Suicide
Location: Sturminster Newton (Dorset) - Swan Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s
Further Comments: An inn keeper who took his own life in the late eighteenth century is said to keep an eye on his former establishment.
Source:
Published Media
First added: 2008-08-10
Last updated: 2008-08-10
ID: #8729
Woman
Location: Sturminster Newton (Dorset) - White Hart Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The White Hart is said to be haunted by a woman who quietly goes about her business in the bar area.
Source:
Published Media
First added: 2008-08-10
Last updated: 2008-08-10
ID: #8728
Female Form
Location: Swanage (Dorset) - Godlingston Manor
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This manor house is haunted by a creepy lady with no known history.
Source:
Historical Record
First added: 2004-07-26
Last updated: 2004-07-26
ID: #5273
Shadowy Figure in Bowler Hat
Location: Swanage (Dorset) - Hillcrest area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 7 December 2005
Further Comments: A strange shadowy figure carrying a sickle and wearing what appeared to be a bowler hat was spotted walking along this road.
Source:
User Submission
First added: 2006-02-19
Last updated: 2006-02-19
ID: #6683
Swanage's Red Lion public house.
Fred
Location: Swanage (Dorset) - Red Lion public house
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 2010s
Further Comments: The poltergeist nicknamed Fred, thought to be a former landlord, would move items around the building.
Source:
Published Media
First added: 2023-08-20
Last updated: 2023-08-20
ID: #15041
Jack Stevens
Location: Swanage (Dorset) - Royal Oak public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2010s onwards
Further Comments: After Rachael Aplin took over this pub, haunting manifestations began, with ghost hunters naming Jack Stevens as one of the phantoms. The site featured in the TV series Paranormal Lockdown.
Source:
Published Media
First added: 2023-07-17
Last updated: 2023-07-17
ID: #14998
The Ship Inn, Swanage.
Shadowy Figure
Location: Swanage (Dorset) - Ship Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: November 2011
Further Comments: A shadowy figure briefly appeared on the CCTV, but could not be seen in the corresponding area within the pub.
Source:
Published Media
First added: 2023-08-20
Last updated: 2023-08-20
ID: #15040
Crying Girl
Location: Symondsbury (Dorset) - Lane between village and Bridport
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This country lane is said to be haunted by a young crying girl. She is said to vanish if approached.
Source:
Published Media
First added: 2008-08-31
Last updated: 2008-08-31
ID: #8881
William Doggett
Location: Tarrant Gunville (Dorset) - Eastbury (house ruins)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Having borrowed large amounts of money to build the house, William Doggett committed suicide when he realised he could never pay off the loan. Doggett's ghost was heard walking around the house and blamed for opening and closing doors. It was also seen, headless, driving a coach in the grounds.
Source:
Historical Record, Published Media
First added: 2002-07-03
Last updated: 2002-07-03
ID: #1568
Velvet Chain
Location: Tarrant Gunville (Dorset) - General area
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: An invisible dog runs around this area, with a chain as soft as velvet. One would imagine this makes it one of the hardest entities to detect in the whole of the UK. A legend says that a clump of yew trees in the region of the village conceal a silver table.
Source:
Historical Record
First added: 2009-06-28
Last updated: 2009-06-28
ID: #9544
Legionnaires
Location: Thorncombe Woods (Dorset) - Roman Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1969
Further Comments: A phantom contingent of Roman legionnaires is still said to match along this piece of ancient road. A single Roman soldier was spotted by a group of youths and two adults camping in the woods.
Source:
Published Media
First added: 2008-08-10
Last updated: 2008-08-10
ID: #8741
Jumping Devil
Location: Thornecombe (Dorset) - Trees between village and Birdsmore Gate
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The Devil is sometimes thought to exercise by jumping over the trees located between these two locations.
Source:
Historical Record
First added: 2002-10-10
Last updated: 2002-10-10
ID: #2585
Little Girl in Victorian Clothes
Location: Throop (Dorset) - Throop Mill river (River Stour)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2012
Further Comments: The mill is supposed to be haunted by monks and young people or children. One witness said that he had encountered a little girl in a Victorian dress in 2004 and again in 2012, accompanied by the sound of crying.
