A gentle phantom is the lady in a green Tudor costume. She drifts through the ancient building of the King's Manor, and seems to be carrying a bunch of roses. She may be the phantom of Anne Boleyn who stayed here during her brief and tragic marriage to Henry VIII. Exactly when or why this identification was made is unclear. Considering the large number of places Anne Boleyn is said to haunt, it might be thought more likely that the phantom in green is some other Tudor lady who has some reason to return with her gorgeous roses. But there is a twist to the tale.
In 1523 the teenage Anne Boleyn fell in love with Lord Henry Percy, later the 6th Earl of Northumberland, and they had a semi-secret romance. The relationship was broken up by Lord Henry's father as he had his eye on a rich heiress as his future daughter-in-law. Many years later when Henry VIII was casting about for reasons to get rid of Anne, Henry Percy refused to admit that he had been engaged to Anne or that anything improper had occurred. When Henry finally put Anne on trial for treason, Percy was conspicuous by his absence. Perhaps the lady in green with the red roses really is Anne, returning to York in search of the happier days of her youth.

There is little doubt about the dynamic phantoms which race through the quiet countryside west of York in the region of Long Marston. These are said to be Prince Rupert and his cavaliers who fought the Roundhead army of Lord Leven and Oliver Cromwell on Marston Moor on 2nd July 1644. Rupert was marching north with some 18,000 men to relieve the garrison of York when he met the 28,000 strong Parliamentarian force. The battle began with great success for Prince Rupert but ended in crushing defeat after a brilliantly executed Roundhead cavalry charge swept the field. Prince Rupert managed to rally most of his troops and beat a hasty retreat. About 6,000 men died that day and many more were injured. The phantom cavaliers gallop and wheel across the fields north of Long Marston reliving the battle of long ago. That fateful day has left its spectral mark in York city itself, indeed in King's Manor.
The next ghostly manifestation at King's Manor, is related to the fighting of the Civil War. Here the groans and cries of wounded Roundheads can be heard in the main courtyard where they were brought for the rudimentary medical treatment then available to them. Considering the total lack of anaesthetic at the time, the men had plenty of reason to groan.
Similar phantoms haunt the Olde Starre Inn, just off Stonegate. During the siege and in the wake of the battle sawn off while they were still,conscious. Their terrible screams of agony are occasionally still heard. The scene was made all the more gruesome by the fact that Roundhead troopers were drinking and eating their fill in the kitchen overhead.
Shrill screams are heard from time to time in the Old Starre Inne. The Olde Starre Inn is not only disturbing to human visitors. It can also be an uncomfortable place to take a pet dog. There is something in the bar which is always invisible to humans but can be seen by dogs. Whatever this something may be, dogs do not like it.
The animals snarl and bristle with hostility as their eyes follow an invisible visitor around the room. On occasion a dog has been brave enough to attack the intruder. One bold dog knocked itself unconscious when it suddenly and unaccountably leaped forward and slammed into a wall.
The invisible intruder at the Olde Starre Inn may be related to the two phantom black cats which scamper playfully through the pub at times. Nobody knows when these cats lived at the Olde Starre but they have been present in spectral form for as long as anyone can recall. Nor can anyone identify the old lady who climbs the stairs. She is seen infrequently and then usually by young children who can give only a vague description of her.

The disturbing spectre which frequents the Cock and Bottle pub is usually identified as George Villiers was a wit, poet and politician who lived during the late l7th centuryeign of Charles II. His scandalous lifestyle and numerous affairs outraged society and surpassed even those of his sovereign. He had estates in Yorkshire and died in the county in 1687. It is said that he asked to be buried in York but his request was ignored and he lies in Westminster Abbey. George Villiers has achieved lasting fame as the hero of the nursery rhyme "Georgie Porgie". The reference to him running away "when the boys came out to play" refers to his downfall in Parliament in 1673.
The phantom at the Cock and Bottle, has a strong liking for women, drink and fun. A shadowy figure is sometimes seen sitting at a table near the fireplace in the bar but the phantom disappears when approached. In the upper storeys the ghost is more active. He appears as a large man with long flowing hair and embroidered clothing, a description which fits George Villiers. He appears only to women, sometimes in embarrassing circumstances.
One former landlady was in the shower soon after taking over the pub when she heard the door open. Through the frosted glass of the shower she saw a large man walk in and approach her. After a second or two spent watching her the man left and climbed upstairs towards the attic. The woman's startled cries brought her husband running and together they searched the upper floors. No sign of the man could be found.
Other women have been startled by the tall man who appears and vanishes with amazing suddeness. On occasion he has appeared to stroke, or even fondle, younger women who stray into his presence. Fortunately for the landlord, the spectre does not appear so often as to lose him customers. And fortunately for the prowling spectre, he is beyond the reach of mere mortal laws of sexual harrassment!

A less boisterous and rather sad spirit lingers in the upper rooms of No.5 College Street. Earlier this century a family with young children moved into the house and this seems to have triggered the haunting. Late in the evening the sound of a child crying was heard. Naturally, the parents thought one of their own offspring was calling and climbed the stairs only to find their children fast asleep. The children themselves also heard the crying and reported seeing a little girl trotting around the top floor. Soon the adults also saw the weeping girl who appeared to be about seven years old.
Deciding that they had, had enough, the family called in a medium. According to the medium the child told a pitiful story. Centuries earlier plague had swept through York and the house in College Street was just one sealed off from the outside world until the disease had run its course among the inhabitants. The plague carried off the adults in the family one by one but the young girl was untouched. Tragically, she was left all alone and slowly starved to death before the quarantine was lifted.