Hampton Court Palace Warder Ian Franklin inspects the palace's famous Haunted Gallery. © Richard Lea-Hair / newsteam.co.uk

There’s a chance to go royal ghost spotting this winter at Hampton Court Palace, or take in the equally spooky spectre of the Tower of London at twilight with special Beefeater tours.

Ghost Tours at Hampton Court Palace will begin, aptly, on Halloween night (October 31 2007). Walking in the footsteps of kings, queens and thousands of courtiers, guides will tell eerie tales of hauntings while you watch out for any of the paranormal residents themselves.

Perhaps you’ll see Jane Seymour: King Henry VIII’s third and favourite wife died at the palace, and her ghost is said to wander the Clock Court. Henry’s fifth wife, Catherine Howard, was accused of adultery at the palace and sentenced to death at the Tower of London. However, her spirit is purported to have hung on in the palace, lingering in the corridors of the Haunted Gallery where centuries ago she pleaded for her husband’s forgiveness.

The Tower of London takes on a new atmosphere after twilight. © newsteam.co.uk

More recently, CCTV cameras in the palace have captured footage of a skeleton-like figure in period costume – a mysterious and unexplained occurrence. The tour also reveals parts of the palace not usually open to the public such as Apartment 33 where Seymour gave birth to Henry’s only son, Edward, before dying two weeks later.

The tours will run every Friday (7.30pm) and Sunday (6pm) until March 2008. Tours last 90 minutes and tickets are £25. Book in advance on 0844 482 7795 or online at www.hrp.org.uk.

The Tower of London, meanwhile, becomes a dark and deadly medieval fortress when the sun sets. Every Wednesday from November 7 until December 12 2007 and every Wednesday in February 2008, Yeoman Warders (Beefeaters) will be giving tours after the daytime crowds have gone.

They’ll retell the tales, legends, gossip and secrets of the Tower while the shadows close in around you in the Medieval Palace, Bloody Tower, Traitors Gate and the Scaffold Site where two queens of England lost their heads.

Tours will start at 7pm and last 90 minutes. Tickets cost £25 and can be booked on 0870 950 2255 or on the Historic Royal Palaces website.