Isle of Wight Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana
Maggie
Location: Brighstone - Three Bishops public house (was New Inn)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A former owner of the inn, Maggie is said to wander the site muttering under her breath and unlocking doors. Another story says she also stands by beds and slowly fades away.
Criminal
Location: Brighstone - Waytes Court Manor
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Criminals were said to have been hanged from an oak tree on the site, and now one of the men haunts the site.
Dog Walker
Location: Carisbrooke - Carisbrooke Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This grey lady has been seen walking her dog around the moat of this ruin - it is unknown whether the same spirit is also the face which has been seen down the well. The inside of the castle is also haunted, by another woman, this time in a long cloak, walking four, tiny dogs on chain leashes.
HMS Gladiator
Location: Colwell Bay - Off the coast
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Every ten years since April 1908, last seen Spring 1958
Further Comments: An islander who spotted an old ship on misty morning claimed it was HMS Gladiator, which sank in 1908. Some say that the ship is appears every ten years, though it is over half a century since the last report.
Vanishing Ship
Location: Compton Bay - Off coast
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: July 1959
Further Comments: An old three masted sailing ship was observed by a group of friends on the beach having a party. The ship headed towards the shore, only to vanish when only a few metres from the beach. Others who have seen it have named the ship as HMS Eurydice.
Harry
Location: Cowes - Anchor public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This lad hanged himself in the stables. Now a bar, his ghost still puts in an occasional appearance.
Soldier
Location: Cowes - Battery Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s
Further Comments: A soldier killed by a German bomb during the Second World War is reported to walk this area. A man walking his dogs encountered the ghost during the 1970s - the entity walked through a high hedge.
Jack
Location: Cowes - Model Railway Exhibition, Marine Court (no longer operating)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early summer (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Seen sitting near the shop, is it unknown whether this ghostly Jack Russell will return now the exhibition is closed. However, it has been reported that this story started as a joke to fool visitors, but quickly became part of local folklore.
Henry
Location: Cowes - Northwood House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A local smuggler, Henry is blamed for the sounds of barrels being rolled around the basement of this building.
Louis Philippe
Location: Cowes - Sir Max Aitken Museum, The Prospect
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: King Louis Philippe of France stayed at The Prospect after fleeing France. His ghost occasionally appears during parties on the site.
Children
Location: Cowes - Tree in Northwood Park
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Thought to be the ghosts of young boys who died of Spanish Flu in 1918, the ghosts of these lads remain in better days, playing around and climbing a large tree. The park is also said to be home to a phantom nun.
Bloody Footprints
Location: Cowes - Trinity Theatre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1940s onwards?
Further Comments: The red footprints that are said to appear along the floor of the auditorium could be those of a person who died during the Blitz. Mild poltergeist activity is also reported at the theatre.
Footsteps
Location: Cowes - Union Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A bearded man and a former fisherman's wife are believed to haunt this inn. Footsteps could once be heard climbing and descending the staircase every night, though it is unclear when this phenomenon ceased for good.
Ursula
Location: Cowes - Various buildings along Shooters Hill
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: Taking the form of a young, blonde haired girl in Victorian attire, this ghost has been known to move items from building to building.
Marquis of Anglesey
Location: Cowes - West Cowe Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The Marquis lived here until 1854 and is now blamed when locked doors are found open. A phantom soldier in old fashioned dress uniform also resides in a ground floor room.
Darting Lights
Location: Cowes - Yorkies Cafe
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: One lady staying here spotted fifteen small lights which danced around outside after dark. The same witness also reported being awoken by something tucking her feet and legs into bed at night, and watching her handbag levitating thirty centimetres into the air before dropping back to the floor.
House Party
Location: Downend - Area near Knighton Gorges
Type: Environmental Manifestation
Date / Time: 31 December knight seen (reoccurring), house reported in the twentieth century
Further Comments: A manor house has been seen in the area, a party in full flow visible through its windows. However, the house was demolished many years previous. Even when not seen, locals have reported hearing music coming from the site. A large black knight on horseback is still occasionally seen, once a year.
Michael Morey
Location: Downend - Burnt House Lane area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Michael Morey was hanged in a public gibbet opposite the Hare and Hounds inn for the murder of his grandson in 1735. His phantom is said to walk the roads in the area, carrying a large axe, his face nothing more than a grinning skull.
HMS Eurydice
Location: Dunnose Point - Off coast
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1998
Further Comments: The training ship HMS Eurydice went down on 24 March 1878 when she was caught unawares by a violent storm. The ship is still occasionally reported, and in 1998 a film crew with Prince Edward may have caught it on video.
Headless Airman
Location: East Cowes - Skies above area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Seen parachuting down from the skies, this decapitated airman is thought to date from the Second World War.
Julia Margaret Cameron
Location: Freshwater - Dimbola Lodge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: One of the most important photographers of the Nineteenth Century, Julia Margaret Cameron is said to still wander around her former home.
Horse and Carriage
Location: Freshwater - Farrington House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1946
Further Comments: A man out cycling at night reported hearing a horse galloping along - he heard it pass him by, but nothing could be seen. It is reported that a ghostly horse pulling a carriage heads towards the house, but never departs.
Soldier Sailor
Location: Freshwater - Golden Hill Fort
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Two ghosts have been seen around the area of the fort; a grinning sailor enjoys watching other people at work, and a First World War trooper who sometimes makes an appearance.
Footfalls
Location: Freshwater - Red Lion public house, Church Place
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Different owners have reported the sounds of booted feet moving across the floors in the building.
All Sorts
Location: Freshwater - Vine Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: According to the owners of the inn, all sorts of ghost sightings and strangeness have been reported over the years, although exact details are not known.
Quick Links
Contribute
South East
Calendar
Reports: Type
