West Yorkshire Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana
Shaggy Figure
Location: Leeds - Outer ring road, between Horsforth and Rodley
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Mid 1993, 02:45h (Figure), Spring 2013 (Cat)
Further Comments: A driver began to feel overwhelmingly terrified while passing through a valley along this road. To quote, 'stood at the side of the road and looking directly at me, was a very tall, shaggy, brown or black, fur covered shape. At my estimation, it must have stood over two metres tall, around 1.2 metres wide, with no visible limbs or eyes, but I sensed that the eyes were there somewhere, as I could feel them boring into the car'. The witness accelerated away, but the feeling of dread lasted until morning, even after arriving home. Earlier the same year a large black cat was observed crossing the same road.
First added: 2008-05-13 | Last updated: 2008-05-13 | ID #8610
'Bill Sikes' Lookalike
Location: Leeds - Park in Beeston area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 18 September 2014, 02:30h
Further Comments: A witness walking through this park reported seeing three ghostly figures; one resembling Oliver Twist's Bill Sikes, and a man and woman wearing what could have been well-to-do Victorian clothing. The witness said there were no feelings of ill ease.
First added: 2014-10-10 | Last updated: 2014-10-10 | ID #11620
Carriage
Location: Leeds - Potternewton Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Not reported for years, the ghostly carriage was supposed to be pulled by a team of four horses.
First added: 2003-01-04 | Last updated: 2003-01-04 | ID #3477
Two Children
Location: Leeds - Private residence near a churchyard, Kirkstall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: December 1993
Further Comments: Two small children appeared at a witness's bedside in the night. Both children were very still and looking at the witness's girlfriend. The witness started to wake her, but terror prevented him. Not wanting to take his eyes off the children, the witness tried to reach the light switch but could not find the button. The children vanished and the witness stayed awake until dawn.
First added: 2023-10-29 | Last updated: 2023-10-29 | ID #15157
CID Busted
Location: Leeds - Private residence, Ash Grove
Type: Other
Date / Time: October 1949
Further Comments: Leeds Criminal Investigation Department declared that the property's flying bottles and paint pots, and the strange voices, were not paranormal in nature, although it is not clear whether they arrested anyone in connection to the activity.
First added: 2023-09-30 | Last updated: 2023-09-30 | ID #15074
Elsie
Location: Leeds - Private residence, Kirkstall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 25 October 2015, 22:30h (Elsie seen)
Further Comments: A former shop worker, the ghost identified as Elsie was spotted in the hallway. Other activities reported here include disembodied footfalls, giggling, and lights switched on.
First added: 2017-05-09 | Last updated: 2017-05-09 | ID #12414
Brass Band
Location: Leeds - Private residence, Lynwood Crescent
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Early 1990s, around midnight
Further Comments: As one young man went to bed, he could hear the faint sound of a brass band. Within five minutes the band sounded like it was outside his house so he climbed out of bed and looked out the window but could see nothing. Ten minutes later the sound of the band was so loud it was as if it was in the house. Once again, the man looked out of the window - there was nothing there and the sound stopped. Thinking the incident could have been a dream he did not mention it, although several years later he started to tell his brother the story, who finished the story as he had also heard the same thing.
First added: 2014-05-26 | Last updated: 2014-05-26 | ID #11560
Man in Basement
Location: Leeds - Retail premises along Hunslet Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: March 2007
Further Comments: An employee at this shop spotted an old man in the basement. When they described the man to their manager, they were told the description matched the manager's grandfather who had also worked on the site.
First added: 2012-05-06 | Last updated: 2012-05-06 | ID #10861
Black Hound
Location: Leeds - Roundhay Park
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Photographed (or not) in 2019
Further Comments: This park, like many in Yorkshire, is reputedly home to a large demonic black hound. A photograph published by the local press in 2019 claimed to show the entity, but is more likely to be a dog being walked by its owner.
First added: 2019-08-21 | Last updated: 2019-08-21 | ID #13317
Lift Travellers
Location: Leeds - St James's University Hospital
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: A member of staff would often use a lift in the building, sharing with occupants who would travel upwards only to vanish just before the doors opened.
First added: 2011-07-03 | Last updated: 2011-07-03 | ID #10496
Golden Haired Woman
Location: Leeds - St Mark's Church, Woodhouse
Type: Other
Date / Time: Circa October 1900
Further Comments: A crowd of people gathered to watch a ghostly female figure spotted outside the church, described as having golden hair and sparkling eyes. A woman arrested nearby was named as the 'ghost' and promptly placed in gaol for drunkenness.
