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.
Copyright