The Paranormal Database

Eilean Donan Castle, Scotland.

Spanish Mercenary

Location: Kyle of Lochalsh (Highland) - Eilean Donan Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Killed by an artillery bombardment, this Spanish soldier of fortune carries under his arm his head that was blown off by cannonball.

Revenue Man

Location: Lamberhurst (Kent) - Scotney Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Said to have been killed by Arthur Darrell (a previous owner of the castle), this agent of the Government now climbs out of the castle moat, dripping wet, and stalks the castle looking for revenge. Arthur Darrell's body was buried near the castle, and there are stories that say he turned up to his own funeral, his ghost saying, 'That isn't me!' before vanishing.

An old postcard of Lancaster Castle.

Women

Location: Lancaster (Lancashire) - Lancaster Castle (prison, closed 2011)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Stories from twentieth century, and experiences in 2008, 2010, 2023
Further Comments: This building is said to hold both prisoners and several ghosts. One person spotted a middle-aged woman with a young girl moving around near a cell, while another prisoner reported the young girl, but this time with a haggard old woman. The grey form of a monk, reportedly once hanged here, is another ghost seen. An inmate experienced a shadowy figure which walked past him and mild poltergeist effects in 2008, while in 2010 another prisoner was awoken by their bed violently shaking and the sound of horses' hooves. A ghost hunting team in May 2023 recorded EVP that said 'Thomas, Priest'.

White Woman

Location: Langley (Northumberland) - 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.

The 1st Duke of Lauderdale.

John Maitland

Location: Lauder (Borders) - Thirlstane Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The ghost of John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale, and those victims he murdered and tortured, remain earthbound within this castle.

Push

Location: Laugharne (Dyfed) - Laugharne Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: September 2006
Further Comments: A visitor to the castle reported being pushed as she climbed the stairs, and again on the way back down.

Cat Anna

Location: Leicester (Leicestershire) - Castle ruins
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Nineteenth century
Further Comments: The bogyman-like witch known as Cat Anna was said to live in the cellars of the ruined castle. It is likely that this legend and the story of Black Annis are connected.

Screaming

Location: Lendalfoot (Ayrshire) - Carleton Castle (ruins)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: It is unknown whether the screams belong to the first seven wives of a mad baron, who pushed them off a cliff to their deaths, or his, after the eighth wife managed to push him first.

Tall Man in Leather

Location: Leominster (Herefordshire) - Croft Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1920s
Further Comments: This figure, estimated to be at least seven-foot in height, was seen a couple of times in the castle. He quickly faded away in front of the witnesses.

Sir Andrew Bruce

Location: Leuchars (Fife) - Earlshall Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A veteran of the Battle of Flodden, Bruce was renowned for his ruthlessness in hunting down Covenanters, and it may be because of this attitude that he now remains earthbound at the castle. The other shade here is named as a servant woman.

Fairy Riders

Location: Limerick (County Limerick) - Carrigogunnell Castle
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Beneath the castle a company of fairies on horseback wait for the day they are needed. The site is also reputed to be home to a phantom woman who wanders around carrying a candle.

Cobb Hall, Lincoln.

Lady in Black

Location: Lincoln (Lincolnshire) - Cobb Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This horrid ghost reportedly once tried to push a young child down the staircase, saved only by the quick reflexes of the father who then watched the woman disappear.

Steep Hill, Lincoln.

Open the Gates!

Location: Lincoln (Lincolnshire) - Flat area at top of Steep Hill, outside castle gate
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1992 (horseman), and sometime between 2009 and 2012 (breath)
Further Comments: A night worker returning home early in the morning was unnerved as a man riding a black horse charged by him. As the rider approached the locked castle gates, he screamed 'Open the gates! Open the gates!' before vanishing near the still closed entrance. Another witness reported feeling breathing on the back of the neck, hearing strange footsteps and seeing shadows.

Observatory Tower in the Lincoln Castle.

