The Paranormal Database

Disappearing Guest

Location: Penrith - Greystoke Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A guest at the castle vanished without trace, leaving all his clothing and belongings. The ghost of the man has been reported several times, reappearing in the room where he was last seen. Rapping on the wall in the same room has also been reported, thought to belong to a monk who was bricked up alive in the basement.

Snooker Player

Location: Penrith - Melmerby Hall
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 2000s, 2022
Further Comments: This entity is said to move the balls around on the snooker table after everyone has retired for the night. The manager for the site claimed that there were eight ghosts at the hall, but none were malignant. In 2022, a visitor experienced doors opening themselves and a shower which turned itself on.

Toplis

Location: Plumpton - A6 close to the village
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: A known accident black spot, some blame the ghost of a murderer named Toplis - he was shot and killed by police as he tried to escape justice.

White Dobby

Location: Rampside - Coastal road between Rampside and Bardsea
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A ghostly white hare called White Dobby would run slightly ahead of another phantom, that of an emaciated man, as they travelled along the road. Dogs would try to flee the area just prior to the entities passing.

Eveling

Location: Ravenglass - Roman ruins
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Eveling, King of the Fairies, along with his daughter Modron lived in the Roman ruins found here.

Three

Location: Ravenstonedale - Kings Head public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early 2000s
Further Comments: The pub was said to be haunted by three 'friendly' ghosts, although it is not known whether the entities have been encountered since the building closed and reopened a couple of years later.

Nanny Trotter

Location: Ravenstonedale - Pinska Gill (a narrow stream or ravine that may no longer exist)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Nineteenth century
Further Comments: Nanny Trotter murdered her illegitimate child in this secluded gill; people reported seeing a figure in a grey cloak wandering around the area.

Lord Wharton

Location: Ravenstonedale - Road to village
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Lord Wharton was involved in the establishment of the Ravenstonedale Dissenters group - whether this is the reason he haunts the road is unknown.

Former Owner

Location: Ravenstonedale - Ruins of an old coach inn (likely to be currently on private land)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Farmers working the land are said to have seen the former owner of this inn wearing a tricorn hat, gazing from a ruined window and waiting for coaches that never arrive.

Glowing Light

Location: Ravenstonedale - Trees near Rigg End
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Nineteenth century
Further Comments: An old man once went from his home at Rigg End for a pitcher of milk. On his return, at Dubb's Gate, he was accosted by a boggle who knocked him down, split his clogs and broke his pitcher. A neighbour sent for Doctor Farrar, who went to Rigg End and laid the evil spirit under a large stone. It remained there for many years until a later resident removed the stone for building purposes, and the boggle was released into the trees surrounding the land. In 1877 it was written that a curious light shone from the trees, reported to be coming from the boggle.

Woman in White

Location: Reagill - Country lanes in the area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early twentieth century
Further Comments: It is not clear if the woman in white, a large black hound and a black hog which once haunted this area were all the same entity. The phantom (or phantoms) would all suddenly grow once seen, before pursuing any witness.

Woman

Location: Reagill - Former School House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1959
Further Comments: After moving in, Mr and Mrs Anderson both spotted a female figure wearing a stiff necked top with her hair pulled up in their bedroom. The figure walked around the bed before vanishing at its foot.

Portrait of a rather cross cockatrice.

Cockatrice

Location: Renwick - Church
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 1733?
Further Comments: This mythical creature, made up of pieces of dragon, serpent, and cockerel, took up residence in the church when it fell into ruin. A local man named John Tallantire (or Tallantine) killed the creature using a branch from a rowan tree (or hawthorn), though some locals say it is still seen flying about at dusk.

Man in Old Uniform

Location: Rockcliffe - Road with railway crossing
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2017
Further Comments: A driver with passengers was waiting at the railway crossing for a train to cross. The driver watched a man in an old style army uniform emerge from a field and walk around his car. The driver wondered how the man had left the field as there was no entry point in the hedge. As the man continued to walk away from the car, the driver asked the passengers if they had seen him, but they had not.

Stubborn Figure

Location: Scaleby - Scaleby Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Though little is known about this ghost, legend says it refused to leave for seven years after an exorcism.

Grandma

Location: Scotby - Private house near the village green
Type: Post-Mortem Manifestation
Date / Time: Autumn 2013, mid afternoon
Further Comments: A man took his family to visit the grave of his grandmother at the village church. His wife and son waited in the car. When the man returned, his son asked where he had been, to which he replied he had visited his grandmother. The son pointed to a house across the green and said, 'but great grandma is over there'. The boy's father was the only person present who knew his grandmother had lived in that house fifty years previous.

Failed Bridge

Location: Seascale - Carl Crag
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Evidence still present
Further Comments: The Devil once tried to build a bridge between Seascale and the Isle of Man - his apron split and all but one of the stones were lost at sea. The remaining rock remains, with two white seams showing where the apron strings were once wrapped.

A Knock and a Ring

Location: Seaton - Camerton Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s
Further Comments: Mr H T Graham was dared to knock on the door of this empty church late one night - the moment he did so, the bells began to toll.

Black Dog

Location: Sedbergh - Area around Capelthwaite farm (no longer present or renamed)
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Nineteenth century
Further Comments: This dog, known as the Capelthwaite, is the harbinger of death, and anyone who spots the creature will either lose their own life or that of someone close to them.

Blower

Location: Selside - Selside Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-electricity
Further Comments: An invisible ghost would rage around the hall at night, blowing out all lamps and candles. The phantom became confused when electric lights were installed and fell quiet soon after.

Expected Accident

Location: Shap - A6, Shap Fell
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This large black dog would run across the road before leaping over a cliff that dropped several hundred feet. A few days later a serious accident would occur at that spot.

Uther Pendragon in the Epitome of Chronicles.

Uther Pendragon

Location: Shap - General area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Winter (reoccurring)
Further Comments: A large man on horseback seen galloping around on winter nights is said to be Uther Pendragon, though his motivation for being here is unclear.

Cat with Long Tail

Location: Shap - M6 motorway near to junction 39
Type: ABC
Date / Time: August 2001
Further Comments: Several Alien Big Cat sightings have been reported along this stretch of motorway. The ABC reported in this instance was described as possessing a big head and a very long tail.

Hound-Sized Cat

Location: Skelwith Bridge - Road between Skelwith Bridge and Ambleside
Type: ABC
Date / Time: 2008
Further Comments: A witness spotted a grey-coloured creature walking up a small hill with trees on the top. The animal looked about the size of a large dog; it had a greyhound-like head with a long muzzle, but the body was much more like that of a big cat, complete with a long, thick tail.

Drowning Elopers

Location: Skinburness - Waters of the Solway
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Weather Dependent: Stormy nights
Further Comments: Skinburness was one of the places that couples travelling to Gretna Green would pass through, hoping to find a ferryman to take them across the Solway. Such a couple and their boatman were drowned when a sudden storm sprang up as they crossed the water, and now their screams and cries can be heard when the weather is right.