The Paranormal Database

The Devil Helps Thrice

Location: Bloxham (Oxfordshire) - Church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Fourteenth century
Further Comments: This church is one of three in the area (King's Sutton and Adderbury being the other two) that were paid for by three brothers. One of their workers who helped construct this tower never took any pay, never slept and never ate - he vanished as soon as the tower was built. The brothers were convinced that they were helped by Old Nick.

Round in Circles

Location: Bodham (Norfolk) - The Round House
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: The building was constructed in a circular shape after Old Nick appeared night after night and pulled the partly constructed four walls down. The shape confused the Devil, and he left the area.

Devil's Bolts

Location: Boroughbridge (Yorkshire) - Standing Stones, in a field near Aldborough
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Stones still present
Further Comments: These large standing stones are said to have been thrown by Old Nick at Aldborough, an old Christian settlement that once stood here. After failing to hit his target, the Devil hanged himself from the largest stone!

The Devil and the Cobbler

Location: Bosava (?) (Cornwall) - House no longer standing, location not known
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Built by a cobbler who made a deal with Old Nick and went back on his word, the house became haunted by the man and the devil. A miller who lived nearby was losing money due to his proximity to the location and asked Parson Corker to banish both entities. The parson brought some friends, set up his magic circle and after a mighty battle (involving a storm which levelled most trees in the area) banished the Devil. The ghost proved more difficult to banish, and in the end the house was demolished.

An old postcard of Boston Stump, St Botolph's parish church.

Devil's Breath

Location: Boston (Lincolnshire) - Boston Stump (tower of St Botolph's parish church)
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present!
Further Comments: The winds which whip and whistle around the Stump are said to be caused by the Devil. He was once cornered by St Botolph; the saint preached so intensely, the only thing the Devil could do was huff and puff, and the gasps have not yet subsided.

Evil Awaits

Location: Bovey Tracey (Devon) - St John's Church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: It was said that the churchyard here was unused for a while due to the belief that the first body interred would belong to the Devil. The body of a servant under the employ of a visitor to the area was buried here, after which others believed the site was ready to be used for their loved ones.

Dropped Rocks

Location: Bradfield (Yorkshire) - Apronful of Stones
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: As the name of the place suggests, this ancient monument was created when the Devil dropped an apron full of stones while on route to one of his many building projects.

The Devil failing to steal stones.

Dropped Stones

Location: Bradley (Staffordshire) - Webb Stone, also known as the Wanderer Stone
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Stones still present
Further Comments: The three stones here were taken from a church by the Devil to extend hell. They proved too heavy, and he dropped them where they now stand. Another legend says that if anyone tried to move the Webb Stone, farmland would become less productive, while a third story says that any girl who baked a cake on All Saint's Eve and left it on the stone would dream of their future husband.

Near Miss

Location: Bramcote (Nottinghamshire) - Hemlock Stone, Stapleford Hill
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Stone still present
Further Comments: The Devil tried to throw a ten metre tall rock at Lenton Priory from his cave at Castleton. He missed, and the stone landed on Stapleford Hill where it remains.

Devil

Location: Brampton Bryan (Hereford & Worcester) - Park
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: 03 September (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Local legend says that on the day Cromwell died, the park was laid to waste as the Devil passed though it to collect the soul due to him. Now, once a year, Old Nick rides out and returns to the park to ravage it once more.

Nick's Hole

Location: Briantspuddle Heath (Dorset) - Culpepper's Dish
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A local legend said that this deep, naturally occurring pit was dug out by the devil.

Footprint

Location: Brindle (Lancashire) - Church of St James
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present, now wall mounted
Further Comments: The footprint in a slab of stone is now on display within the church. It is said to belong to a Catholic who, after arguing with a Protestant, declared 'if my doctrine be untrue, may my foot sink in stone' - upon which it did. Another version of the story says it was the Devil who left his footprint in the stone.

Undone Work

Location: Broughton (Shropshire) - Old church (no longer stands)
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The old church here had to be constructed away from the planned site after the workmen constantly found all their previous day's work undone. The Devil was blamed and after moving the building site, no more delays were experienced.

Old Nick in Waiting

Location: Burgh St Peter (Norfolk) - Church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: 02 May reoccurring (skeleton appears)
Further Comments: The builder of this church is said to have sold his soul to finish the construction. The Devil is said to still wait for the soul due to him, while the old man's shade lurks protected within the church grounds. There is one report that says the builder now takes the form of a clothed skeletal figure and appears once per year.

Visiting Devil

Location: Burnley (Lancashire) - Old Grammar School
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A large, scorched patch on some flagstones in the building is explained away by a story which involves a group of students silly enough to try to summon the Devil - as he climbed out of the ground, the pupils panicked and hit Old Nick with books, stones and anything they could grab, until he disappeared back to Hell.

St Peters Church, Burnley.

Moving Bricks

Location: Burnley (Lancashire) - St Peters Church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown / traditional
Further Comments: The church was going to be built on another location, but night after night the Devil appeared and moved the building materials, until the construction was relocated to where the church now stands.

Fiddler

Location: Bushey (Hertfordshire) - Lanes around heathland
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown, but on moonlit nights
Further Comments: Old Nick visits the area to play his fiddle on moonlit nights.

An old woodcut of the Devil dancing close to a magic circle and shadowy figures.

Devil's Footprints

Location: Cadair Idris (Gwynedd) - Rock of the Evil One (crag)
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: Prints left by the hoofs of the Devil can still be seen in the rock, after Old Nick danced with joy after discovering a group of men playing cards on the Sabbath.

Evocation via Tree

Location: Cadley (Wiltshire) - Oak in Savernake Forest
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Running around the tree known as Big Bellied Oak seven times (or twelve) at midnight was said to bring forth the Devil.

An old postcard showing Capel Curig in Wales.

Travellers' Rest

Location: Capel Curig (Clwyd) - Devil's Kitchen
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The Devil sometimes beckons road weary travellers into his kitchen - it is not known what happens to them once inside.

Scot's Building

Location: Carrock Fell (Cumbria) - Stones on top of the fell
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: The site of an Iron Age hill fort, the rocky remains were once said to have been constructed by local wizard Michael Scot. Some legends replace the builder with the Devil.

An old postcard showing the Devil's Chimney of Leckhampton Hill.

Devil's Chimney

Location: Cheltenham (Gloucestershire) - Leckhampton Hill
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: This limestone outcrop is said to lead straight to hell.

Bend by the Devil

Location: Chesterfield (Derbyshire) - Church - Crooked Spire
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The Devil, resting against the church, was so taken by the beauty of a bride that he spun around to have a better view, warping the spire in the process. Another story says the first couple to be married in the church were so innocent that they caused the spire to warp. The damage will not be undone until another innocent couple are wed on the site. More recently, people have reported the sensation of being followed as they walk around the church.

Failed Suicide

Location: Chrome Hill (Derbyshire) - Devil's Parlour
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The Devil is said to have once tried to take his own life on Chrome Hill but failed.

Fleeing Nick

Location: Churt (Surrey) - Devil's Jumps (three hills in the area)
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Hills still present
Further Comments: Local witch Mother Ludlam had her cauldron stolen by the Devil. As the Devil ran, every step he took created a great mound of earth.