The Paranormal Database

Examining folkloric, paranormal & cryptozoological locations in the UK and beyond

Home > Scotland > Lanarkshire

Lanarkshire Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana

Lady with Grey Hair

Location: Glasgow - Rosshall hospital
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: January 2008
Further Comments: A grey haired lady who died in theatre three many years ago is still said to haunt the area. Staff report a fleeting glance of her ghost before it vanishes.

Ward Sister

Location: Glasgow - Royal Infirmary Hospital
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Sister in Twentieth century, and patient in 2002
Further Comments: At least one nurse has claimed to have seen a ward sister walking around at night, normal looking other than the fact the apparition appears to be cut off at the knee. Ward 27 is reported to be home to Archie, a ghostly elderly man who wears a bun net and can be seen talking to dying patients. More recently, while answering an arrest call, a doctor was asked the way out by a patient. The doctor pointed over his shoulder as he continued to run down the corridor. When the doctor reached the patient, who had arrested and died, he realised that it was the same man who had asked for directions.

Hanging Man

Location: Glasgow - Scotia Bar
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2007
Further Comments: This bar is haunted by a former landlord who, during the 1970s, hanged himself in the cellar. Two other spirits also lurk here; Willy sits in a room, while Annie has apparently contacted a visiting psychic.

Grey Lady

Location: Glasgow - Shields Road Station
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The woman who has returned to earth was killed by a train as it pulled into the station. Another story, most likely false, says that the line between this station and West Street was briefly haunted by a clattering and a ball of light during its construction/renovation prior to 1897.

Woman in Black

Location: Glasgow - Silverburn shopping centre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: May - June 2016
Further Comments: Covered by international media, it was reported that a phantom woman in black had been reported four times over a four week period.

Orange Light

Location: Glasgow - Skies above the East End
Type: UFO
Date / Time: 2 January 2011
Further Comments: One witness reported seeing a bright orange light moving slowly below the cloud line. The witness then heard a massive roar, like fighter planes, heading towards the light. The light shot upwards and disappeared into clouds.


An old postcard showing Glasgow.

Fireballs

Location: Glasgow - Skies above town
Type: UFO
Date / Time: December 1752
Further Comments: There are reports of two fireballs seen over the town during this month; one flew over the town while the second exploded, showering the area in sparks and hail stones.

The Clatter

Location: Glasgow - Somewhere between West Street and Shields Road station
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-1897
Further Comments: The tunnel connecting these stations was said to be home to a phantom clattering cloud which contained the faces of the dead.


The Necropolis, likely taken between 1858-1872.

Gorbals Vampire

Location: Glasgow - Southern Necropolis
Type: Vampire
Date / Time: 1950s (vampire, others unknown)
Further Comments: An urban myth circled the area during the 1950s that the graveyard was home to a vampire with iron teeth. At the story's height, it is said that hundreds of children patrolled the site, looking for the monster which, they thought, had kidnapped and eaten two local children. Another story to emerge from the Necropolis is that of the white woman - a feminine statue that sits on top of the grave of three people killed in a tramcar accident is said to turns its head and watch visitors as they pass.

Strange Woman

Location: Glasgow - Stobhill Hospital
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A student nurse spotted a woman slip into a side ward - the student followed her, only to find that the only person in the room was a patient who required immediate help.

Nora

Location: Glasgow - Theatre Royal
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A wannabe actress, Nora was laughed off stage after a disastrous audition and promptly took her own life. Her shade now proves she'll last longer on stage than any of her former contemporaries.

Singing

Location: Glasgow - Track between Kelvinbridge and Hillhead stations
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Cleaning staff working late have reported hearing several women's voices softly singing along the tunnels.

Sir William MacEwen

Location: Glasgow - Western Infirmary (hospital)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: The ghost of MacEwen is thought to have returned after he deliberately failed to perform surgery that could have saved a man's life. In 1975 two nurses spotted a patient in a blue gown, one of whom recognised him as a man who had died a couple of days previous. The man suddenly vanished.

Inmates and Staff

Location: Irvine - Former Ravenspark Asylum (hospital)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Ghost hunters claim that the former asylum is haunted by several former patients and at least one warden. Footsteps, banging doors and whispers have all been reported on site.

Castle

Location: Kilsyth - Likely to be near the grounds of Auchinvole farm
Type: Environmental Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: A passenger in a vehicle briefly spotted a castle while passing through the area. After looking away and then realising that there should be no castle in the area, they looked again - the building had gone.

Dark Man in Hat

Location: Kirk of Shotts - Canthill Road, near the watch tower
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth / early twenty-first century
Further Comments: A scared female driver reported that she had hit a man who walked out of the mist along this road - he had bounced over the car, and she watched him land on his feet on the other side. When she climbed out to see if he was okay, the figure vanished. Several other people claim to have encountered the ghost, though they have been on foot at the time.

First Fatality

Location: Kirkfieldbank - Outside Linnmill
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1912 onwards
Further Comments: Occupants of the building have reported hearing a car door being slammed shut, though nothing is ever visible. The first fatal Scottish car accident occurred just outside this property when a woman was run over.

Mrs McNeil

Location: Lanark - Applebank Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The ghost of this woman arrived at the hotel (formally an inn) at the same time a stone lintel was brought to the building from McNeil's former home. Bottles are said to have exploded, glasses have flown from the shelves, and people passing by the building late at night have heard banging noises from within.

Blue Lady

Location: Lanark - Cartland Bridge Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This old woman has a veil covering her face. Another ghost, that of a young child, has also been seen.

Grey Abbott

Location: Lanark - Clydesdale Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: This religious figure can be found in the building's cellar; the public house was placed on the site of an old monastery.

Water or Ghost..?

Location: Lanark - New Lanark Mill Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: May 2010
Further Comments: A blurred object which appeared on CCTV camera was touted as evidence of the building's ghost, although in all likelihood the distortion was a drop of water (or insect).

Woman in Nightdress

Location: Lanark - Private residence, Gallowhill area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: May 1994
Further Comments: A woman wearing a modern nightdress was spotted by a visitor to this property. The woman walked bending slightly forward and disappeared into a wall.

Soft Voice

Location: Larkhall - Skelyton Farm area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 16 December 1992
Further Comments: Three power engineers were out chasing a fault in the middle of the countryside when they heard a soft female voice say a few words out loud close to them. All three turned to look at the place they thought they heard the voice, but no one was there. With nowhere for a person to hide, the three quickly left the scene.


The phantom woman in black.

Black Lady

Location: Larkhall - Broomhill House (ruins), and surrounding land
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: This lady may have been murdered in the late nineteenth century, her dark form having been reported for many years since. Her presence is often indicated by the smell of spices and perfume.

Norrie Smith

Location: Lennoxtown - Campsie View Hotel
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: While this building has suffered from mild poltergeist activity (such as glasses being moved by an unseen hand), the perpetrator has been named as former owner Norrie.

Quick Links
Contribute
Contribute to the Paranormal Database

Northern Ireland
View Northern Ireland records

Republic of Ireland
View Republic of Ireland Records

Wales
View Wales records