First added: 2022-04-03 | Last updated: 2022-04-03 | ID #14445
Blue Lady
Location: Leeds - Temple Newsam House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: While not alone in haunting this mansion, the blue lady is the best known here, having a room named after her. Other entities reportedly include a monk in brown robes, a Knight Templar, a small boy who climbs from out a cupboard, and a non-descript misty form. Screams have been heard from the South Wing, as have the sounds of something or someone heavy being dragged across the floor. One old story says shoes left on the floor overnight in one room would be always be found moved around thirty-centimetres in the morning.
First added: 2002-10-16 | Last updated: 2026-07-15 | ID #2636
Man in a White Coat
Location: Leeds - Thackray Medical Museum
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Post-1997
Further Comments: A ghostly man in a white coat has been spotted in the recreation of a Victorian Street within this building, while a grey lady dressed in nineteenth century clothing waves at staff along the second floor.
First added: 2012-04-08 | Last updated: 2012-04-08 | ID #10814
Charlie Peace
Location: Leeds - Town Hall, the Bridewell
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Held in the Bridewell (a small prison) under the town hall while awaiting his trial, Peace was later executed for a double murder. His ghost is said to remain within his cell.
First added: 2012-04-08 | Last updated: 2012-04-08 | ID #10815
Victorian Lady
Location: Leeds - 10 Woodhouse Square
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Footsteps, strange noises and doors opening have been blamed on a phantom Victorian lady looking for two children who died in the former nursery room.
First added: 2007-04-07 | Last updated: 2007-04-07 | ID #7235
Girl's Laughter
Location: Leeds - Abbey Inn, Newlay
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Summer 2007 (laughter)
Further Comments: Even though the only recent activity is said to be the sound of female laughter coming from the cellar, this pub is said to be also haunted by a grey lady, a cloaked figure (who could be a monk connected to the abbey that once stood here) and a man wearing a Guy Fawkes-style hat.
First added: 2008-05-05 | Last updated: 2008-05-05 | ID #8458
Padfoot
Location: Leeds - Area between Wreghorn (?) and Headingly Hill
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This creature, a midnight black dog the size of a donkey, would bring bad luck and misfortune to all who saw it. It was also always heard when a local person of some importance died - his howls and barks would cause all the mortal dogs in the neighbourhood to also howl.
First added: 2002-10-20 | Last updated: 2025-08-24 | ID #2768
Children
Location: Leeds - Armley Mills (now a museum)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Formally the largest wool mill in the world, children as young as six years old are reported as dying in accidents on the site. Children's voices are reported on the site and a dark figure spotted on a staircase.
First added: 2024-11-30 | Last updated: 2024-11-30 | ID #15714
Travelling Light
Location: Leeds - Armley Prison
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s, 2014
Further Comments: This phantom manifests as a light that moves around the cells. One former employee reported prison officers in Victorian uniform and the sounds of clanging chains, with the most paranormally active areas being the new wings which were constructed over executed prisoner's graves.
First added: 2008-02-26 | Last updated: 2008-02-26 | ID #8235
Suicidal Servant
Location: Leeds - Beckett University, Headingley campus
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A former hospital, this campus was named by local press as being haunted by several ghosts, including a servant who threw themselves down a stairwell and something which would open and close doors.
First added: 2017-10-28 | Last updated: 2017-10-28 | ID #12589
Black Cat with Cubs
Location: Leeds - Between Headingley train station and Burley Park station
Type: ABC
Date / Time: 03 June 2009 and 28 May 2010
Further Comments: Workers on the track have seen a large black cat, around two metres in length, twice. On the first occasion the feline appeared to have two cubs, one light brown and the other black.
First added: 2011-01-02 | Last updated: 2011-01-02 | ID #10133
James Wood
Location: Leeds - Bond Street Shopping Centre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: November 1977
Further Comments: A cobbler during life, a member of the cleaning staff encountered James' sorry looking ghost in one of the loading bays. The ghost was dressed in a muddy green jerkin and brown trousers.
First added: 2008-02-26 | Last updated: 2008-02-26 | ID #8236
Grey Haired Lady
Location: Leeds - Cardigan Arms public house
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: 13 October 2006
Further Comments: The ladies' toilets appear to be home to a phantom elderly woman with long, straight grey/white hair. The figure was briefly spotted in the reflection of a mirror by one witness, while others have caught a glimpse of a figure from the corner of their eye or felt uneasy in the environment.
First added: 2006-10-22 | Last updated: 2006-10-22 | ID #6997
Unhappy Butler
Location: Leeds - Carnegie College
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This fellow took his own life when he realised that his mistress would never love him. His body was found at the bottom of the large spiral staircase, and it is the same area that he still haunts.
First added: 2003-01-04 | Last updated: 2003-01-04 | ID #3476
Pianist
Location: Leeds - City Palace of Varieties (theatre)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Two ghosts have made a home of this theatre - one plays the piano late at night, the other is an unknown lady who brings with her a zone of cold.
First added: 2003-08-10 | Last updated: 2003-08-10 | ID #4467
Records 101 - 125 of 214
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