The Paranormal Database

The Devil holds his mouth in pain.

Broken Tooth

Location: Templemore (County Tipperary) - Devil's Bit (mountain)
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Rock still present
Further Comments: This mountain is so named after Old Nick took a bite from it - he broke a tooth in the process, which formed the Rock of Cashel.

Concealed House

Location: Thetford (Norfolk) - Castle Hill
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A local story states that a mansion lies buried under the hill, filled with wealth beyond dreams. Another story says that the hill was created by the Devil, created by mud falling from his shoe. Walking around the hill seven times at midnight is said to summon him.

A Quick Drink

Location: Thetford (Norfolk) - Devil's Punchbowl (mere)
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: This mere has an erratic water level; perhaps previous generations attributed the sudden disappearance of water to the Devil having a quick drink while passing by.

Grime's Graves, Thetford.

The Devil's Holes

Location: Thetford (Norfolk) - Grime's Graves, prehistoric flint mine
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: The name 'Grime's Graves' is thought to have come about in the sixteenth century, Grime being a corruption of Grim, a pagan god that Christians associated with the devil.

Jumping Devil

Location: Thornecombe (Dorset) - Trees between village and Birdsmore Gate
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The Devil is sometimes thought to exercise by jumping over the trees located between these two locations.

The Devil's Bridge

Location: Thorpe (Yorkshire) - Dibble's Bridge, Yorkshire Dales National Park
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Bridge still present
Further Comments: In a rare moment of generosity, the Devil built the bridge for a local shoemaker who had shared a drink with him.

Moved Again

Location: Thriplow (Cambridgeshire) - Church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Church still present
Further Comments: The village folk wanted their church in a hollow by their homes, but the Devil had other plans, and moved it to the hill.

Contest

Location: Tidenham (Gloucestershire) - The Broadstone, between village and Woolastaston
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Stone still present
Further Comments: The Devil and the giant Jack o'Kent had a stone throwing contest - the Devil's stone landed here, while Jack's landed way over the River Severn, winning him the game.

Swift Nick

Location: Tilbury (Essex) - The World's End inn
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: 1980s
Further Comments: An old highwayman, Swift Nick has a habit of relighting fires which have gone out hours beforehand.

Take it Down

Location: Tilton on the Hill (Leicestershire) - Church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The Devil became upset at the building of this church, so during the night would undo the construction work. It is unclear who or what motivated the Devil to cease his actions.

Knight Meeting with the Devil

Location: Tolleshunt Knights (Essex) - Moot (or Moat) Field
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Twelfth Century
Further Comments: Local legend recalls a knight who wished to build a house a mile away from the field. The devil came each night and pulled the house down, until the knight agreed to erect the building closer to the field.

Satan takes a murderer.

A Woman Scorned

Location: Torbay (Devon) - Daddyhole (or Daddy Hole) Plain
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Scorned by a knight, a woman invited the warrior and his new love to meet here. The woman murdered the couple, and as a storm developed, the Devil appeared and took the murderess into a nearby hole (presumably to hell).

Kings

Location: Totternhoe (Bedfordshire) - Five Knolls (barrows)
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Barrows still present
Further Comments: There are seven barrows at Five Knolls and legend has them contain former kings. During a seventeenth century witch trial, local woman Elizabeth Pratt claimed to have met the Devil at the site.

Stone Thief

Location: Towednack (Cornwall) - Church tower
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The tower's shortness is explained away by the story that Old Nick turned up each night during construction and knocked down the day's work. The builders finally grew tired of the conflict and put the roof on at the height is now.

Quoits

Location: Tredinnick (Cornwall) - Lanivet (or Lesquite) Quoit
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: The capstone of this dolmen was thrown into position by the Devil whilst playing quoits.

Daffyd Ddu

Location: Tremeirchion (Clwyd) - Churchyard Wall
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Former vicar and black magician, Daffyd made a pact with the Devil to take his soul 'whether buried in the churchyard or out'. Needless to say, the wizard cheated Old Nick by ensuring his body was buried under the boundary wall.

Thor the Rock Thrower

Location: Treyford (Sussex) - Devil's Jumps (set of five barrows)
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Barrows still present
Further Comments: The god Thor would sit on nearby Treyford Hill. One day the Devil came along and, in a fit of boredom, started to hop from one barrow to the next. This childishness annoyed Thor, who scared Old Nick off by throwing a rock at him.

Marshy Bells

Location: Tunstall (Norfolk) - Church, and marsh known as Bell Hole (and Hell Hole)
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The Devil once appeared in the village, stealing the church bells and sinking them into the nearby marsh. Bubbles in the marsh were said to be the result of the bells continuing to sink into the bottomless pit.

The Devil in Scotland.

Devil Summoning

Location: Urquhart (Moray) - Deil's Stanes
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: To run around this stone circle three times at midnight will bring forth the devil.

The Devil Can't Hide

Location: Veryan in Roseland (Cornwall) - Round cottages in the village
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: The round cottages found in the village were built thusly so the devil could not conceal himself in the corners. A cross was also placed in all the roofs, guaranteeing that he could not carry them away either.

Moving Head

Location: Walcot (near Digby) (Lincolnshire) - Stone house (no longer standing)
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This house was built out of stones from the ruined Catley Abbey. A carved stone head which was incorporated into the building was said to move every night, until the house was demolished.

Old Nick (public domain).

Satan's Stone

Location: Walton Hill (Fife) - Stone on a roadside close to a farmhouse
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present?
Further Comments: Satan and Samson had a stone throwing contest. The Devil's stone landed on the roadside, while Samson's travelled further, shattered on impact and the rubble used to make a barn.

Devil Summoning

Location: Weobley (Hereford & Worcester) - Churchyard
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown - traditional
Further Comments: Anyone reciting the Lord's Prayer backwards whilst walking around the large cross in the churchyard will call upon the Devil.

Dropped Tower

Location: West Walton (Norfolk) - St Mary's Church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Church still present
Further Comments: Attempting to steal the bell tower, the Devil dropped it shortly after flying off. The tower landed a few dozen metres away, where it still stands.

The town of Whitstable, Kent.

Satan Takes a Town

Location: Whitstable (Kent) - General area
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Whitstable was founded after the Devil tried to steal the buildings of Canterbury - he was caught, and dropped the stolen houses eight miles away, where they stayed.