Wakefield Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana
Smashed Grave
Location: Wakefield - Alverthorpe graveyard
Type: Other
Date / Time: September 1947
Further Comments: Local press blamed a poltergeist after a heavy granite cross was broken. One piece, weighing seventy-six kilograms, had been lifted from its base, while another slab of granite had been broken in two.
Bangs
Location: Wakefield - Black Horse public house
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 2017
Further Comments: After reporting bangs on the walls and the sound of footsteps, the pub called in the 'Soul Reaper' paranormal group who claimed the site was haunted by 'Hannah', killed by a bear close to the site.
Voice
Location: Wakefield - Bolands Bar, Union Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: February-March 2014
Further Comments: It was reported in the local press that landlord Phil Birks called in paranormal investigators after hearing a disembodied voice, spotting a shadowy person, and watching 'orbs' on CCTV.
Fallen Horses
Location: Wakefield - Denby Dale Road bridge, and river below
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s?
Further Comments: Walking her dog across the bridge, Amanda West was frozen with fear when the sound of horses passed her - with no horses to be seen. Without warning, she then heard a loud splash. Looking into the river below, the water was calm, but the sound of panicking horses could now be heard coming from below. She later found out that the original bridge had collapsed in 1836 and a team of horses pulling a cart had drowned.
Mist
Location: Wakefield - Derelict brickworks off Wakefield Road
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: February 2004
Further Comments: A student with a disposable camera snapped several photographs here which showed a white mist, not visible at the time the pictures were taken.
Miners
Location: Wakefield - East Ardsley
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Old coal cart tracks are still visible today, even though mining operations ceased over one hundred years ago. On dark nights, one is said to be able to hear the former miners walking along the paths.
Falling Glasses
Location: Wakefield - Griffin public house
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 2010s
Further Comments: The pub is said to be home to a non-threatening entity which occasionally throws glasses from the shelves.
Mirror Breaking
Location: Wakefield - Grove Inn
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1950s
Further Comments: This boisterous ghost had a habit of smashing reflective surfaces and moving heavy furniture around. One landlady claimed the spirit tried to smother her as she lay in bed.
Lady Bolles
Location: Wakefield - Heath Old Hall (aka Heath Hall) (no longer standing)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1711 to mid twentieth century
Further Comments: The ghostly figure of Lady Bolles was said not to have been seen since being 'laid' in a large dip in the local river at some point before the start of the twentieth century, even though soldiers based here during the Second World War reported seeing her.
Shipman?
Location: Wakefield - HMP Wakefield Prison, cell D336
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 2007
Further Comments: The Argus newspaper reported that Harold Shipman's former cell is reputedly haunted by the serial killer, though staff at the prison attribute the 'scary noises' to men in nearby cells.
Victorian Woman
Location: Wakefield - Kirkgate Railway Station
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A phantom woman in Victorian clothing has been reported moving around the subway that connects platforms 1 and 2.
Lady Margaret
Location: Wakefield - Large house in Kirkgate
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This sad ghost came about after she became locked in an attic and went undiscovered for quite some time.
Falling Glass
Location: Wakefield - New York Italian Kitchen
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: November 2016
Further Comments: In a video featured in several newspapers, a glass is shown falling over on the bar, apparently unaided. The owner claimed that this is only one of several strange occurrences.
Little Girl
Location: Wakefield - Old Vicarage Bookshop, Zetland Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2007
Further Comments: This bookshop is reputedly home to a phantom that died from the plague - his ghostly form is riddled with symptoms. As a side note, this area is also said to riddled with secret passageways.
Terrier
Location: Wakefield - Sandal Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1987
Further Comments: This small, yapping dog has attacked and scared creatures many times larger than itself - when touched the phantom pooch fades from view.
Mirrored Shadows
Location: Wakefield - Sunspec opticians
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Circa May 1997
Further Comments: Racks would be knocked off surfaces by an unseen hand and shadows spotted in mirrors. It was claimed in the press at the time that the shop was built upon an old graveyard.
Crawling Man
Location: Wakefield - Wakefield Bridge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This pathetic figure reportedly crawls near the bridge, where he fell from while living, breaking his legs.
Fading Figure
Location: Wakefield - Wooded footpath in Outwood area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: October 2007
Further Comments: While filming in Outwood, George Gunn captured footage of a strange figure that remains motionless while standing on a pathway. Two joggers can be seen passing through the blue misty shape. When the story was covered by BBC North Yorkshire, they heavily pushed belief the figure is little more than lens flare.
Records 1 - 18 of 18
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