In 2003, security staff at Hampton Court in London, a 16th century palace once home to King Henry VIII, reviewed closed-circuit security footage after fire alarms went off near an exhibition hall with no apparent cause. Upon viewing the tape, guards witnessed two heavy doors open by themselves and then moments later a cloaked figure appeared in the doorway to slam them shut. The camera caught the doors opening on their own at the same time the day before and at the same time the day after but the alleged apparition was only caught once. Security guard James Faukes said that "It was incredibly spooky because the face just didn't look human." Australian tourists claimed to have seen a similar figure in that same area. Palace staff affirmed that tour guides of the Hampton Palace do not enter that area nor do they wear costumes that resemble the clothing worn by the figure. Ever since this footage was released, the content has been a source of extreme debate between skeptics and paranormal enthusiasts. While some paranormal experts dismiss the footage as a hoax, others call it a major paranormal discovery. Common arguments from skeptics of the footage note that the camera seems to move as if someone is holding it and that the person would have been able to push the doors open to give the allusion that they opened on their own. Defenders of the video cite that the fire alarms went off on three separate occasions due to these doors opening and the figure was not seen in the doorway two of the three times.

The Hampton Court, built in 1525, has long been subject to claims of paranormal activity. Some people have even asserted that the figure seen in 2003 resembles King Henry VIII, who married six times and was the father of Queen Elizabeth I. Other stories of haunts in Hampton Palace include the ghost of Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry, who was charged for adultery and placed under house arrest. After escaping the guards and begging Henry for her life, she was executed. There is also the ghost of Jane Seymour, Henry's third wife who died in childbirth, who has been seen walking through the courtyard holding a lit candle. Then there is the ghost of a woman in grey who some people connect with Sibell Penn, the nurse of Edward, Henry's only son. Finally, the apparition of a dog has been spotted several times in and around a closet known as the Wolsey closet.