This
now ruined castle in Totnes, Devon, was home to the De La Pomerai family
from 1066 to 1550. The ghost of a member of the family called Margaret has
been seen dressed in white robes.
The
legend of Margaret De La Pomerai is a sad tale. It is thought that she had a
wicked sister called Eleanor. Both siblings fell madly in love with the same
man, and as Margaret was far more beautiful than her sister, Eleanor was
soon overcome with jealousy. She locked Margaret away in the castle
dungeons, and left her to starve to death. Her spirit has been seen drifting
upwards from the site of the castle dungeons to the old ramparts.
There
are other ghosts at the castle, including a female spirit who gained great
publicity in the 1800s when a famous medic called Sir Walter Farquhar wrote
about her in his memoirs. Farquhar believed that the appearance of this
white-clad woman was an omen, and that soon after some unfortunate soul
would die.