The heavily trampled corridors of Hampton Court Palace have unfolded their secrets to an avid public over the decades, yet some of the inhabitants of the former Royal abode continue to make their presence felt in a more supernatural way.

Ghostly apparitions within the walls of the palace have been well documented, most notably the spirit of Henry VIIIs fifth bride, Catherine Howard, who it is said haunts the gallery where she was arrested for adultery by the Kings guards.

Two women taken on separate guided tours of the palace fainted in exactly the same spot in the gallery, where Catherine is said to have pleaded for her life.

Both complained afterwards of feeling cold and passing out. When they came round they said they felt hot and were sweating.

They reported seeing a woman dressed in white floating down the gallery towards the chapel. As she reached the door she ran back with a look of despair etched on her face and uttered the most unearthly shriek.

The ghostly apparition is believed to relate to the moment when Catherine was placed under house arrest by the king after he discovered she had been unfaithful.

She broke free from her guards and is said to have run to the palaces chapel to plead with the King for her life.

Catherine married King Henry in 1540 at the age of 19 and was executed at the Tower of London two years later.

Last year ghost-busting psychologist Dr Richard Wiseman conducted all-night vigils in the haunted gallery using thermal imaging cameras to try and explain the phenomena.

He suggested that the ghostly activity reported by visitors to the haunted gallery, was due to changes in temperature caused by a draught of cold air blowing underneath the concealed doors.

While the sightings of Catherine have received significant coverage, there are other less noisy spirits who have been seen wandering the palaces grounds.

Jane Seymour, the Kings third and apparently favourite wife, is rumoured to roam around the cobbled courtyard outside the Queens apartments, carrying a lighted taper.

The flickering ember of the candle illuminates her figure and her clothing, but not her surroundings. Visitors who have witnessed the apparition, say the former queen slips seamlessly from one world to another without causing a disturbance, much as she did in her life.

The sister of the Duke of Somerset, Jane had served at court as a lady in waiting to the Kings first wife, Catherine of Aragon.

She married Henry, following the execution of his second queen, Anne Boleyn, on charges of adultery and witchcraft, but died after developing complications giving birth to the Kings only son, Edward VI, in 1537.

Visitors have also reported sighting two cavaliers laughing and joking in a courtyard in the Stuart wing of the palace. The men were often mistaken for actors as they appeared so lifelike.

Workmen later uncovered the skeletons of two young men buried in a shallow grave in the courtyard of the palace. The sinister manner of their burial was never explained.

Also unexplained is the apparition witnessed by a policeman in February 1917, while he was on duty outside the main gates of the palace.

The officer saw a group of men and women approaching the palace dressed in evening attire. He assumed they were guests on their way to dinner.

He prepared to open the gate for them but when the group came within 30 yards of the palace they vanished, leaving the young bobby very bemused.

Prince Edwards nurse, Sibell Penn, died in 1562 and was buried at Hampton Church. When the church was demolished in 1829 her remains were disturbed and her spirit is said to have returned to the room she inhabited at the palace.

Shortly afterwards the sound of a woman working on a spinning wheel was heard from behind a wall in the south west wing of Hampton Court.

Later reports revealed that when the wall was pulled down a spinning wheel was discovered behind it.

Sightings of the nurse continue to be reported wandering around the courtyards and cloisters of the Tudor palace.