Golf Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana
Mr Rimmington
Location: Almondbury (Yorkshire) - Woodsome Hall golf course
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The ghost of Rimmington reportedly takes several forms, including a man on horseback accompanied by two hounds, and the slightly less intimidating form of a robin.
Small Group
Location: Batley (Yorkshire) - Howley Hall ruins, and surrounding golf course
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: A woman with a red veil has been reported here, sometimes accompanied by two male escorts. It has been speculated that one of these men could be a highwayman by the name of William Nevison. Civil war soldiers are also said to haunt the area.
Apologise to the Tree
Location: Belfast (County Dublin) - Ormeau Golf Club
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Tree still present
Further Comments: If the fairy tree found near the course is hit by an errant golf ball, the player is advised to apologise to avoid the wrath of the little people. Even if not struck, it is said that golfers nod at the tree as they pass. Just in case.
Vanishing Biker
Location: Berkhamsted (Hertfordshire) - Road passing Berkhamsted golf club, before left turn to castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: November 1976, around 23:00h
Further Comments: On a clear night with no other traffic on the road, a driver caught up with a Honda 50 type motorbike. The outline of the bike and rider were visible, and the driver maintained 25 yards (23 metres) between car and bike. Passing Berkhamsted golf club, the bike disappeared, 'as if someone had turned off a light'. The driver thought the biker may have come off into a ditch so stopped to look - there was no ditch nor any turnings the bike could have taken.
Carriage
Location: Blandford Forum (Dorset) - Ashley Wood Golf Club
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Maybe a story from the nineteenth hole, this golf club is reputedly home to a horse and carriage that can only be heard.
Man in Grey
Location: Bradford (Yorkshire) - Club house at the West Bowling Golf Club
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early 1970s
Further Comments: A ghostly figure in a grey suit was seen by a barmaid in the women's toilet. The caretaker reported seeing balls move around the snooker table late at night, and hearing footsteps in an empty locker room.
Large Cat
Location: Braintree (Essex) - Near Capel Hill Golf Course
Type: ABC
Date / Time: May 1996
Further Comments: Walkers reported seeing a large cat in the area.
Grey Lady
Location: Chepstow (Gwent) - St Pierre Golf and Country Club
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: It was said that this country club was home to a grey lady and the scene of some poltergeist activity.
Coach and Four
Location: Clondalkin (County Dublin) - Newlands House, currently part of the Newlands Golf Club
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Newlands was once owned by Arthur Wolfe, Chief Justice of Ireland; the ghostly coach is said to follow the route it once took, taking Arthur's body away from his home.
Nun
Location: Coatham Mundeville (Durham) - Hall Garth Golf and Country Club Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Room 2 is reputedly haunted by the ghost of a nun who was bricked up alive within the walls after her affair with a monk was discovered.
Black Dog
Location: Cold Knap (South Glamorgan) - Beach, between cave and min 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.
Janet Horne
Location: Dornoch (Highland) - The Witch Stone, located near the golf course
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: One of the last witches to be executed in Scotland, the ghost of the old lady is still seen near the spot where she was burnt to death.
Cloaked Figure
Location: E11 (Greater London) - Wanstead Golf Club
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1977, morning
Further Comments: A cloaked figure was observed crossing the golf course close to the lake, heading in the direction of St Mary's Church. The figure disappeared shortly after being seen.
Unknown
Location: Harlow (Essex) - Canons Brook Golf Club
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A brief mention on the Camra website says the clubhouse may have a ghost.
Man in Tweeds
Location: Hoylake (Cheshire) - Royal Hotel, and golf course
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1943 onwards
Further Comments: Observed while walking the corridors, this spook wears a cap and tweed jacket. It may be the same entity that has been seen on the golf course, wearing clothing that can be dated to the century.
George
Location: Leamington (Warwickshire) - Brookhurst (demolished 1960), on site of Leamington Golf Club
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-1960
Further Comments: Workmen demolishing this old house reported that 'something' was trying to stop them. Brookhurst had a history of hauntings, from the sounds of a large bird-like creature flying around to phantom footsteps and doors which unlocked themselves.
'White Hyena'
Location: Margam (West Glamorgan) - Lakeside Golf Range
Type: ABC
Date / Time: December 2005
Further Comments: After receiving reports of a large cat, police officers called to the golf range observed a strange creature, a third bigger than an Alsatian and white in colour. One witness said the front legs were bigger than the hind legs and the creature had a long tail which reached the ground. However, an animal warden would soon go on to recover the animal, which proved to be a German Shepherd/Husky cross, slightly different to the given description.
Smoking Man
Location: Newquay (Cornwall) - Golf Club
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Cleaners in the bar report the smell of smoke, although the site is non-smoking and no one is present. A former owner of the site was also spotted in the bar - he vanished from a locked room, leaving a shattered glass and broken bottle of scotch for a rather confused member of staff to clean up.
Fox
Location: Newton Abbot (Devon) - Golf Club
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: A creature so cunning that it was never caught by the local fox hunting group, it now gloats by sitting on the golf club walls.
Beast of Bexley
Location: Outer London: Bexley (Greater London) - Bexleyheath Golf Club
Type: ABC
Date / Time: 22:30h on 12 July 2005, and February 2006
Further Comments: A teenager reported seeing a giant black cat trotting across the grass here - police were called but could find nothing. The creature was photographed by a woman from the bottom of her garden in Feb 2006.
Floating Figure
Location: Outer London: Enfield (Greater London) - Golf course
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1960s
Further Comments: Jason Hollis in Haunted Enfield wrote that this location was haunted by a floating figure dressed in black. One witness who encountered the entity was left traumatised by its maggot eaten face.
Dr Westall
Location: Portrush (County Antrim) - Golf course
Type: Post-Mortem Manifestation
Date / Time: Late nineteenth century
Further Comments: Dr Westall was halfway through a game of golf with two friends when he was called away to attend to a patient. Unfortunately, the doctor died in an accident during the journey. Soon after, when the two friends took to the golf course again, they heard a phantom voice shout 'fore!' and the sound of a ball being hit. This occurred on the same green from which the doctor was called away.
Koi from the Sky
Location: Salisbury (Wiltshire) - Salisbury & South Wilts Golf Club
Type: Other
Date / Time: 2001
Further Comments: Four golfers emerged after sheltering from a downpour on the second hole only to find the fairway covered in Koi carp and goldfish. It was speculated that the fish were removed by strong winds or a small whirlwind from a neighbourhood pond, even though no such location was found.
Black Figure
Location: Sheffield (Yorkshire) - Birley Woods and Golf Course
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 2011
Further Comments: A local lad's grandfather told him that a wispy black figure in a cloak and hood was trapped in the wood and had been for hundreds of years. After the grandfather died, one of the lad's friends confided that he had encountered the figure while out in the woods.
Large Cat
Location: Sheffield (Yorkshire) - Field near Wales Bar Petrol Station, now a golf course
Type: ABC
Date / Time: 1987 or 1988
Further Comments: While crossing a field of sheep, a group of friends watched a large, cat-shaped creature amongst the sheep. The creature spotted the group and crouched, resulting in the friends fleeing the area.
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