Claude Duval, the gentleman highwayman

A shadow on the stairs, hoofbeats in the yard. The gentleman highwayman never checked out.

The Holt, an old coaching inn at a crossroads near Steeple Aston, claims Claude Duval as its own. He was the French-born highwayman of the 1660s, famous for his manners and hanged in 1670. The hotel says that if you see a shadowy figure on the stairs, or hear hoofbeats, it is probably Duval, still haunting the place. A local ghost book claims his spirit went on to kill a later landlord and his wife. In 2011 the landlord admitted he had never seen a ghost, but paranormal weekends still sell well.