Читать книгу Haunted Britain and Ireland: Over 100 of the Scariest Places to Visit in the UK and Ireland - Derek Acorah - Страница 36

Cleopatra’s Needle is a 60 ft tall Egyptian obelisk which stands on the Thames Embankment between Waterloo Bridge and Hungerford Bridge. It was made for Pharaoh Thotmes III in 1475 bc and given to the British by the Turkish Viceroy of Egypt in 1819. It is known as Cleopatra’s Needle as it came from Alexandria, Cleopatra’s royal city. It was brought to London in 1878 to commemorate the British victory over Napoleon 63 years earlier.

Some say Cleopatra herself cursed the Needle, and its-journey to Britain was certainly fraught with danger. An initial attempt to move the Needle failed when it toppled over into the sand. It remained there for many years until a cigar-shaped container ship, called the Cleopatra, was specially designed, at great expense, to carry it to London. The Cleopatra was towed by a steamship, the Olga, but in a storm off the Bay of Biscay she nearly sank. The Olga sent six volunteers to rescue the crew, but their boat sank and they all drowned. They are commemorated today on one of the plaques at the base of the Needle. The Cleopatra’s crew was eventually taken off by the Olga, and the Cleopatra herself, with the Needle, was cut adrift on the stormy sea. Five days later she was spotted floating off the north coast of Spain and was towed into the port of Ferrol. Another steamship, the Anglia, finally towed her home.

Today four plaques at the base of the Needle give a brief history of the Needle and it is flanked by two large bronze Victorian sphinxes. Underneath it lies a Victorian time capsule containing a set of coins, a newspaper, a razor, a box of pins, four Bibles, a railway guide and 12 photos of Victorian beauties. During World War I the plinth and one of the sphinxes sustained damage during a Zeppelin air raid. This can still be seen today. The Needle has a twin, which now stands in Central Park, New York.

It is not the Needle itself that is haunted, but the area surrounding it. Mocking laughter and anguished cries have been heard there and most of the suicides that take place along this stretch of the river occur at this particular spot, which some say is due to the encouragement of the spirit voices.

The ghost of one of the suicides has been seen on many occasions. He is a tall naked man who runs from behind the Needle, jumps onto its base and throws himself into the river without making a splash.

Cleopatra’s Needle, Victoria Embankment, London SW1