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

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Derbyshire Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana

Vanishing Tools

Location: Mickleover - Beech House (no longer standing)
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Pre-1994
Further Comments: While working in and around this site, workmen claimed their tools would go missing, only to reappear a few days later at different locations.

Half a Man

Location: Mickleover - Station Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 1944
Further Comments: A teenager said he was 'shaken' after encountered the upper half of a ghostly man while walking along the road in the early hours of the morning.

Orphans

Location: Miller's Dale - Litton Mill (no longer operational)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This nineteenth century mill is said to have exploited its child labour - several deaths were involved and covered up. The orphans were rumoured to have come back to protest.


Giants of Derbyshire.

Hulac Warren

Location: Monsal Dale - The Warren Stone
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Stone still present
Further Comments: Monsal Dale was once known as Demon's Dale, and a race of sadistic giants lived there. A shepherdess killed herself rather than be kidnapped by the giant's leader Hulac; the gods were so outraged by his actions that the giant was instantly turned in to the Warren Stone.

Robert Lomas

Location: Monyash - Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late 1960s - early 1970s
Further Comments: The Reverend Lomas died after falling from his horse, although his shade was seen in his former church several times. The presence was said to be comforting.

Nature Spirit

Location: Morridge Moor - Doxey Pool, on rocks known as the Roaches
Type: Other
Date / Time: 1949
Further Comments: A woman now about to enter the water of the pool for a quick swim was horrified as an entity pulled itself together from weed, mud and water. The creature was about six metres tall and stood on the surface of the water pointing a finger at the woman. Then, as quickly as it had composed itself, the entity dissolved back into weed and mud.

Hanged Men

Location: Mottram - Gallows' Clough
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Likely nineteenth century
Further Comments: This area was said to be haunted by all the men hanged here, and locals would avoid the site, even during the day.

Mary Hollingworth

Location: Mottram - Roe Cross Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: Seen near the four hundred year old fireplace, the ghost of old Mary wearing a long dress is reportedly quite harmless.

Not a Horse

Location: Mugginton - The Halter Devil Chapel
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Chapel still stands
Further Comments: A drunken farmer told his wife he intended to ride to nearby Derby, even if he had to ride on the Devil's back to do it. He then tried to place a saddle on his horse's back, only to find the creature had horns. The farmer ran back to his wife, gave up drinking, and soon built the chapel to thank the Lord for his lucky escape. No one ever had the heart to tell him he had tried to saddle a bull.

Icy Hand

Location: Nether Padley - Private residence near Grindleford Station
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 1985
Further Comments: A visitor to this property felt an icy hand grab their arm. The family dog would not go near the room where it occurred.

Large White Face

Location: Newbold - Highfield Park
Type: Other
Date / Time: Summer 2014
Further Comments: A dog walker in this park became aware of something the size of a beach ball growing a few dozen metres away. The ball continued to grow before it dashed forwards and expanded into a large white face with wide mouth and eyes which then vanished. Both walker and dog refused to return to the park for several months after the event.

Footsteps

Location: Newbold - Nag's Head public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1960
Further Comments: Heard by the landlord and his family, these phantom footsteps were described as quick and heavy.

Road Block

Location: Offerton - Road to village from Shatton
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-twentieth century
Further Comments: A traveller along this road reported that his path was blocked by a Boggart, which refused to allow him to pass. Frightened, the man returned the way he came.

Grey Lady

Location: Old Glossop - All Saint's Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This tall, slim female figure is thought to be the wife of a former vicar based here.

Wallabies

Location: Peak District - General area
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: A small colony of Red Neck wallabies exists in the Peak District, after escaping their private zoo after the Second World War.

Sister

Location: Peak Forest - Unnamed farmhouse
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Two sisters once lived here and fell in love with the same man. One sister murdered the other, but before dying, she said that she would never rest in any grave. The dead sister's bones were stored in a container on the property and if moved, strange noises could be heard at night and the farm's cattle would die.

Small Child

Location: Pikehall - Private residence, The Green Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 1999
Further Comments: A visitor to this house, together with two others, witnessed a phantom small child on a landing. Their visit was also disturbed by banging emerging from doors and floors.

Kisser

Location: Renishaw - Renishaw House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1909
Further Comments: In 1885, this spook woke a female guest to the house by kissing her in bed three times - the lady jumped up and turned on the light, only to find her locked bed chamber empty. Another guest a few years later watched a woman dressed in blue and white dart down a corridor, her arms outstretched, to promptly banish as the staircase was reached. An empty coffin was later found concealed under the staircase.

Man in Green

Location: Ripley - Butterley Station railway museum
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 6 May 1991
Further Comments: A visitor to the museum reported seeing a dark-haired man dressed in green clothing that looked like it was from the First World War. The entity sat in an old box coach, used mainly for storage because of bad condition. Other people have complained of a strange atmosphere in the car.

Young Boy

Location: Ripley - Cock Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: Strange sounds have been heard coming from empty parts of the hotel, and several staff have reported seeing a young lad with cigarette burns who quickly vanishes in the blink of an eye.

The Lawyer

Location: Rowarth - Aspinshaw Hall
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Seventeenth century
Further Comments: New tenants moved into the property after the death of the former occupier, a well-liked local lawyer. However, when the new residents started removing the lawyer's belongings, they found themselves subjected to poltergeist attack; bed sheets were pulled from the beds, and loud banging at night would prevent the new occupants from sleeping.

Pale Lady

Location: Rowarth - Long Lee Farm
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This phantom woman in white who once frequently walked through walls and closed doors may be connected to the 'Boggart Room', where an infant's coffin was stored to avoid paying Shroud Tax.

Soldier

Location: Rowsley - Rail station
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2004
Further Comments: Members of the Society for Paranormal Research claimed to have seen a man dressed in soldier's uniform walking along the track, only to vanish when they went to investigate.

Lancaster Bomber

Location: Rowsley - Road by an unnamed retail outlet
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 03 August 2015
Further Comments: Richard and Helen Jephson were reported in local news as having witnessed a Lancaster bomber which flew low and silent above them. They expected the aircraft to crash into a nearby wooded area, but it did not happen.

Kettle Boiler

Location: Sandiacre - Unnamed cottage
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: January 1964
Further Comments: The poltergeist in this home would knock tins off the shelves, move socks, and in one incident, plugged in and turned on the kettle after filling it with just enough water to make a pot of tea.

Records 251 - 268 of 268

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