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Lancashire Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana

Fox-Headed Creature

Location: Hale - Rivington Road
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 30 April 2012, 05:00h
Further Comments: Sue Langham reported seeing a creature around the size of a small dog with a fox-like head and muscular body. The witness said the animal was making the sound of a 'strangled wolf'. Earlier in the month the creature (or something similar) was spotted along Belmont Road.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2012-05-06 | Last updated: 2012-05-06 | ID #10869

Mary Holt

Location: Hale Altrincham - The Railway public house, Ashley Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early twenty-first century
Further Comments: A former landlady, Holt has been seen drifting along corridors in the building. She also moves heavy barrels in the basement at night.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2003-03-05 | Last updated: 2003-03-05 | ID #3953

Red Lights

Location: Halewood - General area
Type: UFO
Date / Time: 2003/2004
Further Comments: Seven red lights were seen bobbing up and down as they slowly moved across the sky before fading away. The witness was told the lights were actually 'light reflecting off migrating birds', although they had not seen this effect prior to the sighting or since. The village was considered a hotspot for UFO sightings during the early 2000s.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2020-10-27 | Last updated: 2020-10-27 | ID #13972

Bishop?

Location: Halewood - Old railway line, now cycle path, near Lydiate Lane Bridge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 30 October 1996, 21:00h
Further Comments: Three friends spotted a tall white wearing white clothing and a tall headpiece carrying a staff. The person slowly moved across the footpath in front of them, disappearing into bushes.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2009-06-14 | Last updated: 2009-06-14 | ID #9505

Railway Carriages

Location: Halsall - Disused railway bridge at a nature reserve
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: While videoing on the bridge, one man picked up the sounds of railway carriages running along the disused tracks, though nothing could be seen.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2005-08-02 | Last updated: 2005-08-02 | ID #6461


An old illustration of a cat.

Big Cat

Location: Hambleton - Sower Carr Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Invisible, large and friendly, this ghost cat would freak people out as it rubbed itself on their legs, trying to show affection.

Source: Historical Record, Published Media
First added: 2003-10-04 | Last updated: 2003-10-04 | ID #4624

Drowned Woman

Location: Hapton - Bridge House Inn, stables area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: The stables of the pub were once used to hold any bodies that were found in the canal behind the building - the ghost in question being a local woman who committed suicide in the nearby waters.

Source: Historical Record, Published Media
First added: 2003-08-31 | Last updated: 2003-08-31 | ID #4560

Young Child

Location: Haslingden - Bank House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s
Further Comments: The sounds of a child talking and running through the house were reported, and he was once seen in the basement. Another shade may also haunt the building, an older man dressed in black.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2003-10-25 | Last updated: 2003-10-25 | ID #4695

Two Dogs

Location: Haslingden - Greens Lane
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Winter at dusk, 2006 and 2007
Further Comments: Twice over a period of two years, one witness watched two phantom dogs run along this lane. One of the creatures, a black hound, is chased by the other dog. Both entities were slightly out of focus and ran thirty centimetres above the ground.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2008-05-12 | Last updated: 2008-05-12 | ID #8605

Old Lady

Location: Haslingden - Griffin Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: This spook has been known to play with the juke box and to generally create mischief.

Source: Published Media, User Submission
First added: 2003-10-25 | Last updated: 2003-10-25 | ID #4714

Emma Walton

Location: Haslingden - Tor View house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Emma was said to look like an old photograph that was slowly fading. Dressed in Victorian clothing, she would be seen in the bedrooms or climbing the stairs.

Source: Historical Record
First added: 2002-10-03 | Last updated: 2002-10-03 | ID #2531


A ghost on the riverbank is ready to ruin an evening.

Old Bailey

Location: Hesketh Bank - Newearth Lane and the nearby riverbank
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1900s? Riverbank haunting said to be on a Friday night (reoccurring).
Further Comments: Old Man Bailey was reported to be frequently heard cackling late at night, still looking for his son, Andrew Bailey, who locked him in a loft and left him there. In turn, Andrew is said to haunt the riverbank, scaring any young couples courting in the area.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2004-05-18 | Last updated: 2004-05-18 | ID #5137

Shapes

Location: Heskin - Private residence along Wood Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: In this household, doors were reported to open and close, radios would switch themselves on and off, and strange white shapes would be spotted.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2009-12-29 | Last updated: 2009-12-29 | ID #9757


What happens to a ghost if their house is destroyed?

