Vickie peered up at the Tower of London. It

was a cloudy day and the sky was grey. The

rain was spitting in her face. The Tower looked

tall and spooky from where she stood. In a

way, she wished she could just run through

the doors. In another she felt like running

away. Finally she decided to go in.

As soon as she walked in it felt like she

shouldn't be there. She was just about to turn

around and leave when the door closed. She

felt something cold run through her.

She stood there for a minute, looking around,

wondering if anyone was there. After a while of

listening she heard another door close and a

boy's voice said, "You can't get in!" She heard

metal clatter and then sobbing.

When she realised that all this noise was coming

from upstairs she decided that she should

go and help the sad person. She walked up the

stairs and looked around. It was gloomy and

silent, but it was clean as if someone had just

washed every corner of the room. She heard

the clatter of the metal and then a loud laugh

that echoed down the hall. Suddenly the hall

looked spookier, for all the torches lining the

hall magically lit.

to make things better. But it was true. Now

she could see that this was a sort of royal Castle

or something. There were paintings all over

the walls and beautiful marks on the ceiling.

She nearly forgot that anything weird was happening until she heard the crying.

"Why does he have to stay here?" said

the voice, "I do not know," said the other.

She kept walking and walking for what

felt like ten minutes until she came to the front

of the door that the sobbing was behind. Now

she really thought that she shouldn't be there.

She decided that instead of just barging in she

should knock on the door, but this was harder

then she thought. In the end she had to; she

counted to three and then knocked on the door

twice, very fast. "I told you, you can't get in!"

said the voice.

"I'm… I'm… Um… Vickie. Who..." she

said softer then she thought she would. The

door opened and she went in.

When she got inside she couldn't see anything

or anyone. The door, yet again, closed shut behind

her, but this time she heard lots of locks

clicking shut. Then out of nowhere two boys

appeared. They wore what looked like royal

clothing, covered in blood. There were cuts all

over their faces and all over their beds. Vickie

did notice all of this but the thing that caught

her eye the most was that she could see

through them and they were hovering in midair.

She gasped. They were ghosts. "Who are

you?" she asked.

"I am Edward," said the older one, "And

this is my younger brother, Richard. And… er

you're Vickie?"

"Yes," said Vickie, "Um, I was wondering if you

could tell me exactly who you are?"

Henry VII decided to come to our tower. Then

that night he came into our room, and

well……………. -"

"Smothered you to death," said Vickie in

a strong voice that was nothing like her own.

After waiting in silence for at least a minute

Vickie asked another question, "So why are

you locked up in here?"

"Well, after Henry died he came here to

be with us to make sure that we stayed put,"

said Edward. For the first time she heard Richard

speak, "Not like we would go out. We're ghosts."

"Well we could make a plan to keep him

somewhere to stop him from watching over

you," Vickie suggested.

"Hey, Richard," said Edward, "Do you

still know where that trap-door is?"

"So in the end you can lock him in and

you will be safe," Vickie finished.

"Great. Lets start now!" said Edward.

First Vickie went out into the hall and walked

until she came to a passage that ended with a

door. She opened the door and there was a

man inside just as she had been told.

"Hey," she said. The man turned

around. He looked perfectly normal. There was

no blood on him at all.

"What do you want?" he said in a

grumpy voice. He had obviously had people

disturb him before.

"Well I have found a hiding place you

might like. If you want to use it come with me,"

Vickie said, as she started to walk up the

stairs, Henry following her.

When she got to the top of the stairs she

started to walk down the hall.

"You don't get scared easily, right?" said

Henry.

"I don't think so," said Vickie. When

they got to the trap door, Henry climbed in.

She quickly shut the door and Edward and

Richard locked it.

After that day Edward and Richard were free to

roam around the castle and Vickie always visited

them. The thing that they loved though

was Henry saying "Who was that girl?"

Known in history as the Princes in the Tower,

the two young sons of Edward IV mysteriously

disappeared in the Tower of London. Thought to

be murdered by their uncle Richard III, Henry

VII, who became King after his battlefield victory

against Richard, is also considered a suspect.

Wendy thinks it was the Duke of Buckingham

who did the deed.

Once upon a time, for five years of my life, I used to write a bi-monthly Tudor England column at Suite101.com. That column and its readers gained a special place in my heart, but all good things must come to an end. Moving on, I hoped to take one thing with me: my Tudor Ghost Story writing contest, which offered  a writing platform for new writers.  If you read the following stories, you can see why I am so keen to get the contest happening once more:

The 2001 contest winner Alesha Polles wrote a story about the young Elizabeth and a meeting with her mother Anne Boleyn in Always One.

Alesha Polles also won the contest in 2002 with As the Sun Sets another story about Elizabeth. The winner of the 2000 contest came in second with a wonderful Tudor Ghost poem.

The Tudor Ghost Story Contest is on for students at Eltham North! Entered stories need to be at least 500 words and no more than 3000 words. All stories must involve a Tudor Ghost(s) or Tudor characters.  

Publication will be at The History Bookshop, as well as on my web home at www.wendyjdunn.com. !