The Paranormal Database

The Gwrach-y-rhibyn.

Angry Fairies

Location: Penmaen (West Glamorgan) - Pennard Castle (ruins)
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The owner of this former castle once refused the local fairies the right to dance at his wedding party. The upset little people conjured up a massive storm which then destroyed the building. The site is now home to a Gwrach-y-rhibyn.

Gwrach-y-Rhibyn

Location: Pennard (West Glamorgan) - Pennard Castle
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: 1850s
Further Comments: This old hag is said still to haunt the ruins here.

Disappearing Guest

Location: Penrith (Cumbria) - Greystoke Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A guest at the castle vanished without trace, leaving all his clothing and belongings. The ghost of the man has been reported several times, reappearing in the room where he was last seen. Rapping on the wall in the same room has also been reported, thought to belong to a monk who was bricked up alive in the basement.

Buzzing

Location: Penzance (Cornwall) - Castle Acton
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A priest staying in the castle reported hearing the buzzing of a bell that woke him up several times during the night - he was told that a former mistress had an electric buzzer connected to her maid's room should she require assistance, though this was removed when she had died. The priest had spent the night in the former maid's room.

White Woman

Location: Perth (Perth and Kinross) - Huntingtower Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: No one really has any idea who this phantom could be, though her appearance is said to warn against approaching bad luck and can bring about improved health and fortune. Some reports say she is green, rather than white.

An old postcard of Pevensey Castle in Sussex.

The Pale Lady

Location: Pevensey (Sussex) - Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Seen walking along the tops of the walls of the ruins, this ghost is believed to be of Lady Pelham, besieged here by Richard II. Some have also reported the sight of a small army by the castle gate.

Gliding Monk

Location: Pickering (Yorkshire) - Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1950s
Further Comments: Clad in grey clothing, this robed figure drifted across the lawn outside the front of the castle. The witness said it looked like the ghost had a bloody face and was carrying something, though he could not see what.

Candle Light

Location: Pierowall (Orkney) - Noltland Castle
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: Prior to birth or death in family
Further Comments: Once owned by the Balfour family, a ghostly light flickering at the castle window still shines when a birth or death occurs in the family. Deaths are also announced by the howls of a shuck-like creature (known as the Boky Hound), while the ghost of a creature with enormous strength stalks the ruins. This paranormally busy castle was also home to a helpful brownie named Broonie who ensured boats remained safe during storms.

Robin Redbreast

Location: Pitcaple (Aberdeenshire) - Pitcaple Castle
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Prior to death in the owner's family
Further Comments: To find a robin perched within the castle walls is considered the ultimate in misfortune, as it denotes a family death.

Caisteal Dubh, Pitlochry.

Plague Prevention

Location: Pitlochry (Perth and Kinross) - Caisteal Dubh - The Black Castle
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A long distance messenger accidentally brought the plague to the owners of this castle - the villagers were terrified that the disease would quickly spread through the lands, so barricaded the castle doors from the outside and burnt the occupants alive.

Tall Man

Location: Pontefract (Yorkshire) - Pontefract Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Holding a large axe, this figure walks around the ruins of the castle. There are also reports of phantom monks in the area, and two ghostly children who play near the dungeon.

White Lady

Location: Port Talbot (West Glamorgan) - Afan Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-nineteenth century?
Further Comments: This phantom woman appears on or near the castle mound, located close to Saint Mary's churchyard.

White Lady

Location: Port Talbot (West Glamorgan) - Aberavon Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Reported to float above the castle ruins, this phantom white lady could be Jane de Afan, the last occupant of the castle.

Tall, White Figure

Location: Portchester (Hampshire) - Portchester Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The pale figure most commonly seen is thought to be Charlotte (see Portchester church entry), though there are other reports of a monk who walks about outside the front of the castle, a Roman soldier, and a lady on the back of a white horse.

Portland Castle once used in the English Civil War.

Civil War Dead

Location: Portland (Dorset) - Portland Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s
Further Comments: This fortress was once used to treat casualties of the Civil War - the smell of burning flesh has been reported in more recent times, as have the sound of an invisible person humming an old song. A young girl may also haunt the site.

Currie the Pirate

Location: Portpatrick (Dumfries and Galloway) - Dunskey Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Three ghosts were said to haunt this site; a chambermaid who jumped off the nearby cliffs, a piper who became lost exploring secret tunnels, and a pirate named Currie.

A magic lantern slide of Dunluce Castle in Ireland.

Man in Purple Cloak

Location: Portrush (County Antrim) - Dunluce Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Named as either Peter Carey (an English invader) or Richard de Burgh (Earl of Antrim), this ethereal figure now walks around the broken towers of the castle. A white lady (possibly Mave Roe) also haunts the place; she died of a broken heart after being denied marrying her true love. Another story tells that, during a fierce storm, the castle's kitchens collapsed into the sea - the screams of the staff can be heard as they forever fall to their doom.

Black Cat

Location: Powderham (Devon) - Powderham Castle
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Several spooky occurrences have occurred here (though there are no 'regular' events), including an attack on one guest by 'evil' black cat that materialised in a bedroom, a phantom woman who overlooked a group of tourists before disappearing, and a hand that reached out of a solid wall.

Bearded Knight

Location: Prudhoe (Northumberland) - Prudhoe Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Local legend says the castle is haunted by a grey lady, while others have seen a knight with a rather large beard.

Funeral

Location: Pulborough (Sussex) - Park Mound, castle ruins
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A funeral procession of little people was once seen in the grounds of this ruin.

An old image of Raby Castle.

Henry Vane

Location: Raby (Durham) - Raby Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Seen in the library, the only part of Vane's body observed is the head and shoulders. A figure resembling Lady Barnard has been seen along the corridors after dark (with one story claiming she knits as she walks, her knitting needles glowing red), while a third ghost can be seen entering the castle from outside, vanishing as he reaches the gate. Charles Neville, the Sixth Earl of Westmorland, drifts up the staircase to the Baron's Hall.

An old postcard of Raglan Castle in Wales.

Bard

Location: Raglan (Gwent) - Raglan Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2001?
Further Comments: A phantom musician reportedly haunts this building, particularly the area where a library once stood. The ghost is thought to be William Herbert, the first Earl of Pembroke.

Banshee

Location: Rainstown (County Carlow) - Duckett's Grove Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The banshee which haunted this castle was said to have been a farmer's daughter with which the lord of the manor had a brief affair. The site is also reputedly haunted by strange shadows and noises.

Handless Girl

Location: Rait (Perth and Kinross) - Rait Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: During a bout of clan warfare, a daughter of the Comyns had her hands chopped off by her father who falsely believed she had betrayed him to their enemies (the MacIntoshes). She jumped from the castle battlements, rather than to bleed to death; her wraith is now seen drifting the castle ruins.

The face of a ghostly white lady, a sketch by Wayne Lowden.

White Lady

Location: Randalstown (County Antrim) - Shane's Castle
Type: Curse
Date / Time: 1966
Further Comments: This pallid female wraith cursed the family with everlasting sorrow and misfortune. She is said to be quite tall and slender, with blue eyes and blonde hair. The figure was last seen in 1966, where the entity was said to be on her knees, crying, bathed in bluish-white light.