The Paranormal Database

Witches meeting the Devil.

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 it 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.

The Devil making a deal.

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.

Old woodcut of the devil.

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 (Herefordshire) - 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.

Storm

Location: Widecombe-in-the-Moor (Devon) - Parish church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: October 1638
Further Comments: A terrible storm descended on the village during a church service - the sky turned black, a ball of fire entered the church, and parts of the tower broke away. Several people died, including a man by the name of Jan Reynolds who some claimed was taken away by the Devil (possibly on horseback) as punishment for falling asleep (or playing cards) during the sermon (or previously selling his soul).

Thrown Stone

Location: Williton (Somerset) - Battlegore tumulus
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: Battlegore was the landing site of a stone thrown by a giant from West Quantoxhead, competing with the Devil. Old Nick's rock fell short, resulting in his banishment from the area.

Drop and Run

Location: Willoughton (Lincolnshire) - Church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: An old folk tale states that by dropping a pin through the keyhole of the church and running around the building seven times, the Devil will be met.

Clawed Stone

Location: Winceby (Lincolnshire) - Boulder near area known as Slash Hollow
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Moved to the side of the field in 1970
Further Comments: The stone was finally buried by a farmer, who dug a hole next to the boulder and pushed it in. A failed previous attempt had resulted in the Devil appearing who scratched the stone with his claws. The stone was believed to have been placed on top of treasure, however when the stone was finally moved to one said, no treasure (or Devil) was found.

Frozen Figures

Location: Winterborne Abbas (Dorset) - Nine Stones (stone circle)
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: The stones are said to be either children (or maidens) who were petrified for dancing on the Sabbath, or the Devil, his wife, and his children.

Lucifer by Franz Stuck (1891).

First and Last

Location: Woolacombe (Devon) - Morte Point
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: N/A
Further Comments: The peninsula was the cause of many shipwrecks and locals would say it was the place that 'God made last and the Devil will take first'. A well on the point was said to cure poor eyesight.

A devil-like entity standing over a woman.

Devil's Grannie

Location: Wooler (Northumberland) - Hanging crag on Doddington Hill Fort
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: It was said that the Devil hanged his grandmother from this crag on the fort.

Changed Site

Location: Worfield (Shropshire) - St Peter's Church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: It was said that the Devil did not want this church to be built on a nearby hill, so spent every night undoing the construction work which had been performed the day before and moving the materials to the site the church now stands.

Raising Miller

Location: Worthing (Sussex) - The Miller's Tomb, Highdown Hill
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: 1794 onwards (miller)(?), Dog in 2022
Further Comments: Dancing or walking around the tomb seven times will summon the miller who is buried within, according to one legend. Others say that it will be the Devil who appears when the rite is complete. More recently, two witnesses encountered a large black dog during a rainy evening; the creature silently watched the pair causing the couple to quickly leave.

A Man of Wealth & Taste

Location: Wye (Kent) - Devil's Kneading Trough
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A legend says that if you walk around the Devil's Kneading Trough seven times then drink the water from the natural spring, you will see the Old Nick.

Chain

Location: Wye (Kent) - Olantigh Mount
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: 1890s
Further Comments: The chains heard rattling somewhere underground in this area were said to belong to the devil. One story said an underground tunnel existed in the area.

The Good Musician

Location: York (North Yorkshire) - Passageway once known as Beedham's Court, off Skeldergate
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A small band of musicians were performing around the city when they found themselves joined by another unannounced member. He played the violin particularly well, and as the band completed a song standing by Beedham's Court, their new-found violinist vanished, leaving only the strong smell of brimstone.