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

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Devon Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana

Man in Red Coat

Location: Totnes - Bay Horse Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Seen near the bar, this silent stranger could easily be recognised by his bright red jacket. It was last seen by a retired policeman, who mistook it for a member of the public.

White Lady

Location: Totnes - Dartington Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Mostly unknown, but cloaked figure circa March 1995
Further Comments: This pale figure is said to be one of several ghosts reported here over the years, normally seen in the garden. A woman who starved to death in a bedroom and an old nurse also continue to reside here, while a headless horseman has been reported just outside the grounds of the building. In 1995 a member of staff spotted a glowing man wearing a cloak who faded away.

White Lady

Location: Totnes - Dartington Hall and Shinner's Bridge area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A phantom woman dressed in white is reputed to haunt this area.


An old postcard of Totnes in Devon.

Gog and Magog

Location: Totnes - General area
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Gog and Magog were giants (or one giant, depending on the source) who once lived in this area before Brutus, leader of the Trojans, fought them. Brutus either spared their lives and used them to guard his palace or drowned them in the sea.

Mary Brown

Location: Totnes - Kingsbridge Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s
Further Comments: A former barmaid here, Mary was killed by the landlord after a brief affair with him - it is said she only appears to other women.


Totnes' ghostly grey lady.

Grey Lady

Location: Totnes - Leechwell Street area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This entity, possibly a nun, has been reported along several streets in the town.

Presence

Location: Totnes - Police station
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2002-2007 (approx)
Further Comments: After the old cells at this police station were closed, they were used as storerooms. In these storerooms a few police officers reported feeling they were not alone, and the door to the rear car park could be heard opening and closing.

Brown Shapes

Location: Totnes - Totnes Guild Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 27 September 2011
Further Comments: A series of photographs uploaded by 'TheAnnekelly' on to YouTube shows two brown shapes moving around the living room. The images were shot in darkness, using a flash through a window, so the possibility remains that the shapes are insects on the glass.

Rapturous Applause

Location: Totnes - White Hart, Dartington Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late 1990s, after midnight
Further Comments: Staff closing the site for the night have heard clapping and murmuring emerge from the empty great hall. When the site was checked, it was empty and locked.

Nun

Location: Trusham - Cridford Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: When on the market in 2018, one selling point of this pub was a nun and a Cavalier which are both reputed to haunt the site.

Growing Hound

Location: Uplyme - Lane near Black Dog public house
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The black dog here increases in size until it matches the height of the local trees, after which it turns into vapour and vanishes. A local tale reports it haunted a farmhouse that once stood nearby - the farmer once chased the dog away, and it vanished into the ceiling of one of the rooms; on examination, he found much gold hidden in the roof where it disappeared.

Old Woman

Location: Uplyme - The Rectory
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1873
Further Comments: Haunted by an old lady, the figure was seen sitting by the fireplace and moving along corridors by the Reverend Brooke de Malpas Egerton. When he contacted the former residents, they named the apparition as their mother.

Stagecoach

Location: Uplyme - Whitty Hill area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s
Further Comments: This black and red coach is still drawn along the roads, pulled by four phantom horses.

Square Cabel

Location: Wallaford - General area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Escorted by hell hounds, the squire travels in his coach in the area.

Sir Walter Giffard

Location: Weare Giffard - Weare Giffard Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Looking for his deceased wife, Sir Walter searches the area between the house and the churchyard. It is unclear whether it is he who has been warning people to leave the area late at night...

Henry and Elizabeth

Location: Westward Ho! - Pier House Restaurant
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2023
Further Comments: The restaurant and its resident ghosts appeared in the national press after a fire broke out in the basement, destroying wo tumble dryers and a washing machine. Two days prior to the fire, the ghosts of Henry and Elizabeth had featured in the television programme 'Help! My House is Haunted'.

Shaggy Dog

Location: Widecombe-in-the-Moor - Cator Common near the town
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The witness who interacted with this ghost said it looked like a normal dog, but it vanished as she reached to pat it.


The Devil turns up for his dues.

Storm

Location: Widecombe-in-the-Moor - Parish church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: October 1638
Further Comments: A terrible storm descended on the village during a church service - the sky turned black, a ball of fire entered the church, and parts of the tower broke away. Several people died, including a man by the name of Jan Reynolds who some claimed was taken away by the Devil (possibly on horseback) as punishment for falling asleep (or playing cards) during the sermon (or previously selling his soul).

Sobbing

Location: Widecombe-in-the-Moor - The Old Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: The crying has been blamed on an unseen child, who haunts one of the rooms upstairs. An older gentleman reportedly walks the ground floor of the public house, vanishing when he reaches the kitchen.


Devon dragons.

Brace of Dragons

Location: Winkleigh - General area
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: Seventeenth century?
Further Comments: Several dragons were reported to live in the area, though nothing more is known about their activities.

Gambling Men

Location: Wonson - Manor House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: These four shades sit round a table and play cards. None of them are thought to be the same entity which tucks people into bed at night.

Bearded Sailor

Location: Wonson - Northmore Arms
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Little is known about this entity.

Woman in Long Dress

Location: Woody Bay - Martinhoe Manor
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Mid 1990s
Further Comments: The shadowy figure of an old woman wearing a grey dress has been seen at least twice and photographed once.


An old woodcut of Thomas Becket being murdered.

Young Lady

Location: Woolacombe - Beach
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Weather Dependent: Stormy weather (de Tracey), early twentieth century (woman)
Further Comments: This woman dressed in white has been observed drifting along the beach, passing effortlessly over hazardous areas of sand. Sir William de Tracey also spends time on the beach, sorting sand as penance for the murder of Thomas Becket. When a storm rolls in and blows his work away, he can be heard screaming.

Large Figure

Location: Woolacombe - Grass embankment opposite the Old Mill Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 28 October 2006
Further Comments: A large dark figure was reported standing by this embankment. The figure briefly moved from view but never reappeared from behind the embankment.

Records 401 - 416 of 416

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