The Paranormal Database

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

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Devon Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana

Running Man

Location: South Molton - A361, Aller Cross
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: 29 November 2013
Further Comments: A witness spotted a figure running on the top of the hill in the road, although when they reached the spot no one could be seen in any direction.


The phantom cow returns.

Cow

Location: South Tawton - Hamlet just outside the village, exact location not known
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa late nineteenth century, said to appear at midnight
Further Comments: A Guernsey Cow said to haunt this location was once a woman who committed a 'terrible deed' and was transformed into this animal for 4,900 years as punishment.

Woman in Silk

Location: Spreyton - 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.


A demon flies overhead.

Passing Daemon

Location: Spreyton - Exact location unknown
Type: Other
Date / Time: 1682
Further Comments: A flying devil picked up a man from the ground and dropped him in a faraway marsh - his torn hairpiece was discovered high in the branches of a tree.

Leaping Cat

Location: Spreyton - Private garden
Type: ABC
Date / Time: Spring 2006
Further Comments: Witness Martin Heath reported seeing a large cat, dark brindle in colour, and around the size of an Alsatian with a thirty centimetre long bushy tail. The cat ran across the garden and disappeared by leaping into a tree.

Monk

Location: Spreyton - Vicarage
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1932
Further Comments: A vicar and his friend inadvertently photographed a cowled monk kneeling in front of the vicarage. Phantom footsteps had been heard within the building, though nothing ever seen.

Black Dog

Location: St Giles In the Wood - Lanes in the area
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Late nineteenth / early twentieth century
Further Comments: A large black dog was said to haunt the lanes and the farms in this area, as far down as Copplestone.

Monk

Location: Stoke - Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1973
Further Comments: A phantom monk which haunts the churchyard was last seen by a vicar. Several monks walking in a line are said to walk from the church towards Hartland Abbey, though no witnesses exist for this event.

Headless Nectan

Location: Stoke - Church
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The church is built on the location where St Nectan had his head chopped off - he bent down and stuck it back on his neck before walking off!

Headless Page Boy

Location: Stowford - Hayne Manor
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: Prior to death of owner
Further Comments: The boy was murdered by a butler on the site after he caught the older man stealing some plates - the young shade now appears with his head under the arm, warning of impending death. A wish hound has also been reported around the area.

Betsy Grimbal

Location: Tavistock - Bedford Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s
Further Comments: The spectral female form which haunts this hotel is believed to be the same Betsy who haunts another part of the town. Wearing a dark dress and bonnet, she was once spotted by a chef on the ground floor, and other staff have heard the rustling of her clothing.

Betsy

Location: Tavistock - Betsy Grimbal's Tower
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Killed by a soldier on the tower's staircase, Grimbal's shade can be seen staring out from one of the windows of the tower.


The Devil collecting stones.

St Michael saves the Day

Location: Tavistock - Brent Tor
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: The church was to be built at the base of the hill, but the Devil came every night and moved the foundation stones to the top. Even though St Michael appeared and scared Old Nick away, the church was built where the Devil wanted it to be.

Those that will Die

Location: Tavistock - Church
Type: Legend
Date / Time: 23 June (or Midsummer Eve) (reoccurring)
Further Comments: The spirits of those who will die during the following year come to the church on Midsummer's Eve - they were last seen by a pair of brothers who saw themselves in the crowd.

Treasure Guardian

Location: Tavistock - 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.

Lady Howard

Location: Tavistock - Fitzford House driveway, heading towards Okehampton
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Lady Howard is said to have poisoned two of her four husbands, and now takes the form of a large black dog with a single eye which departs the driveway of Fitzford House, followed by a carriage pulled by headless horses, heading towards Okehampton Castle. Once they reach their destination, Lady Howard plucks a single blade of grass and then returns home, doomed to repeat the action until there is no grass left and she is released.

Judge John Glanville

Location: Tavistock - Kilworthy House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A ruthless man, Judge Glanville condemned his own daughter to death for murdering her husband. Her ghost is also reported to appear in the building and its grounds, headless.

Drake

Location: Tavistock - Road between town and Plymouth
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Pulled by black headless horses, Sir Frances Drake drives a dark hearse down these roads whenever his drum is heard to beat (see Yelverton (Devon) entry).


Queen of the fairies.

Built by Fairies

Location: Tavistock - South Down Bridge
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Still present?
Further Comments: It is said that the Queen of the fairies helped build this bridge by turning some of the water below into boulders.

Moving Items

Location: Tavistock - Standon Farm
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Likely 1800s
Further Comments: The farm is mentioned briefly in an old guide to Dartmoor, as being briefly haunted by an entity which moved items around the property.


A haunted secret tunnel.

Pair of Monks

Location: Tavistock - Tunnels under Bedford Square
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The passageways under the square once linked the abbeys and churches of the area - these monks have yet to leave.

Hugger

Location: Tavistock - Whitchurch Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1979
Further Comments: Feeling someone hugging her, the landlady turned to see who it was - but found no one there. The spirit is also blamed for moving bottles and personal items.


An old postcard of Teignmouth, Devon.

White Lady

Location: Teignmouth - Cliffs and beach
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: It is said this woman was once washed up dead on the beach - locals removed her expensive rings and threw the body back into the sea. She is seen standing on the coast, looking into the sea, whenever stormy weather takes a life.

Three Dreams

Location: Teignmouth - Dawlish Road
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: November 1810
Further Comments: During a storm, a servant of Colonel Templer was awoken three times in succession from a dream in which someone was close to death and calling out for help along Dawlish Road. The servant took a horse and rode out, discovering a woman who had been swept into a flooded ditch. He managed to save her.

Exploding Bulbs

Location: Teignmouth - Hawthorn Cottage (likely a pseudonym)
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1988-1993
Further Comments: According to the documentary 'Britain's Most Terrifying Ghost Stories', after cottage owner Fiona dug up several dead cats in the garden the property experienced a poltergeist-like outbreak, including electrical items which blew up or misbehaved and the apparitions of children in Fiona's bedroom. A priest carried out an exorcism which calmed things down until Fiona married and strange events started again. Local ghost hunter John Parker finally rid the site of the entity.

Records 351 - 375 of 375

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