Mad Monk

Location: Appuldurcombe - Appuldurcombe House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 08 June 2005
Further Comments: Little is known about this figure that has appeared many times over the ages, though the ghost was heard walking around the cellar by a team from Isle of Wight Ghost Investigations in mid 2005.

Smugger

Location: Atherfield - Stretch of coast between Atherfield and Blackgang
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century?
Further Comments: Thought to be the ghost of either a smugger or a shipwrecked sailor, this figure has been seen wearing a long black jacket walking out to sea. Night fishermen sometimes hear the sound of footsteps crossing the single, though can not see anything.

Head

Location: Billingham - Billingham Manor
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: 1920s
Further Comments: A free floating decapitated head was seen around the manor house, coinciding with the execution of someone at Parkhurst Prison. The ghost of Charles I is also reported to haunt the manor, as is a monk who was seen standing along a path near the coach house.

Ex Officer

Location: Brighstone - Capricorn Club
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: The ghost of a military officer seen standing around the bar is named as one killed on the site during World War Two, by a German bombing run.

Dog Walker

Location: Carisbrooke - Carisbrooke Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This grey lady has been seen walking her dog around the moat of this ruin - it is unknown whether the same spirit is also the face which has been seen down the well. The inside of the castle is also haunted, this time by another woman, this time in a long cloak, walking four, tiny dogs on chain leashes.

HMS Gladiator

Location: Colwell Bay - Off the coast
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Every ten years since April 1908, last seen Spring 1958
Further Comments: An islander who spotted an old ship on misty morning claimed it was HMS Gladiator, which sank in 1908. some say that the ship is appears every ten years, though it is approaching half a century since the last report.

Vanishing Ship

Location: Compton Bay - Off coast
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: July 1959
Further Comments: An old three masted sailing ship was observed by a group of friends on the beach having a party. The ship headed towards the shore, only to vanish when only a few metres from the beach.

Soldier

Location: Cowes - Battery Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s
Further Comments: A soldier killed by a German bomb during World War Two is reported to walk this area. A man walking his dogs encountered the ghost during the 1970s - the entity walked through a high hedge.

House Party

Location: Downend - Area near Knighton Gorges
Type: Environmental Manifestation
Date / Time: 31 December knight seen (reoccurring), house reported in the twentieth century
Further Comments: A manor house has been seen in the area, a party in full flow visible through its windows. However, the house was demolished many years previous. Even when not seen, locals have reported hearing the sounds of music coming from the site. A large black knight on horseback is still occasionally seen, once a year.

Michael Morey

Location: Downend - Burnt House Lane area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Michael Morey was hanged in a public gibbet opposite the Hare and Hounds inn for the murder of his grandson in 1735. His phantom is said to walk the roads in the area, carrying a large axe, his face nothing more than a grinning skull.

HMS Eurydice

Location: Dunnose Point - Off coast
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1998
Further Comments: The training ship HMS Eurydice went down on 24 March 1878 when she was caught unawares by a violent storm. The ship is still occasionally reported, and in 1998 a film crew with Prince Edward may have caught it on video.

Headless Airman

Location: East Cowes - Skies above area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Seen parachuting down from the skies, this decapitated airman is thought to date from the Second World War.

Soldier Sailor

Location: Freshwater - Golden Hill Fort
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Two ghosts have been seen around the area of the fort; a grinning sailor enjoys watching other people at work, and a First World War trooper who sometimes makes an appearance.

Footfalls

Location: Freshwater - Red Lion public house, Church Place
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Different owners have reported the sounds of booted feet moving across the floors in the building.

Dancing Dog

Location: Gatcombe - Gatcombe Church
Type: Other
Date / Time: Summer (reoccurring)
Further Comments: The carved wooden dog at the feet of the effigy of Edward Estur is said to come alive during summer nights and dance around the church standing on hind legs.

Lucy Lightfoot

Location: Gatcombe - Gatcombe Church
Type: Other
Date / Time: 13 June 1831
Further Comments: A local lass on her way to church, Lucy disappeared mysteriously when an eclipse covered the sun and the island was hit by a terrible hurricane. At the same time, an effigy at the church changed. Years later, the vicar clamed to have discovered written evidence that the young lady had gone back in time and married the man subject in the effigy.

Moving Foundations

Location: Godshill - Church
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Church still present
Further Comments: The church was to be built at the bottom of the hill, but after the stones moved themselves up to the top one night, the construction workers took the hint and finished the job in the new location.

The Crowd

Location: Hardingshute - Road running through the area
Type: Environmental Manifestation
Date / Time: September 1982
Further Comments: A couple in a car were left unnerved after encountering a large crowd of people along this road. They wore long black robes, and a few held staffs decorated with the skulls of rams. The group reportedly surrounded the car; the driver accelerated, passing through the figures that then faded away.

Crowd with Torches

Location: Havenstreet - Road leading to village, and area near Hare & Hounds Inn
Type: Environmental Manifestation
Date / Time: 4 January 1969
Further Comments: A couple out in their car found themselves surrounded by hundreds of people running across nearby fields holding burning touches. As they drove to the nearby village, one of the figures stepped out in the road and passed straight through their car.

Serving Girl

Location: Horringford - Hazeley Manor
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: July 1976
Further Comments: A witness stated that she had had a feeling of overwhelming despair and fear after entering an empty room in the building (at the time it was little more than a ruin). It was also as cold as ice, even though it was warm outside. She later discovered that a maid had taken her own life in that particular room. The building has since been renovated, and all traces of that area have been removed.

Sounds of Partying

Location: Knighton - Knighton Gorges manor house (no longer standing)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 01 January (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Though demolished in 1820, the phantom sounds of partying and enjoyment are sometimes reported from the area of the manor house grounds.

Tristram Dillington

Location: Knighton Gorges - Knighton Shute
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 04 July (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Former owner of the demolished Knighton Manor, Tristram Dillington drives a coach and four horses on the anniversary of his death.

Dispatch Rider

Location: Locksgreen - Vittlefields crossroads
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1940s onwards?
Further Comments: A phantom dispatch rider on his motorcycle is thought to haunt this road - he was killed during World War Two when he drove into a military tank. Drivers have swerved in order to avoid hitting the phantom.

Not by Guilt

Location: Mottistone - Rocking Stone
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Still present?
Further Comments: A large rocking stone here could be moved by the wind, but never by a man possessing a guilty conscience.

Woman in White

Location: Nettlestone - Road near the old church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Exact date not known
Further Comments: Several motorists are said to have encountered the phantom woman dressed in white that haunts this road, reporting their sightings to the police after driving through her.