The Paranormal Database

Black Mist

Location: Alloway (Ayrshire) - Kirk
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-1939
Further Comments: Two American tourists fled the area after encountering a dark mist that drifted towards the ruined kirk. They reported the mist created a sound like a barrel being rolled along the road. Likely contenders for more ghosts to be found here include a woman who committed suicide, a tramp found dead on the site, and a murdered child.

Source: Historical Record
First added: 2007-08-27   Last updated: 2007-08-27   ID: #7871

Wallace

Location: Ardrossan (Ayrshire) - Castle Hill
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Weather Dependent: Stormy nights
Further Comments: An old haunt during his life, it is only fitting it should become one for Sir William Wallace after death.

Source: Historical Record, Published Media
First added: 2003-02-18   Last updated: 2003-02-18   ID: #3900

One Armed Man

Location: Ayr (Ayrshire) - Alloway Street, and public house at top
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Seen around this area, and sometimes further away, this man with a bloody stump is thought to have lost his arm when attacked by an angry mob.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2003-01-23   Last updated: 2003-01-23   ID: #3694

Misty Figure

Location: Ayr (Ayrshire) - Tower of St John's
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 22 March (reoccurring)
Further Comments: It is unsure whether this grey man is a builder, friar or warrior.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2003-05-31   Last updated: 2003-05-31   ID: #4249

Gelert, by Daniel Maclise.

Black Dog

Location: Ayr (Ayrshire) - Wooded areas
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Mistakenly blamed for killing a child, it was later discovered that the dog had tried to defend the infant from a wolf (a la Gelert). However, this hound was less forgiving for its former master's murderous action and now runs around the dense woodland.

Source: Historical Record
First added: 2003-04-02   Last updated: 2003-04-02   ID: #4069

Grey Lady

Location: Brodick (Ayrshire) - Killmichael County House Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Little is known about the smoky female shade which haunts the hotel.

Source: Needs Review
First added: 2004-06-20   Last updated: 2004-06-20   ID: #5206

A stylised cast-iron mermaid.

Mermaid Curse

Location: Colmonell (Ayrshire) - Knockdolian Castle
Type: Curse
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The mistress of the castle ordered the destruction of a black rock which stood just a short distance away, to prevent a mermaid sitting upon it and singing. As revenge, the mermaid cursed the family, ensuring they all died without leaving an heir for the estate.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2004-08-22   Last updated: 2004-08-22   ID: #5400

Witch

Location: Craigie (Ayrshire) - Dead tree (exact area not known)
Type: Curse
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: With her dying breath, a witch hanged from this tree cursed the area around it, ensuring nothing would ever grow.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2019-12-07   Last updated: 2019-12-07   ID: #13446

Dropped by a Witch

Location: Craigie (Ayrshire) - Witches Stone (no longer present)
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A witch picked up this large stone, placing it in her apron and flying towards the church, with the intent of dropping it on the building. Before reaching her target, one of her apron strings snapped, and the rock fell. The stone was later blown up by a farmer and removed.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2019-12-07   Last updated: 2019-12-07   ID: #13445

Flying Saucer with Lights

Location: Crosshouse (Ayrshire) - Sky above the village
Type: UFO
Date / Time: 2013
Further Comments: A mother thought her daughter had been attacked after hearing her screaming along the road. As she ran inside, the mother received a call from the mother of her daughter's friend who said that they had seen a flying saucer with coloured lights around it. The mother ran outside and spotted the object in the sky.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2015-01-04   Last updated: 2015-01-04   ID: #11690

Footsteps

Location: Cumnock (Ayrshire) - Tup Inn (now Jenny Tear's)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s
Further Comments: Several times the owner heard footsteps in the room above him, although the room was always empty when he investigated.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2010-04-11   Last updated: 2010-04-11   ID: #9875

White Lady

Location: Dailly (Ayrshire) - Dalquharran Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: One newspaper claimed this ruined building to be haunted by a woman who fell from the battlements holding her child. Despite being referred to as a legend, the story appears to be a more recent tradition.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2025-08-25   Last updated: 2025-08-25   ID: #16028

Male Figure

Location: Dalry (Ayrshire) - B708 just outside of town
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 08 February 2014 and April 2015
Further Comments: In 2014, a driver braked as a stooped, grey male figure walked out in front of their car. The driver put their headlights on full beam, but the figure had vanished. Just over a year later, another witness in a car spotted a hooded figure sitting by the roadside. When the witness stopped to see if the figure was okay, it had vanished.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2014-04-27   Last updated: 2014-04-27   ID: #11529

