Rye Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana
Old Man in Black
Location: Rye - Bed & Breakfast, name withheld
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Summer 2002
Further Comments: A couple staying at this bed and breakfast reported seeing an old man dressed in black standing over their bed, looking angry and agitated. Both dismissed the shade as a dream until they spoke to each other the following morning and realised both had seen the ghost.
Man in Top Hat & Tails
Location: Rye - Fletchers House, Lions Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This old man has been seen on the landing, before heading off into the toilet and vanishing.
Shepherd
Location: Rye - Gibbet's Marsh
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Between midnight & 03:00h (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Seen several times around the early hours of the morning, this figure is watched as he walks across the field and heads towards the river.
Author Helper
Location: Rye - Lamb House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early twentieth century
Further Comments: One time home of Henry James, he claimed that the ghost of an old lady here gave him assistance whilst writing. Other owners have reported poltergeist like activity, and while sitting in the garden, EF Benson watched a caped man walk by before vanishing. One story says the building is also haunted by Allen Grebell, murdered by a butcher.
Duel
Location: Rye - Mermaid Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 29 October (duel) (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Several shades haunt this public house. A pair of ghostly duellers have been seen engaging each other with rapiers (the victor then drags the body through the hotel and drops it through a trapdoor), while a female figure dressed in grey haunts the upper part of the building. Room 5 is one of her haunts, while in rooms 10 and 18, a fading man has been seen entering and leaving (often through a wall).
Two Women
Location: Rye - Mermaid Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The two phantom women wearing long gowns have been observed walking down Mermaid Street. A lonesome girl in blue has been seen crossing the street.
Line of Monks
Location: Rye - Monastery Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late 1940s
Further Comments: The ghostly monks which haunted the hall and garden may have been related to several skeletons dug up in the garden; evidence pointed to the burials being performed on living people.
Footsteps
Location: Rye - Needles Passage, off Ports Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Echoing footsteps have been heard approaching witnesses as they walk down is passageway, though no one is visible as they pass. A local piece of folklore says it is unlucky to step on the stone with the date of construction unless you have already had your birthday that year.
Footsteps
Location: Rye - Reysons Farm
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1930s
Further Comments: Loud footsteps have been heard moving up and down the staircase in the farmhouse, and the phantom of a man has also been reported moving about the house at night.
Little Girl Lost
Location: Rye - The Union Inn, East Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Mid 1990s
Further Comments: Seen walking in the restaurant and kitchen of this old building, this phantom little girl is often mistaken for someone real. Other ghosts include a young woman in a red dress who was pushed down a staircase and a seaman in a blue jacket.
Gobbling Monk
Location: Rye - Turkey Cock Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This lane is apparently named after the sounds a monk made when he went mad; this was after he was bricked up alive for trying to elope. He is still seen on the odd occasion, though no longer heard.
Legs
Location: Rye - Unnamed cafe in the town
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2010s
Further Comments: A pair of disembodied, yellow stockinged legs, together with a glimpse of Edwardian shorts, were seen running up a staircase.
Boy in Sheet
Location: Rye - Watchbell Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The street is the haunt of a little boy dressed in a white sheet, while disembodied footsteps, thought to belong to a young girl, would once be heard.
Kitchen Ghost
Location: Rye - White Vine Hotel
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: November 1995 onwards
Further Comments: The kitchen has had its contents rearranged several times, and various food stuffs mixed up and hidden. Sometimes the activities migrate towards the bedrooms, though they always come back.
Lady in Grey
Location: Rye - Ye Olde Tuck Shop, Market Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A phantom lady in grey reputedly haunted this shop.
Records 1 - 15 of 15
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