Strange Tourist Attraction: Westminster Abbey
My post about Bodmin Jail reminded me that I have pictures of other strange and reputably haunted tourist attractions in England. Some of these places I didn’t even know of their haunted or strange reputations.
The Strangeness of Westminister Abbey:
When I tell friends that I didn’t enjoy my visit to Westminister Abbey, they get all shocked and horrified. They gush about the history, the divine events, the wonderful gothic architecture and what not and can’t understand my lack of enthusiasm.
In the first place, churches don’t really turn my crank, especially if one sees a dozen of them in one day.
In the second place, although the history and the architecture of Westminister Abbey did hold some intrigue to me, it was greatly offset by the great un-ease I felt whilst I wandered through what basically amounts to one huge tomb.
Westminster Abbey is steeped in more than a thousand years of history and is famous for its many tombs and memorials, of which there are about 600 along with many gravestones and commemorative floor slabs. There are about 3,300 people who are actually buried in the church and its cloisters.
With that many people buried there, there’s got to be a few ghosts hanging about. One thing is for sure, I definately felt something there and it wasn’t particularly nice.
A quick search of the web has revealed that there’s at least one monk reputed to be hanging about. Its said that a apparation who’s been named “Father Benedictus”, often makes an appearance in the early evening at Westminister Abbey.
The ghost of the Unknown Soldier is also said to materialize on occassion, beside his tomb for a short while before slowly dissolving into thin air.
I never witnessed either of these two ghosts, but I could feel others and I couldn’t wait to get out of Westminister Abbey.
Links: - Westminister Abbey
- Ghostly Monks
