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

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Castle Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana

Young Male Rider

Location: Tynron (Dumfries and Galloway) - Tynron castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The area around the castle is haunted by a decapitated horseman. The ghost is thought to be a man who tried to marry a girl residing at the castle, but her brothers chased him away. During the pursuit, the young man fell from his horse and lost his head.

Badon

Location: Uffington (Oxfordshire) - Uffington Castle
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This location has been named as another possible site where the Battle of Badon occurred.

Soothsayer Curse

Location: Urray (Highland) - Brahan Castle, former site of
Type: Curse
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Before being boiled alive in a cauldron of tar, a local soothsayer predicted the downfall of the family that owned the castle. His every word came true...

Terrier

Location: Wakefield (Yorkshire) - 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.

Breathing

Location: Wallington (Northumberland) - Wallington Castle (aka Wallington Hall)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Home to several phantom sounds, these include heavy breathing, the flapping of wings, and banging. An old booklet of 1715 hints that in the past this building was haunted by a ghost that had a habit of sharing a bed with people.

Countess of Salisbury

Location: Warblington (Hampshire) - Castle and Churchyard ruins
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Margaret Pole, the Countess of Salisbury, walks around this area without her head. The shade of a smuggler is also reported to frequent the castle.

Lady Blanche Arundell

Location: Wardour (Wiltshire) - Wardour Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: As the sun sinks beneath the horizon, Lady Blanche has been seen dressed for battle; she and 25 others fought the Roundheads at the castle in 1643. The Arundell family were haunted by white owls, which would appear just prior to a death in the family.


Warkworth Castle, copyright Tim Robinson 2012

Hermit

Location: Warkworth (Northumberland) - Coquet & hermitage near to Warkworth Castle, and the castle itself
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: After a tragic accident which resulted in him killing his future wife, the knight Sir Bertram became a hermit - his spirit remains. Another knight, or maybe the same one, is said to haunt the castle.

Cursed Castle

Location: Warwick (Warwickshire) - Warwick Castle
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: After being caught stealing from her customers, an old servant at the castle lost her job. In revenge, she bewitched the place - a large black dog appeared and created havoc. The creature was defeated by quotes from the bible read aloud by a local holy man.

Sir Fulke Greville

Location: Warwick (Warwickshire) - Warwick Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1973, and March 2009
Further Comments: Murdered by a trusted servant, Sir Fulke is reputed to still spend time in his study, appearing in a misty form. In 1973, a cleaner reported hearing loud scratching sounds coming from a painting of Greville, while in 2009 a site manager working on a 'dungeon' feature encountered a tall slim man wearing tunic and trousers.


An old postcard of Warwick Castle.

The Dun Cow

Location: Warwick (Warwickshire) - Warwick Castle
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: Prior to death in the Warwick family
Further Comments: Appearing at least once at the castle prior to a death in the family, the phantom 'Dun Cow of Warwick' appears a few weeks before a death in the family. Way back in history, a member of the Warwick family killed the giant cow when it roamed as a living creature that terrorised people across the land.

Man in Gold Laced Suit

Location: Welshpool (Powys) - Powis Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1780
Further Comments: This haunting ended when a new maid was placed in a haunted bedroom as a joke planned by the other workers; she listened to the ghost instead of running like so many had done in the past, and as a reward the supernatural being led her to a box hidden under a floorboard. This was later presented to her master who rewarded the maid with freedom and a cottage. The ghost was seen no more.


The ghost of Wemyss Castle.

Tall Green Lady

Location: Wemyss (Fife) - Wemyss Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 1900
Further Comments: One of the most popular Scottish ghosts, that of the Green Lady, haunts this ancient building. She manifests as a tall, thin woman with pale skin and on at least one occasion, was holding an illuminated Egyptian lamp. Wemyss Castle also acts as an early warning system - a piece of masonry is said to fall off the structure when the owner is close to death.

Jailed Mary

Location: Wensleydale (Yorkshire) - Bolton Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2006
Further Comments: Imprisoned by the English, Mary Queen of Scots spent some time at this castle - one story has it that her shade walks around the courtyard. One person walking through the main hall spotted, out of the corner of their eye, a woman in Tudor clothing, sitting and watching the outside world through a bay window.

White Doe

Location: West Grinstead (Sussex) - Knepp Castle
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This albino creature is said to be a fair maiden, turned into a white doe by an evil witch in the 1400's.

Gournay

Location: West Harptree (Somerset) - Richmont Castle ruins, and general area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This figure, a former owner of the building, still longs for better times and fortune - until it arrives, he remains earthbound.

Dane Battle site

Location: Westbury (Wiltshire) - Bratton Camp, aka Bratton Castle
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This location is said to be the battlefield where King Arthur defeated the Danes.

Cerberus

Location: Weston (Yorkshire) - Dobb Park Castle
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This three-headed hound stands guard over a hoard of hidden treasure somewhere on this site.


An old woodcut showing a large bird rising from flames.

Hideous Bird

Location: Weston Penyard (Hereford & Worcester) - Penyard Castle
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Still present?
Further Comments: A cave hidden under the castle contains a vast collection of gold and gems. The wealth is protected by a large bird which never sleeps and attacks any who come too close to discovering the cave.

Arthur's Enemies

Location: Weston-under-Redcastle (Shropshire) - Red Castle
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A family of giants once lived at Red Castle, until killed by King Arthur and his knights. A nearby brook ran red with blood for three days after the fight.


Nothe Fort, Weymouth.

White Figure

Location: Weymouth (Dorset) - Nothe Fort
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A mysterious apparition is said to walk along the parapets of this building.

Small Children

Location: Whittington (Shropshire) - Whittington Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Seen peeking out from the gatehouse windows, these children are never found when looked for.

Man in Three Corner Hat

Location: Winchester (Hampshire) - Castle Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1973
Further Comments: Seen by a prisoner in the building, this ghost disappeared as it walked through a wall. As a side point, the hall is also home to King Arthur's round table, though it is likely to be a fake.

Round Table

Location: Winchester (Hampshire) - Winchester Castle
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: The Round Table that is on display here, alleged to belong to King Arthur, is more than likely a fake made many years after his death.


An old postcard showing Windsor Castle.

Four Royals and a Hunt

Location: Windsor (Berkshire) - Windsor Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 26 June (Charles) (reoccurring), other entities various
Further Comments: Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth, Charles I & George III have all reportedly been seen here after their natural lives ended. Elizabeth frequents the library, Charles the Canon's House (traditionally walking on the night of 26 June), while George haunts the rooms in which he was bound after being declared mad. Henry VIII can only be heard, moving slowly down the corridors, dragging his bad leg. The great park attached to the castle is home to Herne the Hunter, who together with his devil dogs, stalk the woodlands. In 1906 a guard was investigated after he fired five rounds at a white figure - he claimed the bullets passed straight through the figure. Finally (for the time being), the park is also haunted by the ghost of a Grenadier Guard who killed himself while on duty.

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