Source:
Published Media, User Submission
First added: 2014-04-20
Last updated: 2014-04-20
ID: #11519
Pallbearers
Location: Todbar (Dorset) - Churchyard and road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1920s?
Further Comments: Walking away from the churchyard, two ghostly men carry a coffin covered over in black cloth.
Source:
Published Media
First added: 2008-08-10
Last updated: 2008-08-10
ID: #8726
Bolting Horses
Location: Trent (Dorset) - Trent Barrow, pool
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Weather Dependent: Stormy weather
Further Comments: The pool was once the scene of a tragedy when a horse drawn carriage crashed into it, drowning all on board. This mishap can still occasionally be heard. The pool was once believed to be so deep that it could never be measured.
Source:
Published Media
First added: 2002-07-16
Last updated: 2002-07-16
ID: #1779
Excalibur
Location: Trent (Dorset) - Trent Barrow, pool
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Pool still present
Further Comments: This pool is said by some to be the location of King Arthur's Excalibur.
Source:
Historical Record, Published Media
First added: 2002-07-16
Last updated: 2002-07-16
ID: #1778
Hound
Location: Tyneham (Dorset) - Boatswain's Coppice, between village and Lulworth
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This small piece of woodland was the home of a phantom dog that would physically prevent anyone from walking between the two villages.
Source:
Historical Record
First added: 2009-06-28
Last updated: 2009-06-28
ID: #9546
Dairymaid
Location: Tyneham (Dorset) - Oak tree near Baltington Farm - known as the Coffin Tree
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A dairymaid who committed suicide is said to be buried under an oak tree that has a coffin carved in the bark. Her wistful spirit walks the area.
Source:
Published Media
First added: 2008-08-30
Last updated: 2008-08-30
ID: #8826
Soldier?
Location: Tyneham (Dorset) - Unnamed cottage
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: February 2003
Further Comments: Bournemouth man Christopher Grist photographed what appears to be the phantom figure of a soldier while in the village, though some believe the image to be a simulacrum formed by shadows.
Source:
Published Media
First added: 2008-09-14
Last updated: 2008-09-14
ID: #8944
Self-Opening Gate
Location: Ulwell (Dorset) - Old toll gate
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A witch, who had taken the form of a black cat, was killed while sitting on the gate. Since then, the gate is said to open for those who travel late at night.
Source:
Published Media
First added: 2004-05-03
Last updated: 2004-05-03
ID: #5110
Duke of Monmouth
Location: Uplyme (Dorset) - Road leading to Yawl
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Around midnight, though date of last sighting unknown
Further Comments: Riding a white horse in the pale light of the moon, the Duke is sometimes accompanied by several ghostly guards.
Source:
Published Media
First added: 2007-06-03
Last updated: 2007-06-03
ID: #7516
Smuggler
Location: Verwood (Dorset) - Eastworth Farm
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A former inn, the house was supposed to be haunted by a smuggler hanged from a nearby tree. A resident claimed to have heard the spirit walking up the staircase and opening doors on several occasions.
Source:
Published Media, User Submission
First added: 2019-12-28
Last updated: 2019-12-28
ID: #13496
Bird
Location: Verwood (Dorset) - The Verwood Stone (aka Hoarstone, aka Stephen's Stone)
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Stone still present
Further Comments: Under this stone is said to be a golden container. A large black bird protected the treasure, scaring away any tomb raiders. There have been reports of unnatural cold spots in the area.
Source:
Published Media
First added: 2008-08-30
Last updated: 2008-08-30
ID: #8857
Battle
Location: Wareham (Dorset) - Hills around Creech Grange
Type: Environmental Manifestation
Date / Time: December 1678
Further Comments: Several thousand men were said to have been seen in the area, the sound of battle filling the air. The event is said to have been witnessed by around one hundred people.
Source:
Historical Record, Published Media
First added: 2008-09-07
Last updated: 2008-09-07
ID: #8933
Two Adrian Browns
Location: Wareham (Dorset) - Undisclosed area of road
Type: Manifestation of the Living
Date / Time: 1991
Further Comments: A security worker, Adrian Brown tells the story of driving his van down a road in the area, only to see himself driving the same van in the opposite direction. He was reportedly slightly freaked out at the time.
Source:
Published Media, User Submission
First added: 2004-07-26
Last updated: 2004-07-26
ID: #5260
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