The Paranormal Database

Young Boy

Location: Sennen - Penrose Farm
Type: Post-Mortem Manifestation
Date / Time: Seventieth century?
Further Comments: After his father and brother were believed to have drowned at sea, the remaining young son (and heir to a medium sized estate) was murdered and buried in a shallow grave by his uncle who wanted the property for himself. However, the other brother was washed up safely ashore and led to his sibling's hidden grave by a phantom voice. The uncle hanged himself in the house before he could be arrested.

Hooper

Location: Sennen Cove - Coastline
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Prior to a storm
Further Comments: This misty spirit, also known as Hooter or Whooper, would manifest prior to a storm out at sea and warn fishermen not to venture out.

Whispering Women

Location: Sennen Cove - Cottage near lifeboat station
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s
Further Comments: A visitor to the site awoke to hear women whispering in the room. A dog with the visitor leapt on the bed, as if reacting to the voices. Two other people staying at the property did not hear the voices but disliked the feeling of the site. Everyone left early.

Slipping Woman

Location: Sennen Cove - The Irish Lady rock, Cowloe Rock
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This rock is named after the woman who held on to it after her ship ran aground nearby and all hands were lost - she slipped off after a couple of hours and was drowned before rescuers could save her. Her shade has been seen struggling to remain on the outcropping.

Camlann

Location: Slaughterbridge - River Camel, Stone marker close to Worthyvale
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: This area has been named as a likely contender for the battlefield where King Arthur was killed by Mordred. Arthur's tomb is said to lie nearby, marked by a sixth century stone

Nellie

Location: Slaughterbridge - Worthyvale Manor
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1960s
Further Comments: The footsteps heard around the site during the 1960s were attributed to Nellie, a phantom woman who had been rejected by her lover.

Dorcas

Location: St Agnes - Old mine, Polbreen
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This woman who committed suicide near the mine was often seen drifting around the site, and once saved the life of a miner by calling his name, preventing him from being buried by a rock fall.

The Martyrdom of Agnes from the Golden Legend, 1497.

Stones

Location: St Agnes - St Agnes Beacon
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Stones still present
Further Comments: The stones at the top of the hill were carried up by either Saint Agnes or a giant's wife. Another account says that Agnes managed to turn the Devil into stone, where he remains to this day.

Stone Hat

Location: St Austell - Long stone NW of town
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: Saint Austell (or Saint Roach) lost his hat and staff during a storm. When he returned to look for them the following day, he realised the Devil had turned the items to stone. Only the staff remains, in the form of a long stone.

Chef

Location: St Blazey - Cornish Arms public house
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 2006
Further Comments: The poltergeist found in this establishment enjoys ringing a bell in the kitchen which then sounds a different tone. The bottoms of female staff are pinched by an unseen hand and voices have also been heard in an empty bar. A clairvoyant identified the entity as a former chef.

Noisy Dog

Location: St Blazey - Road near town
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This large black dog (some say it is a bear) is said to have sounded like a horse trotting, startling the witnesses who had expected to see a pony.

Hares

Location: St Buryan - Boleigh Fogou
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The Devil would play his pipes at the Fogou during sabbats, with witches transforming into hares and disappearing into the structure.

Frank Lenine

Location: St Buryan - Churchyard
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The son of a farmer, Frank fell in love with one of the servants, a young lady named Nancy. Horrified at his son's choice of potential bride, Frank's father sent him to Australia. A few years later Frank came back but drowned as his ship struck rocks off the coast. He was buried in St Buryan's churchyard. The night after the funeral, Frank appeared to Nancy, taking her from her home to his grave on horseback. She died two days later.

Fairy Cow

Location: St Buryan - Field called Park-an-Ventan, Bosfrancan (no longer there?)
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A local farmer once kept a cow that was used by fairies after dark - the little folk were driven away, and the farmer's luck changed from good to bad.

Scraping and Bumping

Location: St Buryan - Moorcroft semi-detached bungalow, exact location unknown
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1968
Further Comments: Sounds of something large being moved plagued this family of three for several months. The source was never discovered.

Petrified Maidens

Location: St Buryan - Stone Circle
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Stones still there
Further Comments: This stone circle and the surrounding monoliths were once maidens, two pipers and a fiddler (so the legends say) who were turned into stone. It is said that the stones are impossible to move; cattle used in one attempt fell and died.

Jogger

Location: St Cleer - Footpath to Golitha Falls, Bodmin Moor
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: July 2003
Further Comments: A couple walking back from the falls spotted a jogger behind them. The woman was wearing modern fitness clothing and swinging her arms, but never closed the distance between herself and the couple, which remained at around thirty metres. The final time the couple turned to look at her, she had vanished, with no discernible place to go.

Nine Maidens

Location: St Columb Major - Standing Stones
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: These ten stones are said to be nine maidens and a fiddler who were turned to stone for making merry on the Sabbath.

Figure at the Window

Location: St Day - Old church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: December 2021
Further Comments: Local press carried the story that a paranormal group had released a video purporting to show a figure standing in an elevated window of this empty church.

Raining Blood

Location: St Dennis - General area
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Prior to disaster
Further Comments: The rain of blood is said to have first fallen here when St Dionysus was murdered in France. It now falls at times of national disaster.

Dando

Location: St Germans - Erth Hill, near the rivers of Tiddy and Lynher
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Circa fourteenth century?
Further Comments: Dando was a monk and a bit of a rogue - he enjoyed hunting on a Sunday. One Sabbath he was out hunting for hare when the Devil appeared and grabbed all the game Dando had hanging from his horse. Old Nick ran, Dando in hot pursuit - unfortunately, the monk lost his balance on the bank of the Tiddy and fell in. The waters turned to steam, and Dando was taken to hell.

Monk

Location: St Germans - Port Eliot Manor House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1980s
Further Comments: A phantom monk is said to have appeared in this building while a party was underway - he was seen by many of the attendees, which led to the celebration ending prematurely. The ghost is said to be seen mainly by children and is described as a harmless, sad-looking figure.

Ianto Ffranc

Location: St Hilary - Bush Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Highwayman (or pirate) Ianto Ffranc was discovered hiding in a cave close to the inn - he was caught and executed. Ffranc's ghost now haunts the bar.

John Penneck

Location: St Hilary - Exact location unknown
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This former preacher is blamed if the area is hit by large storms, on account of his fiery temper (during life).

St Ives Beach, Cornwall.

Lady with the Lantern

Location: St Ives - Beach
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This phantom is said to be that of a shipwrecked woman who lost her child in the accident - she now patrols the beach looking for the youngster and spotting her is considered an ill-omen. Another local story tells of a sinking ship that was once seen off the shore. When rescuers closed in to help survivors, the ship suddenly vanished into thin air.