Cold Presence

Location: Lincoln (Lincolnshire) - Observatory Tower, Lincoln Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: April 2004
Further Comments: A family reported a strange cold feeling come over them as they climbed this tower, and a photograph they took of the building revealed a strange figure. Several years previous, another pair of witnesses reported seeing two figures in front of them who vanished when they reached the top of the staircase.

The external wall of Lincoln Castle.

Clark's Dog

Location: Lincoln (Lincolnshire) - Outside Lincoln Castle walls
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This malnourished hound, once owned by a criminal hanged nearby, spent the rest of its life as a minor celebrity and now is occasionally spotted lurking around the castle walls.

The Victorian Prison within Lincoln Castle.

White Woman

Location: Lincoln (Lincolnshire) - Victorian Prison, Lincoln Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Woman unknown, footsteps in October 2003
Further Comments: This pale woman is thought to have been a former prisoner who died during her stay. Witnesses have also reported the sounds of doors slamming and keys jangling in the area. One witness heard footsteps and the rustling of a dress - when they looked around, no one could be seen.

White Dog

Location: Lindisfarne (aka Holy Island) (Northumberland) - 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.

An old painting showing Lindisfarne Castle.

St Cuthbert

Location: Lindisfarne (aka Holy Island) (Northumberland) - 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.

Princess

Location: Lismore Island (Argyll and Bute) - Area around Castle Coeffin
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The area was once haunted by a princess who had pined away after her Viking husband died in combat. The haunting stopped after her remains were taken to be buried with her husband's body.

Celtic Presence

Location: Llanelli (Dyfed) - Parc Howard (formerly known as Bryncaerau Castle)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The ghost that haunts this building is said to be connected to the Celtic Mound on which it was constructed; the phantom is reputed to manifest in the room above the main entrance. Tapping that is sometimes heard in the house is blamed on the ghost of a man who hid up the chimney many years ago - trying to meet his maid lover, the surprise return of the mistress of the house forced him up the flue where he became confused and lost, and some believe he is still there.

An old postcard showing Llanstephan Castle in Wales.

Candle Extinguisher

Location: Llanstephan (Dyfed) - Llanstephan Castle - tunnels under
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-twentieth century
Further Comments: Each time a particular secret tunnel was investigated, which led from the castle to a nearby mansion house, a ghostly wind sprung up and extinguished the candlelight at the exact same place each time.

Cursed Stairwell

Location: Loch Nell (Argyll and Bute) - Loch Nell Castle
Type: Curse
Date / Time: Still present?
Further Comments: The staircase was made from a tree considered holy, and a series of disasters befell all those who were involved in cutting it down and moving to the building. The castle is also home to phantom music.

The Bean-nighe, or Scottish washer-woman, standing waist deep in water. Image by Wayne Lowden.

Bean-nighe

Location: Lochbuie, Isle of Mull (Argyll and Bute) - River by Moy Castle
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: 1500s
Further Comments: The Bean-nighe is a Scottish spirit, an ill bringer who would be seen washing the clothes of those soon to die. This creature has long breasts, slung over her shoulders, and if she were grabbed from behind, the Bean-nighe would say to whom the clothes belonged; if yours, she could change fate. The owner of the castle, upon seeing the creature, tried to grab her but failed - he died in battle the following day. As if this entity were not enough to contend with, the area is haunted by a headless horseman.

Bad Architect

Location: Lochearnhead (Perth and Kinross) - Edinample Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Black Duncan Campbell threw an architect to his death from the roof of the castle after he failed to design and build a parapet. The phantom man is now reputed to haunt the roof.

White Lady

Location: Longforgan (Perth and Kinross) - HMP Castle Huntly, open prison
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Her white robes flowing as she walks, the white lady is said to leapt from the battlements to escape punishment after being caught with a manservant. A young boy that also haunts the site is thought to be Richard Paterson who drowned in the Tay in 1939.