba-gillions of books filled with stories and myths, this is a book.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've had this on my radar for a while as I love ghost stories, and what better than the Tower to provide some. I knew a lot of these legends simce I've done the tour with a Yeoman, but others were a nice surprise.

[Emily Hepple · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just a bit of fun.

[Chase Newberry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I miss London

[Barbra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting book giving the history and true ghost stories of the Tower, one of my favourite historical buildings.

Back Cover Blurb:
The Tower of London's most horrific tragedies are well known; the gruesome deaths of the two boy princes in the Bloody Tower, Anne Boleyn's execution, the Jesuit priests and heretics who suffered the agonies of the rack and thumbscrew. Is it any wonder then, that there are frequent reports of blood curdling screams and moans, of unexplained footsteps and ghostly headless figures? Here, recorded for the first time, is an account for all to read - but preferably not at night - when you only think you're alone! This book is written by a former Yeoman Warder of the Tower of London and who lived there for eight years.

[Chanele · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book meant well, but it was a bit rambling. It felt like stories were crammed together haphazardly, none of which were explored with much depth. I read through it quickly, mostly because there was not a great deal of substance. I found myself wanting/needing to Google things frequently. It's a shame because the knowledge of the author could have made for some great tales with some better editing.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone who does not believe in ghosts but is deeply afraid of them, if I leave a bad review I'm certain the ghosts will get me. Gory and fun, probably should have read this closer to having visited the Tower of London.

[Mlg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Somehow none of the ghost stories I have heard over the years from the Yeoman Warders weren’t included. The ones that were, were just so-so.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read,but,seemed a bit barren

[Heather Jacobson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book nearly 20 years ago at the gift shop at the Tower of London. I found the stories fascinating, and the way in which they were told felt like an old story-telling.

[Michele Clarke · Rating 3 out of 5]

If your a fan of London/Tudor history, this book adds nothing new to learn.

[Theea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the book interesting, not the best, but not the worst either.

[Enya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't read this book to take it seriously but I did read it with an open mind and a thirst to learn more about the history of the tower of London, the 'ghosts' were just an entertaining extra which is just as well as the storytelling throughout the short book reads very much like a tourist pamphlet. In fact, it reminded me a lot of the scripts the performers use at 'the Dungeons' (the Merlin entertainment immerse history attractions).

The poetry at the start of each section was a nice touch. It definitely boosted my thoughts on the book from two stars up to three as it was the only thing that set it aside from reading like a detailed advert to appeal to those who want to see something spooky.

The history of the actual tower was interesting though the history of the people that 'haunt' the tower was dramatised in a slightly cringey way which took away from the history of the tower somewhat.

One of the major drawbacks of the book is that it manages to repeat itself quite a lot despite the fact that it is very short and what content there is ends up being quite drawn out. The whole book could probably have been halved and (imho) would have been much better for it.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Included interesting historical facts to accompany the wide range of supernatural activity, which added an extra dimension to it.

Lost a star because it's quite out of date now being published first in 1980, although reprinted numerous times since then (most recently being in 2000) it hasn't been updated and I feel it could benefit from having some of the old blurry photos of the tower, replaced with modern counterparts, and stories updated to reflect modern day sighting (of which I'm sure there must be a good few).

[melydia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Looking at this slim volume, I worried it would be nothing more than a collection of "sightings" by too-easily spooked tourists. Happily, most of the book was historical anecdotes about some of the people who had lived and died at the Tower of London. Sure, there is the occasional paranomal experience, but it's told more like a campfire ghost story than a true believer's "evidence". A fun, if brief, tour of the Tower's darker days.

[Lotte_ladybird · Rating 2 out of 5]

I borrowed this book from the library, thinking it would be about ghosts. It was, but only very little. It was more a about the Tower of London. There's nothing wrong with the book at all, in fact it was quite interesting, but it wasn't what I expected and that's why it only gets two stars.

[Ben Lovegrove · Rating 4 out of 5]

written by a retired beefeater and contains some very creepy an humorous anecdotes

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice little book of stories about the Tower of London. The book is sectioned off by area. A good, quick read. While Abbott isn't the best story teller, the history is presented well.

[Discoverylover · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this short book about people who died in the Tower of London. Only one bit made me really squeem (not squeegee as spell check seems to think!), otherwise it was really interesting!

[a. · Rating 2 out of 5]

for a book about ghosts, this was certainly very boring. abbott does like to hear himself talk.