The Paranormal Database

Crinoline Lady

Location: Sleaford (Lincolnshire) - Boston Road towards Handley Monument
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early twentieth century, when a secret passageway is opened
Further Comments: The opening of a secret tunnel between a house and nearby church triggers a ghostly woman to leave the house and walk towards the Handley Monument where she vanishes. One story says anyone brave enough to ask her about hidden treasure would be given the directions to a fantastic hoard.

Old Lady with Gold

Location: South Shields (Tyne and Wear) - House along Thrift Street (no longer standing)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown - likely to be pre twentieth century
Further Comments: A maid venturing into the basement at night encountered a phantom elderly lady who instructed her to reach into an opening in the cellar wall. The maid did as instructed and pulled out a bag of gold and the deeds to the house. The maid, unsurprising, retired.

Devil's Treasure

Location: Southwood (Norfolk) - Old church and Callow Pit
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A local legend states that the door handle of the church is all that remains of a treasure chest discovered by three (or two) men at the bottom of Callow Pit. As the men tried to take the chest away with them, Old Nick appeared and pulled at the other end - the men managed to escape with only one handle from the chest.

Woman in Silk

Location: Spreyton (Devon) - Bush House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1930
Further Comments: A phantom woman dressed in black silk was said to haunt this building, and anyone brave enough to follow her would be led to a vast amount of money. The loud rustling of her dress would normally alert anyone nearby to her presence.

Haunted Woman

Location: St Donats (South Glamorgan) - Unnamed cottage near the castle
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A housekeeper who lived in this cottage after the death of her employer became haunted by his ghost. A prayer meeting was held in the cottage during which the ghost manifested to the housekeeper and revealed a hidden bag of coins, instructing the lady to take them and discard the loot into the nearby River Ogmore.

Devil's Gold

Location: Staple Fitzpaine (Somerset) - Devil's Stone, near the church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Stone still present
Further Comments: The stone was once thought to have gold concealed underneath, hidden by the Devil. However, when moved to make way for a new road, nothing was found.

Accessed by Dreams?

Location: Staward Wood (Northumberland) - Staward Pele (aka Staward-le-Pele)
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Folklore says that gold and silver had been found in the area after the searchers had had dreams and visions.

Shuck with a Monk's Body and Dog's Head

Location: Stowmarket (Suffolk) - Clopton Hall
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This strange entry in the 'shuck' category stands guard over a hidden hoard of gold. A legend states that St Felix instructed a monk and a dog to guard the buried treasure, and over the years the entities merged into a single presence.

Highwayman

Location: Stretton Baskerville (Warwickshire) - General area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early twentieth century
Further Comments: A highwayman, some say Dick Turpin himself, hid some of his takings in this deserted medieval village. He died before managing to retrieve the money, and now he rides towards the village on horseback.

Curse

Location: Taunton (Somerset) - Castle Neroche
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Treasure believed (by some) to be concealed in the area around the Iron Age hillfort has yet to be fully discovered - death and serious accidents have befallen all those to have tried. Another legend says that the treasure is protected by a dragon.

Treasure Guardian

Location: Tavistock (Devon) - Down House Farm
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Legend says this house was haunted - the farmer's wife met the ghost on the stairs, who told her that a great deal of wealth was concealed under the water pump. After she had found it, the ghost never troubled anyone again.

There's Gold in Them Hills

Location: Tayport (Fife) - Tower Hill
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A chest of gold was said to have been buried somewhere around the summit of the hill.

The Devil would often lose fights against holy figures.

John Alcock

Location: Temple Grafton (Warwickshire) - Alcocks Arbour (aka Rolls Wood Hill), Croft Lane
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Present
Further Comments: Highwayman John Alcock stashed much of his ill-gotten gains in a cave under this hill, in a chest protected by three locks and guarded by a cockerel. The bird will only let treasure hunters pass if they possessed one of Alcock's bones. Another legend says the Devil created the hill; out picking nuts on Devil's Nutting Day (21 September), Old Nick stumbled across the Virgin Mary who ordered him to drop the nuts. The Devil did, thus creating the hill.

A golden calf.

Calf

Location: Thatcham (Berkshire) - Grimsbury Castle (hillfort)
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: In the nearby woodland, a golden calf is reputedly buried.

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.

Gold

Location: Thimbleby (North Yorkshire) - Farmstead in the area
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Folklore says a bull's skin filled with gold was buried in this area.

Coins

Location: Thoresby (North Yorkshire) - Farmer's field
Type: Other
Date / Time: Circa early nineteenth century
Further Comments: A serving girl had a dream that treasure was buried in a field on the farm where she worked. She dug in the area and found many coins, which she distributed to her friends and neighbours. When the lord of the manor heard about the discovery, he declared the treasure belonged to him. The girl fled the neighbourhood, terrified of the lord's reaction once he realised that she had given most of the coins away.

Serpent or Ghost

Location: Turlough (County Mayo) - Fitzgerald's Lake/Pond
Type: Other
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The treasure in this small body of water is protected by either an eel-like serpent or the ghost of a servant, or possibly both.

Hidden Gold

Location: Upsall (North Yorkshire) - Elder bush near the castle ruins (not known if bush remains)
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: An Upsall man had a dream that if he travelled to London Bridge, he would become rich. Arriving at the bridge, he met another man who said that he had also had a dream in which he had travelled to Upsall and dug up treasure by a bush near the castle but did not know where Upsall was located. The Upsall man said that he had never heard of the place and quickly returned home to dig the treasure up himself. A similar story which is said to have occurred in several places across the UK.

Bird

Location: Verwood (Dorset) - The Verwood Stone (aka Hoarstone, aka Stephen's Stone)
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Stone still present
Further Comments: Under this stone is said to be a golden container. A large black bird protected the treasure, scaring away any tomb raiders. There have been reports of unnatural cold spots in the area.

Treasure Boat

Location: Veryan Beacon (Cornwall) - Barrow
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A golden boat with silver oars was once believed to be buried in the area. The craft was used by the Cornish giant Gerennius. The barrow was opened in 1855, and no treasure found.

Guardian Dog

Location: Wambarrows (Somerset) - General area
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This large black hound was said to protect the nearby hill from treasure hunters.

Wandering Saxon

Location: Washington (Sussex) - General area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Eighteenth century
Further Comments: A phantom Saxon warrior was once said to wander throughout this area. Sighting ceased after a large hoard of Saxon coins were discovered by a farmer and either sold or taken by the Government.

Big cat from a medieval bestiary.

Cardinal

Location: Waverley (Surrey) - Waverley Abbey
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Ghost unknown, cat sighting 27 October 1825
Further Comments: Appearing in the dining hall, this former Cardinal was reportedly seen many times drifting around. It is believed that he could stand guard over a hoard of hidden treasure. The writer William Cobbett reported seeing a large grey cat while visiting the abbey, possibly an early Alien Big Cat encounter.

Gamekeeper's Treasure

Location: Weedon Bec (Northamptonshire) - Tree opposite park lodge gates
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Nineteenth century
Further Comments: Shortly after dying, a gamekeeper would manifest under a tree opposite a set of gates at midnight. A parson was told the story and investigated, visiting the site at night. Calling out for the ghost, the parson was met with instruction to dig at the site. The parson did so, and found a bag filled with coins. The gamekeeper was never seen again.