Man Who Lives In Tower Of London Mistaken For Ghost

A man who lives in the Tower of London says he was mistaken for a ghost. Watch him explain the bizarre misapprehension here:

Tom Houghton is one of a few residents of the historical castle in London, which dates back to the 11th century, and regularly shows his followers on TikTok around its sprawling grounds.

With him living in such an old structure, where many people have either been imprisoned - Queen Elizabeth I, the Krays - or killed, there are plenty of creepy ghost stories and reported sightings.

But Tom recently shut down one of these purported hauntings.

In a post to his account, he stitched a video with another shared by a ghost-hunting couple, who claimed to have witnessed a spirit lurking in the tower.

Tom explains: "A lot of people, when hearing that I live in the Tower of London, have asked me about the ghosts of the Tower of London.

TikTok

"So I thought I'd address this video I saw of this couple who have filmed the tower through a window. They see this ghostly figure walking - there he goes."

Gesturing down to a lower level, Tom continues: "Now they clearly filmed it down there where the entrance is and they're filming up towards the battlements here, which is suspiciously close to my bedroom.

"So what I think I'm trying to say is that, umm... I think I'm the ghost.

"Boo."

Now, you may be wondering, 'Why does Tom live in the Tower of London? I just thought that was where people got their head chopped off and Liz kept all her jewels.'

Well, in several of his videos, Tom explains that his dad, Sir Nick Houghton, is the Constable of the Tower of London, residing in Queen's House - where Guy Fawkes was forced to confess to his hand in the gunpowder plot.

PA

Tom's house also links through to the cell where Queen Elizabeth I was held, and where Adolf Hitler was due to be kept - had he actually been caught during the Second World War, it even has a toilet, which Tom says was designed for his use.

At one time, the Constable was in charge of the tower when the King or ruler was not in residence, entrusted to defend it should it come under attack. It is now much more of a ceremonial gig.

But Tom says he won't be staying there forever.

Previously living in Brighton, Tom explained that he moved to London to pursue more opportunities, and rather than fork out '£7,000 an hour to live in Zone five', he took the 'once in a lifetime opportunity' to live rent free in the 'great big historical palace'.

Which is fair enough.

Topics: Ghost, Social Media, Weird, London, TikTok

Dominic Smithers

Dominic graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History. Like you, Dom has often questioned how much use a second language has been. Well, after stints working at the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express, along with never setting foot in France, he realised the answer is surprisingly little. But I guess, c'est la vie. Contact us at [email protected]

@SmithersDom