倫敦塔里的鬼魂

也許你知道倫敦塔藏有無數文物珍寶，保存著英國歷代王冠和王室珠寶；也許你聽說過這里是全英國鬧鬼傳聞最多的地方，但你知道個中原因嗎？這里曾經被用作監獄，無數皇親國戚命喪于此。倫敦塔里到底藏著怎樣的史實和謎題？住在這樣一個地方又是怎樣的感覺？想知道答案，倫敦塔守衛將為你一一道來。

The gray bricks of the Tower of London are 1)damp to my touch， and as I run my hand over their rough

surfaces， a layer of 2)mildew 3)clings to my fingertips.

During the centuries， these massive walls have 4)held captive hundreds of prisoners. I can’t help but think of all the eyes that have stared at these bricks， knowing full well the only fate that awaited them.

Some say that the Tower of London is the most 5)haunted place in England. “Hundreds of people have been held prisoner and died here. There are dozens of ghost stories，” says Phil Wilson， a 6)yeoman warder at the Tower.

Wilson should know. As one of the queen’s 7)elite Tower caretakers， he has spent six years not only working

in this fortress， but living here as well. Wilson and his wife， Ann， make their home in the Beauchamp Tower. The only 8)access to their apartment is a narrow， 9)winding staircase， and I have to watch my step as Wilson and I walk up to meet Ann.

The ancient rooms of the

apartment are oddly shaped， making

furniture arrangement a difficult task. Yet the couple has decorated the rooms nicely， and I immediately feel welcome and at home. While Phil explains his work as a yeoman warder， Ann is busy preparing tea and 10)scones. There is a delicious

11)aroma in the room. For an instant， I forget that I am inside a prison.

Then I look out the front window.

“That there，” says Wilson， pointing to a 12)distinctive square of dark brick， “is an 13)executioner’s site.”

A sick feeling comes over me as I picture the 14)gruesome scenes that have taken place there. Wilson

happily 15)recounts some of the

Tower’s tales as we sit down for tea.

Many of those 16)condemned to death had done nothing but fall out of favor with the royal family， he says. Others were sentenced for 17)witchcraft， political activity， religious beliefs or 18)adultery. But the Tower was no ordinary prison. “It was a fortress and royal palace，” says Wilson. “You had to be a person of high status to be held prisoner here.”

Some prisoners went to their deaths with 19)stoic bravery. Sixteen-year-old Lady Jane Grey was queen for nine days in 1553 before she was 20)overthrown by her cousin， Mary Tudor， who ordered Grey and her husband put to death. Right before her beheading， the teenager delivered an 21)eloquent speech， then laid her head bravely upon the executioner’s block.

Since then， Lady Jane’s ghost has been seen many times， especially on the 22)anniversary of her death. Others have seen her husband’s weeping ghost in the Beauchamp Tower.

“Isn’t it hard to live in a place with so much

gruesome history?” I ask the Wilsons.

Ann laughs and says that although she had some 23)hesitations at first， she enjoys it now. “It’s a wonderful

place to live，” Wilson says. “Some 35 yeoman warder families live here. It’s like our own little village.”

The only 24)drawback to living at the Tower， the couple admits， is that they can’t get pizza delivered. “The restaurants never believe it when I give my address，” Wilson says.

By now， we’ve finished our tea and scones， and Wilson and I head across the 25)grounds to the

26)chapel， where many of those executed are buried. The chapel is deathly silent， and a 27)musty smell fills its rooms.

“Anne Boleyn is probably the most 28)persistent ghost here，” Wilson says quietly as we move to the chapel 29)altar， where the queen’s body is buried.

The second wife of Henry VIII， Boleyn was

30)accused of adultery and 31)incest， and beheaded by sword. “They say that her lips were still moving and her eyes looking around after she was beheaded，” Wilson states.

I 32)suppress a shiver.

“People have reported seeing Anne Boleyn’s

headless figure leading a 33)procession of

34)dignitaries down the 35)aisle of the chapel to her final burial place，” Wilson tells me.

Another well-known prisoner was William

Wallace， the Scottish 36)patriot who rebelled against English rule， and whose life was depicted in the movie Braveheart.

Perhaps the most touching ghostly sighting isthat of young King Edward V， 12， and his 9-year-old brother， Richard， Duke of York. The boys were taken to the Tower by a relative who wanted to 37)usurp their power， and they disappeared in 1483. “Their ghosts have been seen standing together， hand in hand， looking very lost，” Wilson says.

“Isn’t it difficult living

with all these strange

stories?” I ask Wilson as we make our way back across the massive

grass-covered grounds.

“Sometimes children ask me about the ghosts，” Wilson says， “but I always say， although there were lots of people executed here， nobody has ever been hurt by a ghost.”

“Sometimes， though， I wonder about them，” he adds. “I’ll get up at night， when it’s all quiet， and look out the window to the executioner’s site. Then I wonder if I’ll see

something tonight.”

我摸了摸倫敦塔的灰色墻磚，濕乎乎的。當我用手掠過其粗糙的表面時，指尖沾上了一層霉菌。

數世紀以來，成百上千的囚犯就被關押在這一堵堵高墻之內。我不禁聯想到那一雙雙盯著這些墻磚的眼睛，他們深知等待著自己的唯一下場。

有人說倫敦塔是全英國鬧鬼最厲害的地方。“曾經有數百人被囚禁并死于此地。這兒有一大堆鬼怪故事。”倫敦塔守衛菲爾·威爾森如是說。

威爾森確實是行家。作為英女王的倫敦塔精英看守之一，他不但在這個堡壘工作了六個年頭，還以此為家。威爾森和他的妻子安住在比徹姆塔。通往他們寓所的唯一通道是一條狹長曲折的樓梯。威爾森帶我上樓去見安的時候，我走得小心翼翼。

古老的公寓房間形狀古怪，這給擺設家具增加了困難。但是這對夫婦把房間布置得整齊美觀，我馬上感受到主人的好客，覺得很自在。菲爾在解釋他在倫敦塔守衛的工作，安則忙著沏茶和準備烤餅。房間內散發出一陣甜美的芳香。有那么一會兒，我忘記了自己身在監獄。

接著，我從前窗往外看。

“那邊那個，”威爾森指著一個顯眼的用黑磚筑成的廣場說，“是劊子手行刑的地方。……