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

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Lost Towns - Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana


An old postcard showing Aberdovey in Wales.

Lost Town

Location: Aberdovey (Gwynedd) - Off coast
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Summer (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Swallowed by the sea, church bells belonging to a town lost off the coast here can still be heard on quiet evenings. They say that at low tides one can see sunken tree trunks.


Off the coast of Aldeburgh, Suffolk.

Bells

Location: Aldeburgh (Suffolk) - Coast
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Circa nineteenth century
Further Comments: Much of Aldeburgh has been taken by the sea, leading to the belief that the bells from sunken churches could sometimes be heard under the waves.


An old postcard of Bala Lake in Wales.

Lost City

Location: Bala (Gwynedd) - Bala Lake
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: City unknown, Teggie observed March 1995
Further Comments: The first town of Bala is said to be concealed under the waters of this lake. In addition, a monster seen in 1995 and nicknamed 'Teggie' by locals, was described as resembling a humped crocodile, although a story published in the same year claimed recent sightings of the creature were a hoax. Teggie sightings date back to the 1960s, and the creature may have first been encountered by two men boating in the lake.


Off the coast of Blackpool.

Kilmigrol

Location: Blackpool (Lancashire) - Off the coast
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Weather Dependent: stormy nights. Last heard 21 May 2013?
Further Comments: A town lost off the coast of Blackpool many years ago, the bells can be heard ringing on stormy nights. The bells may have last been heard by a mother and daughter walking near Sandcastle Water Park.

Lost Village

Location: Burrator Reservoir (Devon) - Under water
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: An old village was submerged when the reservoir was constructed in 1898. The church bells are supposed to occasionally still ring.

Sunken Church

Location: Conisby (Lincolnshire) - Area outside the village called Sanclif or Sancliff
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown, but bells can be heard once a year on an unknown date
Further Comments: An area of rock was known as the Sunken Church, with some people believing it was the place where a church and the congregation were consumed. The bells could be heard pealing once a year.


Off the coast of Old Felixstowe.

Bells

Location: Felixstowe (Suffolk) - Coast off Old Felixstowe
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Circa nineteenth century
Further Comments: It was believed that the bells from sunken churches could be heard ringing off the coast here.

Lost Village

Location: Ferryside (Dyfed) - Estuary
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: An ancient village is submerged under these waters, and sometimes the toiling of the old church bell can be heard from within the estuary.


Folklore says sunken church bells still ring.

Submerged Bells

Location: Hayling Island (Hampshire) - Off the south coast
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The sound of sunken church bells is said still to be heard coming from the sea.

Sunken Village

Location: Llangadock (Dyfed) - Exact area unknown
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Certain times of the year, though no further details known
Further Comments: The ringing of the bells from this sunken village are said to be heard by those in the right place at the right time (and in the right state of mind).

Sleeping City

Location: Lough Cullaunyheeda (County Clare) - Beneath the waters
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The chieftain of the sunken city, reported to be hidden under the lough, sleeps until needed to win the final battle.


Petrified people stand on a vanishing island.

Banished Island

Location: Port Soderick (Isle of Man) - Off the coast
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Reappears every seven years, last seen late September, year unknown.
Further Comments: The occupants of an island insulted the wizard Fin MacCool. As punishment he turned the people into granite and sunk the island, permitting it to return once every seven years. The curse could be broken if a bible were placed on the island during a period of its return. The last time the island was spotted, the witness ran home, grabbed her bible and returned to the site, but was too slow - the island had already sunk back to the depths. The woman who tried to save the island died soon after; superstitious locals blamed her death on MacCool's curse, and this supposedly has prevented anyone from trying to save the island and its occupants again.

Don't Upset the Tramp

Location: Semerwater (aka Simmer Water, aka Simmerwater) (Yorkshire) - Lake
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A tramp (or angel or witch, depending on the source) looking for a place to rest was turned away from every house in the neighbourhood, until he came to a farm on the hillside where the occupants of which gave him food and shelter. He thanked his guests and punished the other households by flooding the valley. The lake also once had two large rocks on its banks which were known as the Mermaid Stones, said to have been thrown there by the Devil and a giant.

Lost Bell

Location: Shrewsbury (Shropshire) - Bomere Pool
Type: Legend
Date / Time: 24 December (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Several stories surround this pool. In one, a village once stood here, but the villagers mocked God, He sent forth a storm that flooded the area. The church bell can now be heard peeling once a year. Another story says the pool is home to a massive fish - it was caught only once, but escaped, taking the sword of the fisherman (or knight) with him. He now uses the sword to cut any net which falls near him. The final story says the pool is bottomless, and that when any attempt to drain the pool is made, the waters always return overnight.


A fairy kingdom build from human ruins.

Maiden

Location: Swansea (West Glamorgan) - Crumlyn Lake (aka Llyn Crymlyn), now Crymlyn Bog
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A fairy maiden lived in the waters of this lake. A story also claimed a large town once stood here but it was swallowed by the lake (after the locals insulted Saint Patrick) and then used by the fairies to construct their kingdom. A slight variation says the fairies were once the townsfolk before they were submerged. Bells could occasionally be heard coming from the water.

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