White Lady

Location: Hey Houses - Fancy Lodge (no longer standing)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This small cottage was haunted by a lady in white, who would vanish if anyone came too close.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2003-10-26 | Last updated: 2003-10-26 | ID #4739

White Lady

Location: Higher Green - Peel Hall Farm
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The area around this farm was said to be haunted by a drifting white woman.

Source: Historical Record
First added: 2006-02-24 | Last updated: 2006-02-24 | ID #6726

Man in Black Cape

Location: Hindley - Police station, Castle Hill Road (closed 2007)
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: 2004, midday
Further Comments: An Education Welfare Officer asked to leave this police station after spotting a ghostly male figure in a black cape along a corridor. A police officer, the only other person in the building at the time, who questioned her about the sighting, reported the building was 'uncomfortable' for people working there.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2011-10-22 | Last updated: 2011-10-22 | ID #10607

Loud Knocker

Location: Hindley - Private house along Lancaster Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1969
Further Comments: Always starting at midnight, this ghost walked around the house knocking on each door in turn. The final rap would come from the front door at 2:30am sharp.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2005-03-19 | Last updated: 2005-03-19 | ID #5948

Edmund's Lie

Location: Hoarstones - Unknown house (or barn)
Type: Other
Date / Time: 1633
Further Comments: Ten year old Edmund Robinson's story about being abducted upon the back of a phantom horse, taken to a witch's house adorned with demonic effigies, and forced to participate in a ritual, resulted in the trial of nineteen women. Four died during the proceedings that ultimately acquitted all the women. Edmund later confessed his account was a lie.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2024-12-19 | Last updated: 2024-12-19 | ID #15727

St Bernard Dogs

Location: Hoddlesden - Main road through village
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: January 2007
Further Comments: A pair of St Bernard dogs were spotted by a man walking his own dogs. Concerned that their owner was nowhere in sight, the witness closely followed them around a corner, where they vanished. The man later found out that disappeared at the rear of the house where they once lived, even though the alleyway leading to the house had been closed off.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2007-12-02 | Last updated: 2007-12-02 | ID #8072

Poached Faries

Location: Hoghton - Hoghton Brow
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A local folktale says two poachers fled the area after finding their sack filled with fairies they had unintentionally caught instead of rabbits.

Source: Historical Record
First added: 2025-08-02 | Last updated: 2025-08-02 | ID #16012

Lady in Green

Location: Hoghton - Hoghton Tower
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: A female form adorned in green velvet has been observed walking around the building late at night, and the sound of dainty laughter has been heard. More recently, ghostly figures have been reported in woodland around the area.

Source: Published Media, User Submission
First added: 2002-09-23 | Last updated: 2002-09-23 | ID #2462


Rabbits and fairies living in harmony.

Fairy Tunnels

Location: Hoghton - Underground in the area
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The rabbits and fairies in this village are said to live side by side in the warrens.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2004-06-20 | Last updated: 2004-06-20 | ID #5187

Park Mistress

Location: Hornby - Windy Bank
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: An old poem spins the yarn of Meg Brackin. Out picking firewood at dusk, Meg came across the pale ghost of a woman - the shade dragged Meg around the countryside until the dawn broke.

Source: Historical Record
First added: 2003-10-04 | Last updated: 2003-10-04 | ID #4625

Boy in Old Fashioned Clothing

Location: Horwich - Private residence along Wallsuches Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1995-1996
Further Comments: Observed in the middle bedroom, this ghostly figure with blonde hair lay under a radiator staring into the room.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2004-11-18 | Last updated: 2004-11-18 | ID #5590

Horseman

Location: Horwich - Surrounding moors
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A wild horseman travels the desolate moors, looking for souls to take.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2003-10-06 | Last updated: 2003-10-06 | ID #4653

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