Simon Cowell's new mansion 'haunted by gay lover of a Roman emperor' whose spirit was unleashed by previous owner
Simon Cowell's new £15m ($19m) mansion isn't just famous for its grandeur, it's also infamously haunted by a ghost. The former owner of the house, Christian Levett, believes that the London-based mansion is haunted by the ghost of Antinous who was the lover of Roman Emperor Hadrian.
Hadrian ruled the Roman Empire from 117 to 138. As reported by The Sun, Levett claims that he had himself brought Antinous' spirit into the mansion when he purchased a statue of him in 2014 and unleashed his spirit onto the property. Levett shared, "It was delivered in a crate. When I was locking up, I heard the sound of heavy objects being knocked over from the drawing room where Antinous was still lying in his box. The same happened the next two nights. But there was nobody there."
A source claimed that the 'X Factor' judge believes that all this is more than just an urban legend. The insider shared, "Simon believes in spirits so he's been freaked out by this story. I don’t think he was aware when he moved in. He might have to call a ghost-buster."
A next-door neighbor further said, "I know when Christian lived there, the family heard unexplained noises. There’d be a bump from a bedroom, then the next night a noise from downstairs." Antinous' story is a tragic one and he was a favorite of Hadrian. He was also known to be extremely attractive and beautiful. It was reported that the pair were fond of hunting together and it was widely presumed that the two had a sexual relationship. In October 130, he died under mysterious circumstances while on a voyage on the Nile.
The cause of his death remains a mystery until this day and many believe that he was murdered by other members of the Roman Empire who were jealous of his close bond with Hadrian. Some others, however, are of the belief that he fell and drowned in the Nile. Post his death, Hadrian deified Antinous and also took to creating a cult which was devoted to him. Ever since his passing, he has been known as a hero and as "the gay god".
Simon is no stranger to the supernatural and around three years ago, he claimed he had contact with the other side. He told The Sun, "[The dead] just want to make contact and say hello. I had [a ghost] in my house when I was living in Kingston Hill. My mum and dad were staying with me and I heard this banging on the door. I went to their room and said: “You were banging on my door?” and they said: "It wasn’t us". There was a dog in the house freaking out too. The following day I heard this crashing noise and all the stuff had fallen in the kitchen. There was no logical explanation. There was no wind but there was definitely a presence. But I wasn’t afraid." The encounter resulted in an exorcism, Simon later added.