Spooky apparition the Grey Lady of Hampton Court

Is this spooky apparition the Grey Lady of Hampton Court? Schoolgirls claim to have captured ghost of servant who died of small pox after nursing Elizabeth I at the palace Dame Sybil Penn died of small pox in Hampton Court Palace in 1562 Her ghost was seen by the Victorians when her tomb was moved in 1829 The palace is also haunted by Catherine Howard, Henry VIII’s fifth wife She was dragged to her death through the palace accused of adultery Two schoolgirls noticed the strange apparition on a visit to the palace. For nearly 200 years she is rumoured to have haunted the corridors of Hampton Court. But now the ghost of the famous Grey Lady may finally have been captured on camera – by a schoolgirl and her iPhone. Holly Hampsheir, 12, thought she was taking a fairly routine photo of her cousin Brook McGee, also 12, during a day out at the 16th century stately home. But she appears unwittingly to have captured the spectral figure of Dame Sybil Penn who looms over the schoolgirl as her back is turned. With flowing dark hair and a full length black gown the woman seems real enough in the picture. But seconds later Brook turns around and the next image in the series shows no sign of the visitor at all. The girls didn’t realise what they had encountered at the time and only made the terrifying discovery when looking through their photos of the outing a day later. Miss McGee, from Hornchurch, Havering, told the Sun: ‘I was totally freaked out. ‘I didn’t see anything. ‘People say the room goes cold when ghosts appear but we had no idea. ‘We haven’t slept properly since.’ Dame Sybil died from after contracting smallpox in 1562.