The Paranormal Database

Burgh Castle, Norfolk.

Old Scarfe

Location: Burgh Castle (Norfolk) - Ruined Castle
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The shuck is known locally as Old Scarfe, named after Baron Rudolf Scarfe who was a thirteenth century villain who lived near the castle. Old Scarfe haunts the castle grounds and the Yarmouth Road, his single eye glowing red and yellow.

Sounds of Fighting

Location: Burgh Castle (Norfolk) - Roman castle
Type: Environmental Manifestation
Date / Time: 27 April (fighting) (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Once a year the sounds of clashing swords and Roman and Saxon screaming can be heard in this area. Another ghost reportedly observed here during dark nights is a figure that plummets from the ramparts.

Geoffrey de Mandeville

Location: Burwell (Cambridgeshire) - Ruins of Burwell Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Weather Dependent: Windy nights
Further Comments: Killed while trying to storm the castle with a gang of thieves and robbers, de Mandeville dying words can sometimes be heard on the wind.

King Arthur

Location: Cadbury (Somerset) - Cadbury Castle, and road between North Barrow and South Barrow villages
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 20 June (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Escorted by mounted knights carrying lances, King Arthur of the Britons traverses this route back to Camelot (as Cadbury is thought to be) on this day in June. One witness said that on 23 June 1995 they encountered an armoured man (more dark age than medieval) holding a standard on horseback - the figure disappeared around a corner, though there was no place that he could have gone. One legend says a door opens every seven years in the hillside so that Arthur and his company can leave to feed their horses.

Dark Lady

Location: Caergwrle (Clwyd) - Caergwrle Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: This female form has been seen slowly moving around the grounds of the old castle; her feet several centimetres clear of the soft earth below.

Caernarfon Castle in the 1960s.

Floating Lady

Location: Caernarfon (Gwynedd) - Caernarfon Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2001
Further Comments: This shade, sometimes seen drifting down the corridors, is thought to be responsible for messing around with electrical equipment left out at night. A photograph was taken by a tourist in 2001 shows a blue misty form in the courtyard.

Dark Disc

Location: Caernarfon (Gwynedd) - Skies over the castle
Type: UFO
Date / Time: September 2015
Further Comments: A dark disc-like object was filmed flying over the castle.

An old postcard of Caerphilly Castle.

Old Hag

Location: Caerphilly (Mid Glamorgan) - Caerphilly Castle
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: Marks a death in the de Clares family
Further Comments: Once owners of the building, the de Clares family were haunted by a Gwrach-y-rhibyn, warning them about an imminent death in the family. Now they have moved away, the ghost is still seen - drifting towards the castle only to disappear once she enters the ruins. A figure dressed in red also haunts the building.

Coach Circling the Courtyard

Location: Caister-On-Sea (Norfolk) - Caister Castle, one mile west of Caister-On-Sea
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: Warning of a death in the family
Further Comments: Warning about the encroaching death of a family member, a horse drawn hearse driven by a headless horseman passes through the gates of the castle and circles the courtyard seven times.

Warning Voice

Location: Callaly (Northumberland) - Callaly Castle, old foundations
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: During the castle's construction on the planned site, the walls collapsed and a disembodied voice announced that the structure should be built elsewhere - the advice was taken, and the building work went uninterrupted. Another version of the story has a more prosaic slant and suggests a lady requested her servant dress in a boar skin and knock down the construction at night; the superstitious builders reported the figure to be monstrous, which forced the construction to move to the site the lady preferred. The new castle is plagued by mysterious sounds, thought to be created by a phantom priest.

An old postcard of Hadleigh Castle on Canvey Island.

The White Lady & The Black Man

Location: Canvey Island (Essex) - Hadleigh Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1840s onwards
Further Comments: No recent sightings of these figures have been reported, and locals accept them as being little more than smuggler's stories told to inspire fear. The white lady is said to offer to dance with anyone she came upon during her walks, while the black man offered to buy souls in return for a song. The White Lady was seen around 1917 by a group of men out partying - one of them chased after the figure with a large stick, but the apparition disappeared before he reached it.

