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Examining folkloric, paranormal & cryptozoological locations in the UK and beyond

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Cave Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana

Caves are not places to be explored lightly... this is a list of folklore and ghost stories - please ensure you do not become one of the latter.

Leg Breaking

Location: Swordle (Highland) - St Columba's Cave
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The site where Saint Columba baptised two criminals became a site of pilgrimage where travellers left offerings. One man who stole some of the gifts fell from his horse and broke his leg.


Pixies at home.

Pixie Home

Location: Torquay (Devon) - Kents Cavern (aka Kent's Cavern)
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: One of the stories the tour guides share is that the cave was once inhabited by pixies.

Way In

Location: Tunstead (Derbyshire) - Thor's Cave, Manifold Valley
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Wayne Anthony, in Haunted Derbyshire and the Peak District, writes that hidden within the cave is an entrance to the fairy kingdom, though one needs to possess second sight to find it. A ghostly Roman centurion is said to stand guard at the mouth of the cave.


A sleeping person in the hidden cave.

Person Asleep

Location: Tynemouth (Durham) - Wizard's Cave (exact location not known)
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The Wizard's Cave is said to contain a person who is in a magical sleep.

Paul Whitehead

Location: West Wycombe (Buckinghamshire) - West Wycombe Park, caves under the hill
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1781 onwards
Further Comments: West Wycombe was the location of a Hell-Fire Club, with Paul Whitehead a fully fledged and enthusiastic member. He has apparently found it hard to leave his membership behind post-mortem.

Concealed Treasure

Location: Whitchurch (Hereford & Worcester) - King Arthur's Cave
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: Arthur hid much of his loot in this cave, which Merlin then protected with a spell, ensuring the treasure would never be found.

Witch of Wookey

Location: Wookey Hole (Somerset) - Cavern
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Cottage haunting occurred 1947-1954, diver seen 1998
Further Comments: It was once believed that an old hag lived in this cave, cursing anyone who tried to visit her. She was finally turned to stone by a monk. A cottage on the site was briefly haunted by an old woman wearing black and white; the ghost vanished after the site was blessed by a vicar. A tour group in the cave in 1998 reportedly observed a figure in an old fashioned goldfish bowl helmet silently moving through the caves. When they checked with the tour guide the group was told it was the ghost of a diver who had been seen several times previous.

Giant Eel

Location: Wookey Hole (Somerset) - Flooded Caverns
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A huge eel, some ten metres in length was chased into this cave system by angry fishermen.

Dunny

Location: Wooler (Northumberland) - Cave in Cockenheugh Hills, and Fowberry Bridge (and occasionally Tower)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Either a former Border reiver or someone who committed suicide (or maybe both), this entity would manifest as a dun coloured horse and scour the area for his lost treasure.

Records 51 - 56 of 56

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