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.
ID #5134, last updated 2004-05-18
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.
ID #1911, last updated 2002-07-21
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.
ID #1909, last updated 2002-07-21
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.
ID #1069, last updated 2002-06-03
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).
ID #1907, last updated 2002-07-21
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.
ID #1908, last updated 2025-06-22
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.
ID #7265, last updated 2007-04-11
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 the 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.
ID #1910, last updated 2002-07-21
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.
ID #2539, last updated 2002-10-03
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.
ID #1912, last updated 2025-06-22
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.
ID #1942, last updated 2002-07-22
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.
ID #13751, last updated 2020-05-06
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.
ID #15964, last updated 2025-06-22
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.
ID #1913, last updated 2002-07-21
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.
ID #15965, last updated 2025-06-22
Records 1 - 15 of 15
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