Examining folkloric, paranormal & cryptozoological locations in the UK and beyond
Location: Rodmarton (Gloucestershire) - Church
Type: Other
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This church was said to have been relocated due to the intervention of headless horsemen.
Source:
Published Media
First added: 2021-01-07
Last updated: 2021-01-07
ID: #14039
An old postcard of Royal Tunbridge Wells.
Location: Royal Tunbridge Wells (Kent) - Common land opposite The Pantiles
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: August 1959 (Mary)
Further Comments: Mary Jenning, a rather large drunken woman, is said to haunt this area, and was observed by two women sheltering under a tree from a sudden downpour. In addition, a phantom female voice can be heard calling out the name 'Daniel'; the woman is never seen but is thought to be a lady who fell to her death from the nearby Wellington Rocks. Finally, a horseman dressed in mauve on the back of a black horse also travels the area.
Source:
Published Media
First added: 2009-04-18
Last updated: 2009-04-18
ID: #9267
Location: Ruborough Camp (Somerset) - Exact location unknown
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Magically concealed, the treasure hidden here only stands a chance of discovery when the moon is full. However, if anyone comes too close to discovering the hoard, a phantom horse appears and charges the treasure hunter.
Source:
Historical Record, Published Media
First added: 2003-02-13
Last updated: 2003-02-13
ID: #3835
Location: Rugby (Warwickshire) - Brownsover Hall Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This ghost of a squire driving his coach and horses raised hell in the neighbourhood until exorcised; trapped in a bottle now hidden within the walls of the hotel, he now waits until released again. A recent email received suggests that late night drivers in the area still encounter the phantom coach along Leicester Road.
Source:
Published Media, User Submission
First added: 2004-02-29
Last updated: 2004-02-29
ID: #5031
Location: Runwell (Essex) - Our Lady's Well
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Sister Lucy ran away from her chapel, but realising she had made a mistake, tried to return. She slipped as she passed the well and drowned in its waters. Her ghost is now said to haunt the area. The same location is also said to be home to a phantom horse.
Source:
Published Media
First added: 2019-06-06
Last updated: 2019-06-06
ID: #13260
Location: Rusheen (County Cork) - Field in village
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: August 2017
Further Comments: Three witnesses standing outside watching the lunar eclipse heard horses loudly galloping across the field ahead of them, although the field was empty. One of the witnesses kept horses of their own and was familiar with the sound.
Source:
User Submission
First added: 2024-09-14
Last updated: 2024-09-14
ID: #15622
Rushton Hall, from Country Seats by Francis Orpen Morris.
Location: Rushton (Northamptonshire) - Rushton Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Rider unknown, knocking around 1584
Further Comments: A rider on horseback and his hunting dog are reported to haunt the area around the hall, where their bodies were once discovered while the house was extended. Thomas Tresham, who constructed the building, wrote circa 1584 that he and two servants had heard three loud knocks (as if made from a hammer) emerge from a table.
Source:
Historical Record
First added: 2002-12-05
Last updated: 2002-12-05
ID: #3270
Location: Ruskington (Lincolnshire) - Sleaford Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A pair of white horses would occasionally appear along this road.
Source:
Historical Record
First added: 2024-12-07
Last updated: 2024-12-07
ID: #15722
Location: Ruyton (Shropshire) - Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Midnight (recurring)
Further Comments: Sometimes, around midnight, a thick mist rolls into the churchyard. Soon after, a headless horseman rides in, vanishing into the mist, heading towards an old castle keep.
Source:
Published Media
First added: 2004-08-22
Last updated: 2004-08-22
ID: #5384
Location: Salcombe (Devon) - B3181 Salcombe to Malborough road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 23 July 2004, around 23:30h
Further Comments: A witness travelling this road reported hearing the heavy breathing of galloping horses along this road, but not accompanied by hoof falls. The hedge from which the sound could be heard moving past glowed briefly as the eerie sound climaxed.
Source:
User Submission
First added: 2004-08-08
Last updated: 2004-08-08
ID: #5281
An old woodcut of a deer standing in a wooded area.
Location: Savernake Forest (Wiltshire) - General area
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The forest is reported to be home of several black dogs which bring ill fortune to any witnesses. There are also stories of a ghostly white deer which darts between the trees, a headless woman riding on horseback, and a coach and horses which leaves the forest and heads towards a nearby farm.
Source:
Historical Record, Published Media
First added: 2004-08-21
Last updated: 2004-08-21
ID: #5347
Location: Scawby (Lincolnshire) - Road north of village, just before the crossroads (geography may have changed since story first published)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Nineteenth century?
Further Comments: A phantom horseman can be heard laughing as he drives his team of horses around this area. He was blamed when a local man drowned in a lake that no longer exists. Another phantom male was said to haunt this lake, but what has become of him is not known.
Source:
Historical Record
First added: 2009-05-03
Last updated: 2009-05-03
ID: #9317
Location: SE10 (Greater London) - Trafalgar Road to Vanbrugh Hill
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Lord John's coach, pulled by four headless horses and driven by the lord himself, is said to leave Trafalgar Road and return to his former home on Vanbrugh Road.
