Herne the Hunter
An antlered hunter is said to ride through Windsor Great Park at midnight.
What was reported
Herne the Hunter is a figure of Windsor Forest folklore, first written down by Shakespeare in The Merry Wives of Windsor, around 1597. There he is a forest keeper who walks around an oak tree at midnight in winter, wearing great antlers, blasting trees and frightening cattle.
Later writers added more: that Herne had been a royal huntsman, and that he appears before times of national crisis. Herne's Oak, the tree linked to him, stood in the Home Park until it fell in the 1860s.
Explanations offered
Folklorists debate whether Herne is based on a real person, an older forest spirit, or largely Shakespeare's invention. Some link him to antlered figures in older European myth. The legend is still part of Windsor's identity.
- When
- Told since at least 1597
- Where
- Windsor Great Park, Berkshire, England
- Witnesses
- First written down by Shakespeare
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.