Queen Victoria famously turned to spiritualism following Prince Albert’s death in 1861 but her fascination with the paranormal had been going on much longer.
In 1845 Victoria and Albert purchased Osborne House on the Isle of Wight and soon after they began holding seances in the Horn Room, a small room which is tucked away on the ground floor. The first psychic performer to grace Osborne’s walls was eleven-year-old Georgiana Eagle, who displayed her clairvoyant abilities on 15th July 1846. Whilst there is no official record of the performance by “The Mysterious Lady”, a pocket watch survives which is widely believed to have been given to Georgiana as a memento from the Queen herself. The inscription on the inside of the watch reads: Presented by Her Majesty to Miss Georgiana Eagle for her Meritorious and Extraordinary clairvoyance produced at Osborn House, Isle of Wight, July 15th, 1846”. Although the spelling of ‘Osborne’ is incorrect on the engraving, the watch itself matches the style of watch that was given out by Queen Victoria to children that visited her, suggesting that the inscription was added by Georgiana at a later date.
Source: spitalfieldslife.com
Following Georgiana’s visit and Prince Albert’s death, Queen Victoria continued to host seances in the compact Horn Room, where spirits are said to linger today. Whilst some describe a general sense of uneasiness when passing the room, local stories from both visitors and staff (past and present) claim that at least three figures still lurk around the antler filled room. Besides the classic shadow figures that dart past the locked door and a child that lingers in the corridor, one tale that particularly intrigues me came from someone I know who was walking past the room when she saw a woman, wearing late 1800s clothing, straightening a wonky painting which hung beside the large window. The apparition was visible for several seconds but when the witness turned back to take a second glimpse, the figure had vanished.
The story of the Horn Room is one of several creepy stories that I will be sharing over the next couple of weeks, so don’t forget to subscribe to my website to receive email updates about my newest content!
Disclaimer: All of the stories that feature in this series are based on local tales which I have discovered either in person with witnesses or through other sources, which I will mention as the series goes along.
© Queen.Victoria.Roses 2026
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I just watched an interesting documentary about ghosts at the White House and how the wives of two U.S. presidents, Pierce and Lincoln, were very involved in spiritualism after each had lost a young son. It also talked about how haunted the White House is. There is documented video of an actual demon that is in the Oval Office, now. (Couldn’t resist).
I love your articles about Osborne House. It is definitely on my travel bucket list. Thank you for all you do, Shannon.