There are a number of accounts associated with Goodrich Castle. The Great Keep is known as the "Macbeth tower", after stories of an Irish chieftain was held prisoner there and died trying to escape. His ghost is said to haunt the tower. In 1646, during the English Civil War, the Roundheads besieged the castle. Stories say that Colonel Birch's niece, Alice Birch, fell in love with a Royalist named Charles Clifford. According to accounts, the two attempted to escape before the final assault but died in a flash flood while trying to cross the River Wye. Their ghosts allegedly haunt the site, and have also been seen riding into the waters of the Wye.