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Donnington

Not surprisingly, the historic castle itself has many more ghosts. A certain green lady is said to sometimes be seen there. She appears at the castle gates and asks passers-by why they are closed, before suddenly disappearing. One wonders if this might be Lady Hoby enquiring as to why she has been locked out of her own castle, during her dispute with the Earl of Nottingham. See Lady Hoby's Biography. Phantom candlelight has also been seen passing the windows of the locked gatehouse, late at night.

Another tale is told by a group of young lads camping amongst the castle walls. They all heard a horrible scream and crossed to the other side of the castle, where they all saw an elderly Royalist soldier with a curly-headed young woman in a headlock, pulling her hair. They couldn't believe their own eyes as she continued to scream for help. Though petrified, one of the boys managed to shout at the cavalier to "leave her alone"; in reply to which the phantom let out one hell of a growl and carried on pulling his victim's hair still more. When the group started forward to intervene, the soldier stood, let out another almighty growl and both figures completely vanished!

In the Summer of 1990, a couple saw what seemed to be a 'white dog' appear from behind the low wall on the far-side of the castle. It disappeared down the bank, heading towards the woods, but, upon looking after it the witnesses discovered it had gone. Yet it was a physical impossibility for anything to reach the bottom before before the whole bank came into view. On another occasion, the lady of the duo saw a phantom guard standing beneath the west gate, while her partner saw nothing.

Many thanks to the "Newbury Spooks" website for the last two stories.