White Worm

Location: Dalry (Ayrshire) - Mote Hill
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A local blacksmith eventually killed this beast by constructing a suit of armour covered with retractable spikes. The creature swallowed the smith whole who then wriggled so violently that the monster's intestines were ripped to shreds.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2006-02-22   Last updated: 2006-02-22   ID: #6711

Bum Pincher

Location: Dundonald (Ayrshire) - Castleview public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: December 2004
Further Comments: Owners of this pub called in paranormal investigators after staff reported having their bottoms pinched by an invisible assailant. Disembodied footsteps were also heard on site.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2005-01-02   Last updated: 2005-01-02   ID: #5745

Tall Hairy Man

Location: Dundonald (Ayrshire) - Dundonald castle area
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 1994
Further Comments: While out with her dogs, a holiday maker saw a three metre tall man, with red glowing eyes and long grey hair that covered his body. The creature moved away, and the woman thought it better not to pursue.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2003-01-22   Last updated: 2003-01-22   ID: #3681

John Knox

Location: Galston (Ayrshire) - Cessnock Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Quoting religious texts, Knox is said to walk around the castle grounds.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2003-05-25   Last updated: 2003-05-25   ID: #4224

White Woman

Location: Galston (Ayrshire) - Loudon Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Prior to the outbreak of the Second World War
Further Comments: Though not seen recently, the stories of the white lady still exist.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2003-05-31   Last updated: 2003-05-31   ID: #4290

Lady Flora Hastings

Location: Galston (Ayrshire) - Loudon Kirk
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 25 March 2011
Further Comments: The Ayrshire Paranormal Investigation team reported photographing a dark grey shadow by a tree during a stake out of this area. The team also detected the smell of old perfume or scented oil, heard whispering voices and spotted a flicking light by a gravestone.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2011-04-26   Last updated: 2011-04-26   ID: #10299

Dead Sea Serpent

Location: Girvan (Ayrshire) - Off coast
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: August 1953
Further Comments: When fishermen discovered the rotting body of a creature just under ten metres in length, possessing a head of a camel and a neck resembling a giraffe's, the media immediately compared the creature with the Loch Ness Monster. However, natural history scientists dismissed the creature as either a decaying whale or basking shark.

Source: Historical Record, Published Media
First added: 2004-08-13   Last updated: 2004-08-13   ID: #5291

An illustration of Brodick Castle from the book The Antiquities of Arran.

Grey Lady

Location: Isle of Arran (Ayrshire) - Brodick Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The grey lady is thought to have died from the plague in 1700 - she was locked in the basement to ensure no one else contracted the disease. A man in a green jacket is also reported to haunt the library, while an albino deer appeared twice in the twentieth century, both times coinciding with the death of the head of the Hamilton Family.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2002-08-31   Last updated: 2002-08-31   ID: #2383

Mushroom

Location: Isle of Arran (Ayrshire) - Skies over area
Type: UFO
Date / Time: 05 February 1985
Further Comments: High in the sky, this mushroom-shaped object was said by the witness to be bright blue underneath. The UFO was also seen by the witness's wife and two daughters.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2008-05-16   Last updated: 2008-05-16   ID: #8628

Man Eaten

Location: Isle of Arran (Ayrshire) - Thirty miles (south?) from Island
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 08 February 1827
Further Comments: A Quebec trading vessel claimed to have had a man consumed by a sixty-foot (18.3 metre) long serpent, as thick as a hogshead cask.

Source: Historical Record
First added: 2023-05-23   Last updated: 2023-05-23   ID: #14929

Floating Head

Location: Isle of Arran (Ayrshire) - Unidentified 'nice' house (on east shore?)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 1730
Further Comments: A family of five and their servants staying in a house on the island were awoken by bangs and cracks. Several of the family spotted a floating male head moving across the ceiling, his face looking down at them. The family fled as soon as a boat could be acquired.

Source: Historical Record
First added: 2023-02-05   Last updated: 2023-02-05   ID: #14785

Resting Creature

Location: Isle of Arran (Ayrshire) - Unknown beach on the island
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: July 1931
Further Comments: This sea monster was observed resting on rocks - it was described as looking like a seal, though it had a parrot-like beak and was bigger than an elephant.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2003-06-28   Last updated: 2003-06-28   ID: #4389