Oxford : Walking Guided Tour- "Ghosts + Phantoms"

Oxford Ghosts are not just for Halloween!

The deep + long  history has resulted in many Spectres and Apparitions that continue to haunt over time

Join me -  after dark to discover its top 10 "Spooks", spanning more than 9

centuries - some good, some simply tormented -

- descendling order from most sightings to least - 1 = most sightings 

1. King Charles I (Christ Church College/Bodleian Library): A Royalist stronghold during the Civil War, Christ Church is heavily haunted by Charles I, often seen roaming the grounds and the Great Hall. His spirit has also been reported in the Bodleian Library, sometimes appearing headless or running in the upper reading room, allegedly frustrated at having been denied access to books in 1645.
2. George Napier (Magdalen College/Banbury Road): A Catholic priest executed in 1568, his body was dismembered and displayed on poles at city gates. His headless ghost is said to wander, searching for his head, and is known to peer into windows at Magdalen College.
3. Archbishop  William Laud (St. John's College Library): Executed in 1645, Laud's ghost is reportedly seen in the St. John’s College library, kicking his own head along the floor.  
4. Prudence Burcote (Magdalen Lane/Quad Bar): A 17th-century Puritan who lived on Magpie Lane during the Civil War, she supposedly fell in love with a Royalist officer. She is known for causing poltergeist activity, turning lights on and off, and moving sherry glasses in the building. 
5. Obadiah Walker (University College): The 17th-century Master of University College was a staunch Royalist who fell from grace. His unhappy spirit is said to haunt Staircase VIII (where he resided) and his former rooms. 
6. The Ghostly Twins (Trinity College): A 1948 report detailed a student seeing two identical 60-year-old men in clerical collars floating through Kettell Hall at 3 am. It was later believed to be the spirits of twins Noel and Christopher. 
7. The Digging Ghost (Jesus College): In 1947, a lady saw a man digging holes in the Principal's garden at night, believed to be the spirit of William Villiers, 2nd Viscount Grandison, who was secretly buried there during the Civil War.
8. The Headless Monk (Magdalen College): A dark, shadowy figure in a habit is frequently seen walking across the lawns of Magdalen College. A student in the 1980s reported her bedroom being invaded by a group of singing monks, accompanied by the smell of incense  
9. The Chimney Sweep (Magdalen Bridge): A tragic ghost of a young sweep who was shot and killed in 1754 while jeering at a coach-load of Tories. He is seen on the parapet of the bridge before pitching backward into the water. 
10. JRR Tolkien - "Lord of the Rings" (Merton College): Witnesses      report seeing a figure drifting through the corridors and quads          of Fellow's Quad, accompanied by the scent of pipe smoke.