Location: Holystone - Well of St Ninian
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Nineteenth century
Further Comments: Pins would be left here, although it is not clear whether they were for wishes or healing purposes.
The source of Child Ballad Lamkin?
Location: Horsley - Nafferton Tower (only ruins remain)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A local man known only as Long Lamkin coldly murdered a woman and her child in the region. His shade sometimes is seen briefly in the area. The story may have been the inspiration for the Child Ballad Lamkin (number 93). As an aside, a nearby pool was reputedly bottomless.
Location: Humbleton - General area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A phantom hare which ran around the area would once be hunted by locals, but it could never be killed.
Location: Humshaugh - Unidentified farmer's field
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A farmer ploughing the field heard a fairy cry 'I've broken my staff!'. The farmer offered to fix the staff, and having done so, found bread and butter left out for him the following day.
Location: Ilderton - Threestoneburn (aka Three Stone Burn)
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Even though only a handful of stones can now be seen, it was reported that there were once twelve stones, but only eleven could be seen. If anyone could find the twelfth, they would have been rewarded with riches.
Location: Key Heugh (aka Sandy Crag) - Well (not known if still in existence)
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Nineteenth century
Further Comments: A well on this site was littered with pins left by visitors who hoped their wishes would be heard.
Location: Kielder - Kielder Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2003
Further Comments: Two overnight German tourists fled the castle and drove away after the temperature dropped suddenly and they found themselves surrounded by non-descript voices and shuffling feet. Other ghosts reported here include a serving girl who may have been murdered by a footman, and a hunter whose rifle backfired.
Location: Langley - Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Singing has been reported coming from the building when it is empty, and a ghostly woman dressed in white has also been seen. This entity may be the same as the grey lady reportedly seen in the chapel.
Location: Lilburn - Crossroads
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Two ghosts were said to haunt this area. A man with his head under his arm rode upon a dun coloured horse, while at other times a phantom woman would appear, wringing her hands.
Location: Lindisfarne (aka Holy Island) - Causeway
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1962
Further Comments: This monk is thought to be one of many brothers killed after the Danes raided the island in 793 AD. He now stands watching out for another sneak attack. Two holiday makers spotted the monk as he faded away on the sands.
Location: Lindisfarne (aka Holy Island) - Church
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: June 2019
Further Comments: A witness spotted many nuns praying in the church. Mentioning it to a nearby woman, the witness was told the church was empty; no one else had seen the nuns and there was no evidence they had existed.
Location: Lindisfarne (aka Holy Island) - General area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A nun who fell in love with a knight, only to be killed for her sins, is said to haunt the island.
An old painting showing Lindisfarne Castle.
Location: Lindisfarne (aka Holy Island) - Lindisfarne Castle
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Seen sitting in the ruins, and along the beach of Holy Island, St Cuthbert is dressed in the traditional brown habit of monks. His ghost makes holes in the stones, known locally as St Cuthbert's Beads, which bestow luck to their wearer.
Location: Lindisfarne (aka Holy Island) - Lindisfarne Castle
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This large hound is said to jump from the castle ruins at people, before slinking back from where it came.
Location: Longframlington - Brinkburn Priory
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A piece of local folklore says a hunter and hounds who upset the occupants of the priory were entombed alive beneath the site. A farmer who stumbled across an enchanted doorway entered and spotted the sleeping hunter but was forced to flee when the door began to close on its own accord. It was also said the last of the fairies were buried near the priory (but not in the same place as the hunter), and that the site is home to a 'terrible monk'.
Location: Longframlington - Rookwood House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1974-1978
Further Comments: A former occupier of this house recalled how the smell of snuffed candles filled the air during the summer months and the scent of roses could be detected during winter. Lights would be turned on and off by an unseen hand, and a presence could be felt sitting on a bed at night (once mistaken as an actual person).
Location: Longhorsley - Site of old fair
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A Netherwitton man was charged with raising a fairy child and given an ointment with which he was to wash the child's eyes. Curiosity overtook the man and he washed one of his own eyes with the ointment. While visiting the Longhorsley fair, the man spotted the fairy child's parents and greeted them. Surprised to have been seen by the man, the fairies asked which eye could see them. The man pointed to the eye and one of the fairies blew into it, permanently blinding him.
Location: Longwitton - Three wells near village
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This wyrm is said to have found the water from the wells so refreshing he set up home here. The creature was described as having a black tongue, long tail, warty skin, and very sharp claws. It was finally killed by Sir Guy of Warwick.
Location: Meldon - Between Meldon and Hartington Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: After dark, seven years on, seven years off
Further Comments: Meg of Meldon had a reputation for being a ruthless miser, a canny businesswoman, and a witch. Her ghost was said to travel from the village to her former home, resting for seven years every seven years. Her spirit was once seen in the form of a little dog close to a bridge but was more likely to take the form of a pretty woman or flickering lights of many colours. Another part of her legend says that Meg hid her treasure around the area, within wells, in ceilings, and close to Meldon tower.
Location: Meldon - Unnamed field containing standing stone
Type: Other
Date / Time: Pre-nineteenth century
Further Comments: James Gillies has three dreams which involved discovering a hoard of treasure buried under a stone. Alas, he told several people of his dream, and when he finally found time to go and look under the stone, all he found was a hole and evidence that the hidden treasure had recently been taken.
Location: Millfield - Coupland Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1940s
Further Comments: Appearing in the form of white mist, this haunting manifestation also woke all in the building up several times with her unearthly screams, and thunderous running footsteps. The woman reportedly killed herself by jumping off the battlements.
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Location: Morpeth - Mitford Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: An old phantom warrior haunts this castle. Waving a sword in one hand, the other hand holds a bloody head which continues to scream.
Location: Newbiggon on Sea - Old RAF base
Type: UFO
Date / Time: September 1942
Further Comments: A soldier once based here alleged, in later life, to have been abducted while on guard duty at the base. Remembering the abduction from his dreams, the man claimed he fell unconscious after being hit by a thin beam of light.
Location: Newminster - Newminster Abbey (private site)
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A stone coffin was nicknamed 'The Trough of the Maid of Meldon' and its water said to be good at healing warts and backpain (although it was also used by cattle). Some also believed it was haunted by Meg of Meldon, although you required 'the sight' to perceive her.
Location: North Shields - A1058 between town centre and Willington
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: It is said that the woman murdered someone and tried to confess her crime to the monk - he refused to hear her, so she committed suicide. The monk felt so guilt that he took his own life shortly afterwards. The female ghost is said to wear a grey cloak with grey shadows in place of eyes.