The Paranormal Database

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

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Cave Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana

Caves are not places to be explored lightly... this is a list of folklore and ghost stories - please ensure you do not become one of the latter.

Urisk

Location: Aberfoyle (Stirling) - Goblin's Cave, north base of Ben Venue
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This cave and the surrounding area are said to be the meeting place of many Urisk.

Blind George

Location: Anstey (Hertfordshire) - Fields around the village, and Devil's Hole cave
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Said to still be playing his fiddle in tunnels under the village, Blind George ventured into the Devil's Hole cave with his trusted dog - the hound ran out, and was found with its hair burnt away, and George was never seen again.

Piper Piping

Location: Ballintra (County Donegal) - Cave system known as Pullans
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Moonlit nights (reoccurring)
Further Comments: The sound of pipes echoes throughout this cave structure on certain nights, as the ghost of a piper tries to find his way out.

Ogress

Location: Balmaneach, Isle of Mull (Argyll and Bute) - MacKinnon's Cave
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The cave is named after a piper who descended into it the cave to see how far underground he could travel - he bumped into a female ogre who killed him after he failed to please her with a tune from his pipes.

Lion

Location: Belfast (County Antrim) - Cavehill Park, Upper Hightown end
Type: ABC
Date / Time: 31 August 2008
Further Comments: Several independent witnesses called the police to report a sandy coloured cat in this park. The nearby Belfast Zoo reported no animals missing. A search of the area by police failed to find the feline.

Six Rowers

Location: Black Head (Isle of Man) - Cave
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A cave, once said to contain pirate treasure, only had one entrance which could be accessed by the sea. One local man watched six figures in a small boat row into the cave. Curious to know what they were up to, the man followed the figures, but they, and their boat, had vanished without trace.

Cursed Giant

Location: Blackgang Chime (Isle of Wight) - Cave in the area (no longer present?)
Type: Curse
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The chime was once a lush area, rich in vegetation and the hunting ground of a giant who feasted upon children. A holy man cursed the giant and the area, ensuring nothing would ever grow there again.

Miners

Location: Blaenau Ffestiniog (Gwynedd) - Llechwedd Slate Caverns
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1980s onwards
Further Comments: A pair of miners are said to haunt this site, previously seen walking off together into the darkness. The sounds of pickaxe on rock have also been heard echoing in the disused pit.

Secret Cavern

Location: Bridgnorth (Shropshire) - Hermitage Caves
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: An old tradition said that there was a secret cavern under the caves which led to a chest of treasure and another exit located somewhere on the other side of the Severn. The floor of the cave was thoroughly dug in 1877 in an effort to find the hidden entrance, but the search found nothing.

Piping

Location: Campbeltown (Argyll and Bute) - Piper's Cave
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Something strange lured a piper into this cave from which he never returned. Hundreds of years later, the piper could still be heard playing his instrument deep below the earth.

Sleeping Owain

Location: Carreg Cennen (Dyfed) - Owain Llawgoch's Cave
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Regional hero Owain and fifty one other men lay sleeping somewhere in this cave system. When they awaken, peace shall fall all over the Earth.

Dark Blue Bird

Location: Chapel le Dale (Yorkshire) - Cave system in village
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Three people reported seeing a large flying creature, 'much larger than a bat', slowly glide past them as they explored the first cavern of these caves.


A phantom piper and his hound wander the cave.

Piper

Location: Clanyard Bay (Dumfries and Galloway) - Cave along the coastline
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The sound of the phantom pipe music is said to be heard by fishermen off the coast. One story says that, pre-ghostly form, the piper ventured into the cave with his dog not realising that it was home to fairies - the little people retained the piper but let his dog escape, but not before removing every one of the creature's hairs.

Black Dog

Location: Cold Knap (South Glamorgan) - Beach, between cave and mini golf course
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: February 1997, 23:00 (approximately) and September 2013 around midnight
Further Comments: This witness, who would often sit on the pebbles with their two dogs, watched another dog, black in colour, move silently across the beach some fifty metres away. The witness's curiosity was raised by the fact that despite the rocks and stones underfoot, the hound moved smoothly, and their own dogs remained oblivious to the strange canine. Sixteen years later the same witness reported their second paranormal event on the beach - a nebulous black cloud which formed around their feet. After tolerating the cloud for several minutes, the witness left the area.

Macphie's Captor

Location: Colonsay (Argyll and Bute) - Unknown cave along the coast
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A mermaid kidnapped a man by the name of Macphie and held him in a cave along the island's shore. Macphie was given any item he wished for but remained unhappy until he managed to escape. The mermaid gave chase, but Macphie tossed his dog into the sea. Dog and mermaid fought until they both died from their injuries.

White Trout

Location: Cong (County Mayo) - Cong Lake / Pigeon Hole cave
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The trout is said contain the spirit of a woman who lost her husband to be. One man who caught the fish found it impossible to cook - after several attempts to roast the trout, the fish transformed into a beautiful woman demanding to be returned to her lake. The man did so.


The dwarves hopefully remain trapped in the cave.

Angry Dwarfs

Location: Crank (Lancashire) - Crank Caverns, aka Rainford Delph Quarry (private property)
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Eighteenth century?
Further Comments: A local legend says that these caves were once the haunt of several angry dwarfs that were known to kill local children. Soldiers investigated and found human remains in the cave - that section was soon sealed by either natural rock fall or gunpowder.


A postcard of Criccieth in Wales.

Soft Music

Location: Criccieth (Gwynedd) - Unknown cave near town
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Two musicians were tricked into entering the cave by fairies, who promptly took them to their realm. Occasionally the men's music escapes from the mouth of the cave to deter others from making the same mistake.

Little People

Location: Dartmoor (Devon) - Sheepstor - Pixies Cave
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The cave was shared with the pixies by humans when hiding during the Civil War.

Hob Hurst

Location: Deepdale (Derbyshire) - Thirst House - cave below Topley Pike
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Hob Hurst, the generic name for a helpful yet sometimes mischievous entity in this region, is said to have watched over a healing spring here.

Treasure Guardians

Location: Duncansby Head (Highland) - Cave system off coast
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A team of mermaids and mermen are reported to guard a hidden cave full of treasure.

Captured Fisherman

Location: Dunnet Bay (Highland) - Underwater sea cave
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A good looking fisherman once caught the eye of a mermaid who fell in love with him - she kidnapped the fellow and held him in a secret cave under the sea, where he remains to this day...

Music

Location: Durness (Highland) - Fraisgell's Cave - Loch Eribol
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Created by fairies, this music emerges from the cave and floats across the waters of Loch Eribol.

Donald

Location: Durness (Highland) - Smoo Caves
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: After selling his soul to the Devil, Donald gained access to powerful magics and cast no shadow in the midday sun. He turned on his dark master in the caverns here, the Devil losing the fight and creating the large holes in the roof of the cave as he fled the wizard.


An old postcard of Eamont Bridge in Cumbria.

Isir

Location: Eamont Bridge (Cumbria) - Cave by the river
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This natural dwelling was once home to a giant named Isir, who enjoyed the taste of human meat. His fate is unknown.

Records 1 - 25 of 60

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