The Paranormal Database

Water Monster

Location: Dolgellau (Gwynedd) - Lly Cynwch
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Once home to a strange water creature which could paralyse with its gaze, a legend tells of a brave farmer who took its head off with an axe blow as it rested. The monster was buried on the mountainside.

Buried Wyrm

Location: Drakelow (Derbyshire) - Winlatter Rock
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: Circa 772?
Further Comments: A dragon is mentioned in a document dating to 772 as being buried in a prehistoric tumulus.

Great Worm

Location: East Horndon (Essex) - East Horndon churchyard
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This dragon was discovered hiding amongst the tombs of the churchyard; it was finally slain by Sir James Tyrell. Some reports say the dragon lived in the nearby woods.

Carving of a griffin.

Griffin

Location: Farnworth, Widnes (Cheshire) - General area
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The village blacksmith killed a griffin that threatened the safety of this community.

An old woodcut of a long snake-like serpent.

Wyrm

Location: Fatfield (Durham) - Lambton Castle and grounds, Worm Hill
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: 1400s?
Further Comments: The Lambton worm, sounding more like a very large snake, took up residence here and terrorised the locals - on returning from the crusades, a young and noble member of the Lambton fought the creature and won; but only by wearing spiked armour that impaled the creature as it wrapped itself around him.

Ghostly Dragon

Location: Faygate (Sussex) - Wooded areas
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Many years ago, before the construction of the road and railway, a large lizard creature was said to reside here. It possessed qualities more like a ghost than a physical creature.

Hissing Creature

Location: Fittleworth (Sussex) - General area
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: 1867
Further Comments: A worm was reputed to live in this area, rushing out to hiss at anyone who passed its lair.

An old postcard showing La Hougue Bie on Jersey.

Slay Lie

Location: Grouville (Jersey) - La Hougue Bie
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Local lord Seigneur de Hambye killed a dragon in the marshes close to here but was then murdered by his squire. The squire took credit for killing the monster, and claimed the beast had killed de Hambye, but not before his former master requested that the squire marry his widow. Fortunately, the squire would sleep talk, and it was not too long before the truth slipped from his lips in the marital bed. He was hanged for murder. Seigneur de Hambye was buried under La Hougue Bie.

Wealthy Dragon

Location: Gunnarton Fell (Northumberland) - Gunnarton Castle, aka Money Hill
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: It is thought that the wyrm which established its home in the hill brought with him a great deal of treasure.

An old woodcut of a dragon breathing fire.

Dragon's Lair

Location: Handale (Yorkshire) - Scaw Wood
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Living off maidens and the odd monk, the dragon was finally slain when a man wearing heat proof armour stabbed him through the neck. As a reward, he married the surviving maiden discovered in the lair.

Dropper of Fire

Location: Helston (Cornwall) - General area
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A large rock on the outskirts of this town is said to have been dropped by a huge dragon as it passed overhead.

Basking Dragon

Location: Henham (Essex) - Field near Henham
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: May 1669 (or 1699)
Further Comments: The nine foot long dragon with 'eyes as big as a sheep's' once spent a few days basking in a field in this area, before taking leave (chased away by concerned villagers). The creature caused no damage and remained a popular local character until quite recently. Another version of the tale is not so dragon-friendly; the creature lived in a cave and would venture out at night to eat cattle and sheep - it only stopped when the cave roof collapsed, trapping the creature within.

An old woodcut of a wingless dragon.

Long Wyrm

Location: Holford (Somerset) - Shervage Wood
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This wood was once the home of a long dragon, which caused some concern prior to being hacked apart by a forester.

The cover of an old booklet showing the Horsham Dragon.

Poisonous Dragon

Location: Horsham (Sussex) - St Leonard's Forest
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: 1614 (dragon), eighteenth century (headless figure)
Further Comments: This wooded area was home to a nine foot long dragon in the seventeenth century - it killed men with its poison, but did not eat them, preferring rabbits and smaller creatures. It was coloured black, with a red belly. Even today, there are reports of another unknown creature that travels in the branches of the trees, rarely descending to the forest floor. A nineteenth century story has a headless phantom, named as Squire Paulett by some, which would leap on to the back of any horses being ridden through the forest. The entity would hold on tight and ride pillion, vanishing when its victim reached the edge of the forest.

An old woodcut of a winged dragon.

Goraidh Crobhan

Location: Islay (Argyll and Bute) - Dragon den close to Ballygrant
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Crobhan killed the dragon that had levelled most of the island by having the beast chase him while he travelled with three horses. The hero ensured that the dragon ate the three horses during the pursuit, resulting in the dragon slowing down and tiring. Still being chased, Crobhan leapt across a series of barrels in which he had earlier hammered iron stakes - the dragon failed the jump, impaling itself on the stakes, ensuring Crobhan had an easy kill.

Terror of Mull

Location: Isle of Mull (Argyll and Bute) - General area
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A fearsome dragon terrorised the island until a hero appeared and killed the beast with the inventive use of barrels with big spikes attached to them. This story and the dragon tale told of Islay are strikingly similar.

Ormroyd

Location: Kellington (Yorkshire) - Marshy forest
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A shepherd called Ormroyd and his faithful dog fought a dragon which lived here; the pair managed to slay the creature, though died soon after.

Blue Ben

Location: Kilve (Somerset) - Putsham Hill
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The dragon known as Blue Ben built the nearby causeway so he could reach the sea - this would keep him cool on days he felt particularly fiery. Ben met his end when he slipped on the rocks and suffocated in the mud below. His skull (actually a fossil ichthyosaur) is on display in the local museum.

Choked to Death

Location: Kingston St Mary (Somerset) - General area
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A brutal fire breathing dragon terrorized this region until a champion came forth to tackle it. The hero rolled a boulder up a hill opposite the dragon's lair and shouted out to it. As the monster emerged jaws agape the champion rolled the boulder down into the dragon's maw, chocking the foul beast.

Death of a dragon.

Dead Dragon

Location: Kirkton of Tealing (Angus) - Martin's Stone
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A stone in the area marks the place where a local man named Martin killed a dragon which had eaten nine sisters who had gone to fetch water for their aging father.

An old postcard of Leicester.

Spit Fire

Location: Leicester (Leicestershire) - Skies over town
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: April 1389
Further Comments: Seen flying and spitting fire, the dragon passed over the town many times during the month.

Linton Wyrm

Location: Linton (Borders) - Linton Hill
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This dragon was dispatched by Somerville de Lariston; the brave knight covered his lance with burning pitch, piecing the dragon's armour and cooking it from the inside.

Dragon Duel

Location: Little Cornard (Suffolk) - Location known locally as Sharpfight Meadow, but now called Shalford Meadow
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: 26 September 1449
Further Comments: A black dragon from Suffolk and a spotted red dragon from Essex met at this location. After fighting for an hour, the Essex dragon won, and both dragons disappeared back to where they came.

An Image from An Essay Towards a Natural History of Serpents.

Church Dragon

Location: Llandeilo Graban (Dyfed) - Llandelio Graban church
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This dragon, which made its home in the church tower, was killed by a local lad. The boy made a dummy dragon out of oak and covered it in steel spikes - the real dragon attacked the model, impaling itself on the spikes and dying of its injuries.

Angry Gwiber

Location: Llanrhaeadr ym Mochnant (Powys) - Red Pillar or Pillar of the Viper
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A dragon killed many local people until they had the idea of covering a large stone with spikes and covering the structure with red cloth. The colour angered the dragon, who attacked the stone until the spikes had mortally wounded it.