Lady Bluefoot, all in black,

Silver buttons down her back.

Harigoshee! Harigoshee!

Lock the cupboard and take the key.

This rhyme was possibly created by the people of nearby Presteigne, to remind each other of the wandering soul, known as Lady Bluefoot, which supposedly inhabited the castle. It reminds us of the general dislike of townsfolk, to pass the castle during the night. In the time when Presteigne had a curfew, children were kept off the streets of the town by the repetition of the phrase and even today, some people still believe that the castle is the residence of the phantom of Lady Bluefoot.

Basically, a women known as Dame Stapleton once inhabited the castle (or manor), but on the advice of her advisor, she sent her son, Everard, away to a public school to be educated. However, when no news of the boy arrived, Dame Stapleton was distraught with grief, she stayed angry at him for a long time. One morning however, when a servant tapped at her door and could not make her hear, after other methods, the servants broke into the room to find her dead with a pool of blood on the floor.

Some ten years later, a young man arrived in Presteigne, asking for news of the Stapleton family. They told him that the son had died and the mother was also dead, although possibly from suicide or from murder, and that the family was therefore, no more. He was very distressed for he was Everard Stapleton, the son, and believed his actions had killed her.

Ever since, the local people have been haunted by their belief in the castle's unnatural occupant - the soul of Dame Stapleton.