Senior House of Commons aide reveals encounters with ghosts in Parliament

A SENIOR aide to the House of Commons Speaker has revealed she has seen ghosts haunting Parliament. Jo-Anne Crowder has worked in the Palace of Westminster for over 30 years and is the diary manager to Sir Lindsay Hoyle.

Encounters with spirits

She told how she has seen the apparition of a mysterious Grey Lady while walking through Parliament after dark. Ms Crowder, 52, has also felt a ghost dog nuzzle up to her in one of Parliament’s ancient side rooms.

Spooky sightings

Shortly after she joined Parliament in 1990, one of her colleagues even reported being thrown against the wall of the Palace’s underground car park by a spirit many years ago. Others she has worked with have heard the hooves of phantom horses trotting through the grounds – which monarchs have visited in horse-drawn carriages for hundreds of years.

History of hauntings

The Palace of Westminster is steeped in history – with parts dating back 1,000 years. It was the home to the King and Queens of England for hundreds of years, including England’s most famous monarch Henry VIII.

Ghostly legends

It is not the first time someone has reported seeing a ghost in Parliament. The Headless Lady ghost is said to haunt part of Parliament known as Norman Shaw.