Headless Ghosts across the Lands
Headless King Charles
Location: Marple (Cheshire) - Marple Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The headless ghost of King Charles has been seen here, though he never visited the place. The nearby river Goyt is haunted by a wailing woman who once lived at the hall - her lover was drowned in the river, and she waits and cries near the spot.
Mr Greatrix
Location: Marton (Lancashire) - Whitegate Lane area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late nineteenth century?
Further Comments: A farmer who was murdered on the way back from market, Greatrix' headless shade came back and haunted his killer until the man committed suicide. Not content with revenge, the ghost remained earthbound for many years after.
Headless Man
Location: Melksham (Wiltshire) - Snarlton Lane (once called Chalk's Lane?). Exact location may be in disrepute.
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late nineteenth or early twentieth century, around midnight
Further Comments: A man walking along the lane encountered a figure holding an umbrella walking ahead of him. As the witness approached the figure, the umbrella was lowered, revealing a stump where a head should have been. The witness later spotted the figure twice more, and eventually refused to travel along the lane.
Headless Woman
Location: Melsonby (Yorkshire) - Lanes and church close to Lady Well (likely no longer present)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa nineteenth century?
Further Comments: A local myth said the well close to the churchyard was haunted by a headless white lady.
Female Form
Location: Melsonby (Yorkshire) - Ladywell (aka Lady Well)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The area around here is haunted by a headless woman, whose history is unknown.
Headless Man
Location: Meopham (Kent) - Route between public house and church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Walking the route, this ghostly figure has been observed with no head.
Headless Woman
Location: Messingham (Lincolnshire) - Area south of Bridge over Bottesford Bridge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Not much is known about this headless woman. Other than one witness mistook the reflection of the moon in water as the entity.
Sometimes Headless
Location: Michaelchurch (Hereford & Worcester) - St Michael's Church
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The shuck which haunted this churchyard sometimes appeared headless.
Coffin
Location: Milborne St Andrew (Dorset) - Cowleaze Barrows
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Barrow still present
Further Comments: One of these barrows (there are three) is said to contain a golden coffin. A storm is said to blow in if anyone starts to dig for it. Some sources mention that headless phantom coffin bearers haunt the area, which may only be visible to the D'Urberville family.
Headless Horseman
Location: Millbrook (Bedfordshire) - Station Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This phantom rider is named as local highwayman Galloping Dick.
Hearse driven by Headless Driver
Location: Mistley (Essex) - The Walls
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A coach driven by a decapitated coachman is rumoured to pass along The Walls at Mistley, carrying the body of an unknown man.
Steel Worker
Location: Motherwell (Lanarkshire) - Ravenscraig Steel Works (no longer operational)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Mid twentieth century
Further Comments: This figure, thought to have been decapitated in a mining accident, was seen several times near a furnace.
Sister Ida
Location: Moulton (Cheshire) - Vale Royal Abbey
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Sister Ida's shade was thought to come back to bring attention to the suspicious death of the abbess. An unnamed road leading to the abbey is haunted by a decapitated head that rolls on the floor - this belonged to a monk who was murdered while taking a message to the building.
Headless Lady
Location: Mount Bures (Essex) - Bridge Street, the bridge over Craig's Brook
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Midnight, reoccurring
Further Comments: Holding her head under one arm, the spirit has no known history
Mary Way
Location: Much Wenlock (Shropshire) - Crossroads two miles southeast of town
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Eighteenth century
Further Comments: This crossroads was said to be haunted by the ghost of Mary Way, murdered on the site. The phantom is reputedly headless and wears a shimmering white dress. A murderer was also said to be buried at the crossroads, although it is not clear whether it was Mary's killer.
Headless Carpenter
Location: Muncaster (Cumbria) - Muncaster Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Murdered by a jester on the orders of the then owner Sir Ferdinard Pennington, the carpenter (who made the mistake of falling in love with Sir Ferdinard's daughter) was beheaded in the garden, where he now haunts. The jester has also been reported on the site, holding a severed head. The ghost of King Henry is another reported to haunt the castle, hiding from those who took him to London to be murdered, and finally the shade of Mary Bragg, hanged by the front gate as a joke turned tragedy, manifests as a white woman.
Flying Horses
Location: Newquay (Cornwall) - Barrowfields
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This barrow is home to a headless horseman who travels several metres above the ground.
Aggie McGee
Location: Newtongrange (Lothian) - Scottish Mining Museum
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The ghost of a coal sorter has been named as Aggie McGee, while other ghost stories include a headless miner and screams of those who died in the pits.
White Figure
Location: Newtyle (Angus) - Bulb Farm (no longer standing, replaced by housing)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 02 June (reoccurring), or thereabouts, after sunset
Further Comments: A white figure, thought to be decapitated, was said to move slowly around the area, as if looking for its missing body part. Groaning is also heard in the area.
Headless Torso
Location: Ninfield (Sussex) - Churchyard & area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A disagreement between two brothers ended abruptly when one decapitated the other with a scythe in the churchyard here - the headless brother has been known to make comeback appearances.
Silent Woman
Location: No fixed location (Greater London) - Railway line between London & Carlisle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early twentieth century
Further Comments: Dressed in black and wearing a veil, this figure has been seen sitting quietly and disappearing without warning. She is believed to be a bride whose new husband had stuck his head out of a window and was decapitated. Found holding his body once they reached London, totally insane, her spirit has been making the journey since.
Screeching Ploughboy, Killed by Master
Location: North Benfleet (Essex) - North side of A13 near Fanton Hall, Screeching Boy's Wood
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1734 onwards
Further Comments: The wood takes its name from the headless ploughboy who was murdered by his master. The ghost was occasionally seen and heard around the location, although some say the phantom's screams stopped after the farmer confessed to the crime many years after the event. Another version of the story states the ploughboy was not murdered at all but rather knocked down by a horse-drawn carriage.
Headless Man
Location: North Frodingham (Yorkshire) - Road between village and Foston on the Wolds
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Possibly nineteenth century
Further Comments: A headless man who walks this area is said to have only been seen the once, many years ago.
Headless Woman
Location: Northfleet (Kent) - 16 Waterdales
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1966
Further Comments: Two ghosts haunted this council house (the headless woman, and a younger blonde haired girl), forcing the occupants to leave.
Flying Coach
Location: Norwich (Norfolk) - Pockthorpe area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early eighteenth century
Further Comments: A team of headless horses driven by a headless coachman would be seen flying over the rooftops in this area of the city.
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