The Ghost in the Tree is a spirit trapped beneath an ancient oak on the Whispering Hillock, in the woods south of Downwarren in Velen. She is known by several names, among them the Lady of the Wood, She Who Knows and the Mother. Much about her is a mystery. What seems certain is that she was not human, and that the Crones destroyed her body and bound her spirit in the tree.

A local book, She Who Knows, tells how she came from far away, created three daughters and watched over the land, receiving offerings of grain and men each spring, until she sank into madness. Her daughters killed her to save the land. Since many locals worship the Crones, that version may not be the whole truth.

In The Witcher 3

In The Whispering Hillock, the spirit begs Geralt to free her, promising to save Anna Strenger. The Crones want her destroyed. It is one of the game’s hardest choices:

• Free her, and she rides into Downwarren as a black mare, possessing the villagers and driving them to slaughter one another in revenge.
• Kill her, and the Crones keep their hold on the region, with terrible consequences for the orphans of Crookback Bog.

The choice also shapes the fate of the Bloody Baron and his wife in Return to Crookback Bog.