The Paranormal Database

Carantoc's Dragon

Location: Carhampton (Somerset) - General area
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Saint Carantoc, while searching for his altar, met with King Arthur who voiced concerns about a dragon terrorizing the county. Carantoc agreed to help the King (in return for the location of the altar), and tamed the dragon using his stole. Locals wanted to kill the creature, but the saint set it free after making the dragon promise never to hurt anyone again.

Merlin's Prison

Location: Carmarthen (Dyfed) - Bryn Myrddin (Merlin's Hill)
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A legend says that the great wizard Merlin was caught by a woman (possibly Nimue) and is kept as a prisoner under this hill to this day. He can be heard working in his cell late at night. At least one legend names Carmarthen as Merlin's birthplace.

An old photograph of Carmarthen, Wales.

Merlin's Oak

Location: Carmarthen (Dyfed) - General area
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: An old prophecy, reportedly spoken by Merlin, states that one day the entire town will sink beneath the ground when a sacred tree falls. The tree in question, known as Merlin's Oak, was dug up from its location on the corner of Oak Lane and Priory Street and placed in the Civic Hall in 1978.

Arthur's Hunting Lodge

Location: Castle-an-Dinas (Cornwall) - General area
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: This area was, according to local legend, the site of King Arthur's hunting lodge.

Thrown Aside

Location: Cefn Bryn (West Glamorgan) - Arthur's Stone (Neolithic burial ground)
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Stone still present
Further Comments: This stone is said to have been found by King Arthur in his shoe as he passed through Llanelli en route to Camlann. He tossed the stone to one side and it landed here, some five miles distant.

Knight in Shining Armour

Location: Cefyn Bryn (West Glamorgan) - Arthur's Stone (aka Arthur's Quoit?)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Nights of a full moon (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Wearing gleaming armour, this figure emerges from under the stone and walks off towards Llandrhidian.

An old photograph of ivy-covered Chepstow Castle.

Sleeping King

Location: Chepstow (Gwent) - Chepstow Castle
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A cave under the castle was once explored by a man who claimed to have seen King Arthur and his knights. He fled after making noise which made the knights stir.

Celliwig

Location: Coedkernew (Gwent) - Neolithic burial chamber
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: It has been suggested this site was once King Arthur's court.

Vortigern's Tower

Location: Dinas Emrys (Gwynedd) - Thought to be location where the spring can be found
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Every time construction started on Vortigern's Tower, it collapsed. Vortigern asked the druids why this was, and they recommended sacrificing a boy to settle the earth. A young lad was brought, but he told Vortigern that the tower fell because two mighty dragons fought beneath the ground in a stone chest. This boy grew up to become Merlin.

Name Only?

Location: Ditcheat (Somerset) - Arthur's Bridge
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: Although the bridge is associated with King Arthur, it is unclear whether this is a forgotten legend or just prestige naming.

An old postcard of Arthur's Stone in Dorstone.

The Hummadruz

Location: Dorstone (Herefordshire) - Arthur's Stone
Type: Other
Date / Time: Twentieth century, 1990s
Further Comments: For many years people have reported hearing a strange humming sound around this area, without apparent cause. During the 1990s, one story claimed a woman visiting the stone watched the landscape change around her and strange figures appeared; she later found herself home with no memory of the trip. One legend says King Arthur fought a giant on the site, marks on two of the stones created when the giant fell.

Dover Castle, Kent.

Headless Drummer

Location: Dover (Kent) - Dover Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Mostly unknown, soldier seen 02 November 2013
Further Comments: The headless drummer boy is said to date from the Napoleonic period. A lady in red and figure in blue have also been reported, while the tunnels under the castle are haunted by Second World War soldiers and operatives, perhaps escapees from Dunkirk - one figure in khaki and with a blurred face was seen walking purposefully along a corridor in 2013. The Arthurian hero Sir Gawain is reportedly buried here.

Mordred Battle

Location: Dover (Kent) - Possibly beach under the white cliffs
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Legend says Arthur returned from mainland Europe, landed here and promptly fought (and defeated) Mordred's forces for the first time.

Merlin's Grave

Location: Drumelzier (Borders) - Thorn tree in a meadow close to the church
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: According to one legend, the mighty magician Merlin was killed by shepherds close to this spot and was promptly buried.

Mount of Frogs

Location: East Brent (Somerset) - Brent Knoll
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Ider the Arthurian knight killed three giants on this hill, known at the time as the Mount of Frogs.

White Mount

Location: EC3 (Greater London) - Tower of London, general area
Type: Legend
Date / Time: NA
Further Comments: The Tower of London was once known as the White Mount, and it was said Bran the Blessed head was buried beneath the structure to ensure Britain was never invaded. One story says that Arthur removed the head, as he alone wished to be the country's saviour.

An old postcard showing Llyn Llydaw in Snowdonia.

King Arthur Sleeping

Location: Eryri (Snowdonia) (Gwynedd) - Llyn Llydaw
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A shepherd claimed to have found King Arthur and his knights asleep in a secret cave here - the Welshman ran away when he accidentally brushed against a bell, and those asleep began to wake.

Holy Grail

Location: Fowey (Cornwall) - Castle Dore
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: According to Arthurian legend, the Grail was once housed at this hillfort.

Knight of the Round Table

Location: Fowey (Cornwall) - The Tristan Stone
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: This stone is thought to have marked the position of the grave of one of the knights of the round table, though it has been moved at least once since being placed.

Waiting Arthur

Location: Gerrick (North Yorkshire) - Freebrough Hill
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: One of the many places scattered across the UK which may be where Arthur and his knights await the day they are needed to come to Britain's aid.

Holy Grail

Location: Glastonbury (Somerset) - Chalice Well
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Well still present
Further Comments: After the death of Jesus, Joseph of Arimathea brought the Grail to England and buried it so the waters that feed the well wash over the object.

Old postcard of Glastonbury Tor.

Fairy King

Location: Glastonbury (Somerset) - Glastonbury Tor
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: UFO 1980s, tall man Winter 2003, others unknown
Further Comments: Local legend has it that St Collen visited the head of the fairy royal family on this hill. A woman, named by some to be Queen Guinevere, is also said to manifest over the Tor, and possesses golden hair that illuminates the area. During the 1980s, a woman ascending the tor spotted what she thought was the full moon behind trees, only to realise that the globe was moving towards her - she fled. In 2003, another witness quickly left after encountering a tall man, standing between seven and eight feet tall, with red curly hair and two stubby horns. The man wore a huge excited grin.

Returned Sword

Location: Glastonbury (Somerset) - Pomparles Bridge, River Brue
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: It is suggested that this location is where Sir Bedivere returned Excalibur to the Lady in the Lake.

Old postcard of Wirrall Hill, Glastonbury.

First Church in Britain

Location: Glastonbury (Somerset) - Wirrall Hill (sometimes known as Wearyall Hill) and abbey
Type: Legend
Date / Time: AD63 (ish)
Further Comments: The abbey, of which only the ruins remain, was built on top of the first Christian church in the UK. A holy well located here once cured the sick. Monks based here in the twelfth century claimed to have discovered the bones of King Arthur on the site, though little evidence exists to back this claim up.

Lollard Girl

Location: Gradbach (Staffordshire) - Lud's Church (a local chasm), also known as Ludchurch
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Following a banned religion during the 1400's, the Lorrards used this place to worship. Alice, a member of the family, was killed as soldiers raided the illegal gathering and now her ghost frequents the spot over her grave. Wayne Anthony writes that the area is also reportedly the site where Sir Gawain killed the Green Knight.