The
ghost of Anne Boleyn haunts Blickling, and although there is no clear
evidence, it is believed that she was born on the site of the hall.
Anne
Boleyn was rejected by her husband, King Henry VIII, on the birth of a
still-born son. He demanded that she should be beheaded, and her ghost
(which haunts many different historical buildings in England) often appears
as a headless figure. The Blickling haunting is no exception. On May 19 each
year (the anniversary of her execution) within the Hall's grounds, Anne
Boleyn's ghost is said to be seen in a coach drawn by four headless horses
and driven by a headless coachman, her own head resting in her lap. Another
version of the events describes the rider to be Sir Thomas Boleyn, Anne's
father. There is a Norfolk legend that Sir Thomas was a cursed man, and was
forced to drive over 40 bridges in a single night each year. It is believed
that as he crosses the bridges he is chased by hundreds of noisy demons.