According to Curious Oxfordshire by Roger Long, the phantom is seen sitting at the spinet (a type of small piano), often accompanied by the sound of music from the instrument. The rustling of her distinctive Elizabethan gown can be heard as she stands, and she will apparently smile benignly at anyone who witnesses her before vanishing into thin air.

Roger Long gives an account of a woman who encountered the ghost of Hinton Manor in the 1930s. She was exploring the house prior to a cocktail party when she was drawn to the music room by the sound of the spinet being played. She saw the figure of a woman in a red dress sitting at the spinet but left without disturbing the figure.

She then found her husband and complained that he should have warned her that their hosts expected such formal attire. She was surprised to be told that she hadn't encountered another guest, but the famous ghost of Hinton Manor!

Hinton Manor had its origins as a Norman motte-and-bailey castle and royal residence back in the 11th century. After the castle fell into disrepair, the land was owned by Dr George Owen, Royal Physician to Henry VIII, Edward VI and Queen Mary, who began construction on the manor house that stands today on a site to the northeast of the old castle.

The house has been renovated many times over the years, but its origins as a castle can still be seen in the mound where the castle originally stood, and in the lake which was originally part of the castle's moat.