Warwickshire Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana
Moved Items
Location: Nuneaton - Private residence, Camp Hill Estate
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1972
Further Comments: Poltergeist activity which involved items being relocated drove this family out of their home, despite a visit from a clergyman. The family moved to Stockingford.
Accident
Location: Nuneaton - Railway line and bridge near the Bomb Hills
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa October 1986
Further Comments: Two people walking home spotted steam coming from under a bridge. Looking down from the bridge they could see a stationary steam locomotive and dozens of people laying across the tracks - the scene appeared semi-transparent. The witnesses ran off to find someone, and returned several minutes later, by which time train and figures had gone.
Mrs Stubbs
Location: Nuneaton - Stubbs Pool, Camp Hill
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s?
Further Comments: Mrs Stubbs is said to have be caught up in weeds and drowned while swimming in this pool (alternatively, according to other stories, she had her face bitten off by a horse). She now haunts the area.
Dazzling Car
Location: Oldberrow - Humpbacked bridge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A car with blazing headlights reputedly haunted the road just outside the village, vanishing as it crossed the bridge. A local woman who lived close to the bridge for eighteen years said that she had never seen the vehicle.
Coach and Horses
Location: Oxhill - General area (and across South Downs)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A team of horses attached to a coach race across the Downs, leaping ravines before vanishing.
Grey Lady
Location: Pillerton Priors (aka Over Pillerton) - Site of former church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A ghostly grey woman wearing religious robes was once said to haunt the ruined churchyard.
Farmer
Location: Preston on Stour - Alscot Park, and road by the entrance
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: The phantom figure who haunts the area around the entrance of the park is believed to be a farmer who died after falling from his horse. He reputedly appears by the entrance and crosses the road before vanishing into a wall.
Plantie's Ghost
Location: Princethorpe - Manor House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1922-1929
Further Comments: This phantom, curiously not named Plantie (the name came from a former owner who failed to banish the spirit), began to manifest after being disturbed by workers on the roof. It is not clear why the haunting ceased.
Black Dog
Location: Princethorpe - Road known as Banbury Gap, between Princethorpe and Marton
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Midnight
Further Comments: This black shuck would only to appear at midnight.
Mr Boulton
Location: Royal Leamington Spa - Jack & Jill Inn, Newland Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1971
Further Comments: Seen sitting on the patio roof and moving around the cellar, this former pub owner has the consistency of a 'reflection in a window'.
Henry
Location: Royal Leamington Spa - Private residence, Tachbrook Street
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: April - May 1978
Further Comments: Nicknamed Henry, this poltergeist had a friendly nature for many years until occupant Kenneth Rowe began to share his home radio studio with a new producer. Henry was blamed for the interference affecting Rowe's hospital radio show, and guests reported feeling 'something unusual', with one spotting an apparition.
Footsteps
Location: Royal Leamington Spa - Rail station
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2014
Further Comments: After reports of disembodied footsteps, slamming doors and electrical disturbances, this station featured in several news outlets when a 'supernatural liaison officer' was hired to work there.
The Shoemaker Vanishes
Location: Royal Leamington Spa - Road between Leamington Spa and Coventry
Type: Other
Date / Time: 03 September 1873
Further Comments: Shoemaker James Worson undertook a bet, while drunk, that he could run non-stop from Leamington Spa to Coventry, approximately nine miles. He started to run, accompanied by the unnamed receiver of the bet, a linen draper named Barham Wise and a photographer named Hamerson Burns, who followed him in a wagon. During the run, Worson stumbled and fell, 'with a terrible cry', and vanished before he hit the ground. He was never seen again. While often believed to be true, this 'myth' is a short story created by Ambrose Bierce.
Bottled Squire
Location: Rugby - Brownsover Hall Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This ghost of a squire driving his coach and horses raised hell in the neighbourhood until exorcised; trapped in a bottle now hidden within the walls of the hotel, he now waits until released again. A recent email received suggests that late night drivers in the area still encounter the phantom coach along Leicester Road.
Thrown Bottle
Location: Rugby - RADEA Club (no longer operating), Castle Street
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1961
Further Comments: Members of the club's committee watched a bottle lift itself off the bar and smash against a nearby door. Footsteps would be heard in the empty upper part of the building. The activities ceased after the construction of a new bar.
Thespian
Location: Rugby - Rugby Theatre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The theatre is thought haunted by two ghosts. One man fell to his death from the balcony and now haunts the stalls, while the other phantom is of an old actor who died of natural causes at home, but his love for the theatre ensured his return.
Lorry
Location: Ryton on Dunsmore - A45 near Ryton
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1980s
Further Comments: An RTA black spot, several accidents and near misses are said to have been caused by a lorry driving down the wrong side of the road - the HGV vanishes just before impact.
Farmer
Location: Shipston-on-Stour - B4086, between Shipston on Stour and Atherstone
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: The area of road where a farmer once met his death in an accident is now haunted; the ghost has been seen crossing the road in front of traffic before disappearing through a brick wall.
William Parry
Location: Shipston-on-Stour - Rectory (became council offices)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The rector William Parry was thought to have remained in his former home post mortem.
Lieutenant Sharp
Location: Shuckburgh - Shuckburgh Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Sir Stewkley Shuckburgh deemed Lieutenant Sharp not worthy of courting his daughter. This pushed Sharp over the edge, and he shot Shuckburgh's daughter before turning the gun on himself. Although the hall is now reputedly haunted, it is unclear whether it is Sharp, the daughter or both.
Black Dog
Location: Snitterfield - Brook House (AKA Bell Brook Inn)
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: 1940s
Further Comments: An unnaturally large dark hound ran across the lawn.
Servant
Location: Southam - Olde Mint (now a public house)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This medieval building, and a neighbouring building, were said to be haunted by a servant who could be heard but not seen.
Heavy Footsteps
Location: Southam - Police station
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1950-2015
Further Comments: The heavy footsteps heard walking down a corridor are said to be connected to a suicide which occurred on the site many years ago. A retired officer reported following a set of wet footprints which led to a door which had been blocked up.
Red Head
Location: Stockton - Blue Lias public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Between March and November (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Seen walking through the pub after opening hours, this red headed male is thought to have been killed long ago after being discovered in bed with another man's wife.
Catherine Lucy
Location: Stratford-upon-Avon - Charlecote Park, certain room, and area near the pond
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A member of the Lucy family, Catherine is believed to have drowned in the pond on the grounds - her wraith has been seen running towards the body of water, vanishing beneath the water, though never making a noise. She also retains a presence in the Green Bedroom in the household.
Records 101 - 125 of 161
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