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

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Pirates and their Places across the Isles

Six Rowers

Location: Black Head (Isle of Man) - Cave
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A cave, once said to contain pirate treasure, only had one entrance which could be accessed by the sea. One local man watched six figures in a small boat row into the cave. Curious to know what they were up to, the man followed the figures, but they, and their boat, had vanished without trace.


An old photograph of Carlingford Castle.

Henrietta Travescant

Location: Carlingford (County Louth) - Carlingford Castle and Abbey ruins
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: A pirate before taking up the residency of Abbess, this woman is thought to be one of the pair of shades seen within the ruins.

Pirate

Location: Crantock (Cornwall) - Albion Public House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Parts of this building were made from recycled timbers from HMS Coventry, and the phantom pirate thought to haunt here may have come with them. Disembodied voices have also been heard calling to people using their names, and an older man in a brown suit has also been named as another ghost on the site.


Castle Dunanore (public domain).

Murdered Pirates

Location: Cummer (County Galway) - Castle Dunanore
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Sometimes one can see a ghostly pirate ship drop anchor just off the coast; the battle scarred sailors use smaller boats to row to the castle where they carry chests and sacks of gold and jewels into the ruined structure.

Pirates

Location: Dalgety Bay (Fife) - St Bridget's Kirk
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Autumn (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Phantom pirates are supposed to haunt this ruined area.


Breydon Water, Norfolk.

Fighting Galleons

Location: Great Yarmouth (Norfolk) - Breydon Water
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Varies: 11 July, 14 September (reoccurring)
Further Comments: The first set of ships to haunt this area is said to be a fleet of galleons heading towards Burgh Castle. The second is a battle between a pirate ship and two smaller vessels.

Dunny

Location: Hazelrigg (Northumberland) - St Cuthbert's Cave
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This ghost would take the form of a dun coloured horse (though really it was the shade of a pirate-cum-raider) and harass anyone who came too close to his treasure which was buried somewhere nearby.

Pirates

Location: Llanafan (Dyfed) - Craig-yr-Ogof
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: After concealing a hoard of gold and other treasures, these ghostly pirates still protect their stolen wealth.

Captain Ramon Hill

Location: Penarth (South Glamorgan) - Kymin House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: An eighteenth century pirate, some say Ramon enjoys remaining earthbound and scaring people.


A phantom in a box at the bottom of the sea.

Lucott

Location: Porlock (Somerset) - Church area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Local pirate Lucott returned as a ghost soon after his burial. Twelve priests failed to banish him, but the priest from Watchet was made of sterner stuff - the holy man engaged the pirate in a game of wit, and after winning, forced the ghost into an iron box which was cast out to sea.

Currie the Pirate

Location: Portpatrick (Dumfries and Galloway) - Dunskey Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Three ghosts were said to haunt this site; a chambermaid who jumped off the nearby cliffs, a piper who became lost exploring secret tunnels, and a pirate named Currie.

Peter the Pirate

Location: St Donats (South Glamorgan) - Large cave at Tresilian Bay
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: First New Moon of the New Year (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Peter, pirate, was buried alive at the mouth of a large cave here. For one evening a year he screams out for help.

Reginald Bottrell

Location: St Ives (Cornwall) - Carn Glaze
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 1832
Further Comments: Bottrell was a local pirate and rogue, and after he died, took to haunting his former home. A twelve year old child watched the entity for about a minute before it vanished, describing the ghost as short, plump and bald, wearing a long velvet coat and shoes tied with a bow.


Ghosts emerge from the sea.

Pirates

Location: St Michael's Island (Isle of Man) - Church, and nearby ruins
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: It is said if you knock on the church, one can hear the screams and cries of a group of pirates. These men were killed on the nearby rocks as they tried to escape with the church gold. The nearby ruins are haunted by the drowned people buried around the site. They have been seen sitting on the rubble and walking inland from the sea.

Floating Shadow

Location: St Peter Port (Guernsey) - Flat in the vicinity of Berthelot Street and Lefebvre Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early 1972-1973
Further Comments: Over a period of nine months, a shadowy entity had manifested six times to one witness. The entity would hover over the witness and touch her right arm before vanishing. Two visiting mediums had said that the entity was either a sailor or pirate who had once lived on the site.

Sam

Location: Tilbury (location as of 2008) (Essex) - Ross Revenge (home of Radio Caroline)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1983 onwards
Further Comments: This former pirate radio station is reportedly home to 'Sailor Sam', a phantom in yellow oilskins who appears all over the ship.

Browne Bushell

Location: Whitby (Yorkshire) - Bagdale Hall Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: More often heard stalking the staircase than seen, Bushell was a pirate (so says legend, though the truth is probably quite different) who once owned the building. Children have also been heard playing just after midnight, in rooms devoid of life.

Records 1 - 17 of 17

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