James Murrell Gathering Herbs

Location: Canvey Island (Essex) - Hadleigh Castle, Little Norman Church area?
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: 'Cunning' Murrell, the local wise man/warlock, died in 1860 and was buried at the church. His ghost has been reported in this area, picking herbs and placing them in a basket.

Cardiff Castle, Wales.

Coach

Location: Cardiff (South Glamorgan) - Cardiff Castle
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: Coach last seen 1868
Further Comments: A coach is reportedly heard when a member of the Hastings family is due to die. At the castle it was heard by John Boyle, the night his cousin the Marquis Hastings died. Other ghosts reported to haunt the castle include the second Marques of Bute (who walks through several walls), a faceless woman in a long skirt who is known as Sarah, and a three metre tall giant who walks around the park.

White Lady

Location: Cardiff (South Glamorgan) - Castell Coch
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A 'new' building on the site of thirteenth century ruins, the White Lady once haunted the older area, and now has set up shop in the replacement castle. The woman is said to have died of a broken heart after her son drowned in a local pond. There is also reported to be a buried hoard of treasure here, zealously protected by either three eagles or an entity who confuses any potential gold thieves, while an ethereal cavalier walks the castle grounds.

Jock Barefut

Location: Careston (Angus) - Castle and general area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Hanged for stealing a branch from the laird's favourite tree, Jock's swinging shade is sometimes seen dangling from trees in the neighbourhood, when not running through the castle.

Carisbrooke Castle, Isle of Wight.

Dog Walker

Location: Carisbrooke (Isle of Wight) - 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.

An old photograph of Carlingford Castle.

Henrietta Travescant

Location: Carlingford (County Louth) - Carlingford Castle and Abbey ruins
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: A pirate before taking up the residency of Abbess, this woman is thought to be one of the pair of shades seen within the ruins.

An old postcard of Carlisle Castle.

White Woman

Location: Carlisle (Cumbria) - Carlisle Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1842
Further Comments: A soldier on guard duty challenged this fabled phantom woman; she faded in front of him and he died of shock several hours later. It is believed the ghost may have belonged to a body found in 1835, bricked up in a castle wall.

Buttoncap

Location: Carrickfergus (County Antrim) - Carrickfergus Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Affectionately known as Buttoncap, named after the large button worn on his headdress, this spooky soldier haunts a small area near an old well. Another version of the story says the ghost can be found in the well. The soldier's life ended when he was executed after being falsely accused of sleeping with his commanding officer's wife.

Dotty Clotty

Location: Carrigrohane (County Cork) - Carrigrohane Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: While visiting the family, Uncle Lindsay awoke one morning to see a phantom woman dressed in an old fashioned blue gown standing next to his bed. The family later told him the ghost was that of Lady Clotilda, nicknamed Dotty Clotty.

An old postcard of Threave Castle in Scotland.

Talking

Location: Castle Douglas (Dumfries and Galloway) - Threave Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The sounds of phantom conversation have been reported.

Stable Boy

Location: Castledermot (County Kildare) - Kilkea Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2020s
Further Comments: A stable boy, killed after being discovered in the bedroom of the owner's daughter, still walks around the building looking for his former girlfriend. The castle also carries stories about being haunted by a former wizard who once resided there, who remains in a trance under the structure (although another variation of the story says he returns to the castle every seven years riding a white horse with silver shoes). More recently, a groundsman spotted a woman and a child heading running along the avenue towards the castle - the figures suddenly vanished. Shadowy figures and disembodied voices have also been reported.

Begging Boy

Location: Castlelyons (County Cork) - Old Castle ruins
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This sad little figure is said to move around begging for his life to be saved. He was murdered by a former owner of the castle for misbehaving.

Knight in White

Location: Castleton (Derbyshire) - Peveril Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The knight has been observed standing by the keep, while his riderless horse trots around nearby. Banging and clanking has been reported in the castle after dark, with searches revealing no apparent source.

An old postcard of Peveril Castle in Derbyshire.

Black Dog

Location: Castleton (Derbyshire) - Peveril Castle
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A shuck is said to walk the area near the castle, while a phantasmic knight stands motionless on the ramparts. Author Wayne Anthony reports that an old lady and a phantom horse have also been reported in the area.