During the siege of York in the English Civil War, the Olde Starre people used as a hospital for the wounded. Medicine was in its infancy, with men had limbs amputated whilst still conscious, perhaps helped with a bottle of rum. Occasionally, their screams can still be heard from the cellars below the pub. There are also two phantom cats patrolling the inn, with frequently pursued by dogs. One of these dogs knocked itself unconscious when it ran into a wall in hot pursuit. Furthermore, there is the ghost of an elderly woman seen slowly ascending the staircase.