Source:
Historical Record, Published Media
First added: 2002-08-21
Last updated: 2002-08-21
ID: #2240
Location: SE4 (Greater London) - Brockley Road, near the Brockley Jack pub
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa March 1894
Further Comments: Walking along the road heading to Wickham Terrace, this witness spotted the motionless figure of a man sitting upon a horse. They were described as 'shadowy forms', not real, but with enough detail for the witness to discern the man's leather pistol pouches and the sweat on the horse. The apparitions vanished while the witness watched.
Source:
Published Media, User Submission
First added: 2026-01-11
Last updated: 2026-01-11
ID: #16281
The painting Witches Going To Their Sabbath, By Luis Ricardo Falero.
Location: Seaham (Durham) - Five Sisters (group of trees)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Weather Dependent: Fog
Further Comments: A local legend says that the five trees are where an old witch coven would meet. One of the witches took the form of a fox and led the local hunt over the edge of a cliff - the scene is repeated if the weather conditions are right.
Source:
User Submission
First added: 2014-12-28
Last updated: 2014-12-28
ID: #11672
Location: Shaftesbury (Dorset) - Gold Hill
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Two men leading pack horses escort the body of Edward the Martyr Prince to his final resting place.
Source:
Historical Record, Published Media
First added: 2004-11-26
Last updated: 2004-11-26
ID: #5659
Location: Shandra (County Antrim) - Loch an Eich
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The Each Ceannan Dubh was a magical horse with fire burning in its eyes. The creature also had a large spear embedded in its chest. Each Ceannan Dubh died after galloping into a wall, the impact pushing the spear further into its chest and piercing its heart.
Source:
Needs Review
First added: 2011-01-09
Last updated: 2011-01-09
ID: #10136
Location: Shannon (County Clare) - Bickford House
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: Prior to tragedy in the family
Further Comments: The family which once lived in this house were haunted by a Cavalier who would appear galloping towards the building just prior to a death or bad news.
Source:
Historical Record
First added: 2005-06-09
Last updated: 2005-06-09
ID: #6346
Uther Pendragon in the Epitome of Chronicles.
Location: Shap (Cumbria) - General area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Winter (recurring)
Further Comments: A large man on horseback seen galloping around on winter nights is said to be Uther Pendragon, though his motivation for being here is unclear.
Source:
Historical Record
First added: 2007-10-14
Last updated: 2007-10-14
ID: #8040
Badbury Rings hillfort, Dorset.
Location: Shapwick (Dorset) - Badbury Rings
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Battle in sixth century(?), entities in late twentieth century
Further Comments: This hillfort has been named by some as the location where King Arthur defeated the Saxons. Several phantasmic events also surround the Rings, including the sighting of a ghostly warrior on horseback, a spectral woman wearing a black dress, and an ugly dwarf-like entity which peers into the windows of parked cars. Finally, there are stories of a golden coffin buried in the area.
Source:
Published Media
First added: 2004-05-03
Last updated: 2004-05-03
ID: #5106
Location: Sheffield (South Yorkshire) - The Crofts public house, Mosborough
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1980s?
Further Comments: This phantom horse and cart would be seen in the car park and were frequently mistaken as being 'real'. When a pond on the grounds was filled in, the apparition never returned.
Source:
Published Media
First added: 2006-04-15
Last updated: 2006-04-15
ID: #6825
Location: Shepley (South Yorkshire) - Roads around the Shepley War Memorial
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Winter (recurring)
Further Comments: Appearing at night, this phantom coach pulled by four horses would move at breakneck speed along the roads in and around the village.
Source:
Published Media
First added: 2008-01-08
Last updated: 2008-01-08
ID: #8151
Location: Shoeburyness (Essex) - Countryside in area
Type: Environmental Manifestation
Date / Time: 1950s
Further Comments: While walking home through the nearby countryside, a woman reported hearing the overworked horses and the sound of crunching gravel. The site of the occurrence, upon investigation, proved once to be a brick yard.
Source:
Published Media
First added: 2000-08-17
Last updated: 2000-08-17
ID: #678
Location: Shotton Colliery (Durham) - Private residence (new build)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2008-2009
Further Comments: A former occupier of this property moved out after his dog chased a shadow out of the living room and up the stairs. They also reported hearing horse's hooves and experiencing poltergeist-like behaviour.
Source:
User Submission
First added: 2013-04-01
Last updated: 2013-04-01
ID: #11323
Location: Silverstone (Northamptonshire) - Whittlebury Forest (and site of the former woodland)
Type: Curse
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A knight took his own life after having his love rejected by a peasant girl. Lying in his own blood, the knight cursed her, and she died soon after. The peasant's ghost remains in the forest. Another entity reported to haunt the area is the wild hunt, complete with headless horseman (thought by some to be the aforementioned knight).
Source:
Historical Record, Published Media
First added: 2003-01-08
Last updated: 2003-01-08
ID: #3510