On that occasion, Jon Snow, having covered himself with flour, tried to scare Arya and her siblings as a ghost. Īrya Stark was a little girl when she saw the crypts for the first time Old Nan had told her it contained spiders and rats the size of dogs. The Testimony of Mushroom alleges that when Prince Jacaerys Velaryon came to Winterfell at the start of the Dance of the Dragons, Vermax laid dragon eggs in the depths of the crypts, where hot springs are near the walls.
The daughter eventually reappeared with an infant, a future Lord Stark, with the legend claiming that they had hid within the crypt.
HistoryĪccording to free folk legend, Bael the Bard disappeared from Winterfell with the daughter of Lord Brandon Stark. There is also a statue for Artos the Implacable, the younger brother of Lord Willam Stark. īreaking the tradition of only lords having statues, Lord Eddard Stark, Rickard's successor, had statues made of his deceased siblings, Brandon and Lyanna, after Robert's Rebellion. The tombs further back, empty and unsealed, are saved for future members of House Stark. The most recent tombs within the crypts are those of Lord Rickard Stark and his children, Brandon and Lyanna. The lowest level is said to be partly collapsed. The cavernous vault is larger than Winterfell itself, with older Starks buried in deeper and darker levels. According to tradition, iron longswords across each lord's lap keep vengeful spirits within the crypt. Large stone direwolves curl at their feet. The likenesses of these high lords are carved into the stone, some shaggy, some clean shaven. While all family members can have tombs in the crypts, statues are traditionally only made for Kings in the North and Lords of Winterfell.
One floor contains a long line of granite pillars, two by two, between which are entombed the dead of House Stark. The chilly and dark crypt is accessible by narrow and winding spiral stone steps which lead to multiple levels. The crypt's ironwood door, which is located in the oldest section of Winterfell near the First Keep and the lichyard, is old and heavy.