Leeds Castle

During the fifteenth century, an aunt of Henry VI indulged in a number of supernatural practices. She was tried and charged with the serious offences of treason, heresy, witchcraft and necromancy and was imprisoned in Leeds Castle for the remainder of her life. It was around this period that the first reports of a phantom black dog appeared, so that some people have made a connection between the two events.The Black Dog of Leeds now has a reputation as an omen of evil, disaster and death. Perhaps it even appeared to Anne Boleyn while she was staying there?

Before the First World War, the owners of the castle, a family by the name ofWykeham-Martin, gave a clear description of the dog as a 'curly-haired retriever' of average size, who would 'appear and disappear within moments, sometimes fading into a -wall or passing through a closed door.'

One member of the family, who witnessed the manifestation of the Black Dog, was puzzled when it ignored her, walked away and disappeared into the wall. Rising to her feet, she went to investigate. This lady had been sitting on a window seat and was astounded when the entire window behind her shattered and crashed into the moat below. Had she been sitting there, she would have been buried among the rubble and masonry. Although her deliverance may merely have been a fortuitous coincidence, the lady believed that the Black Dog had saved her life.

Another gruesome discovery at Leeds Castle was the skeleton of a man, imprisoned with a little food and water, inside the castle walls. The discovery took place around 100 years ago — although there is no recorded data about the length of time he had lain there.

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