This
photograph taken in 1934 depicting the 'Brown Lady' ascending the staircase
has made Raynham Hall's ghost amongst the most famous in England. Taken by
Captain
Provand,
a photographer for 'Country Life' magazine, the image has been examined by
numerous experts who can find no evidence of forgery or double exposure.
The
'Brown Lady', so called because of the color of the flowing dress that she
wears, is thought to be the ghost of Dorothy Walpole, sister to Robert
Walpole, the English Prime Minister of 1722. There are various legends
surrounding the woman, one version of which is that after having an affair,
her angry husband held her prisoner at Raynham, not allowing her to see her
children. Witnesses to the haunting describe the ghost's illuminated, gaunt
face, with dark hollows instead of eyes. Often she appears to be calm and
unthreatening, but occasionally her strange features bring fear to the
onlooker.