Deep in Windsor Great Park, where twisted oaks have stood since before the Norman invasion of 1066, there lives a legend over six hundred years old. It is the story of Herne the Hunter — a ghost wearing enormous stag antlers on his head, riding a black horse through the midnight forest, trailed by a pack of phantom hounds and the blood-chilling rattle of chains. He is the most famous ghost in English folklore. And Windsor Great Park is his hunting ground for all eternity.
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Ghosts & Curses·1/2·1′
The place
Windsor Castle
Herne the Hunter
The antlered phantom who rides through Windsor Great Park in times of national crisis
Late 14th century (Richard II) — PresentWindsor Castle
Moral of the Story
“Those who destroy a noble soul through cruelty and ingratitude may find that the spirit they have wronged becomes an eternal force far more terrible than the living man ever was”
Characters
H
Herne the Hunter — Royal huntsman, cursed and driven to suicideR
Richard II (or Henry VIII) — The King whose life Herne savedT
The Dark Stranger (Philip Urswick) — Mysterious figure who bound the antlers and saved Herne's life at a terrible priceT
The rival huntsmen — Those who mocked Herne and met terrible fatesW
William Shakespeare — Who immortalized the legend in "The Merry Wives of Windsor"C
Cernunnos — The ancient Celtic horned god to whom Herne is linkedSource
William Shakespeare's "The Merry Wives of Windsor" (c. 1597), Samuel Ireland's "Picturesque Views on the River Thames" (1792), Harrison Ainsworth's "Windsor Castle" (1843), Margaret Murray's folklore research, local Windsor oral tradition