The Paranormal Database

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

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Phantom Horses & Riders from across the Isles

House Party

Location: Downend (Isle of Wight) - Area near Knighton Gorges
Type: Environmental Manifestation
Date / Time: 31 December knight seen (reoccurring), house reported in the twentieth century
Further Comments: A manor house has been seen in the area, a party in full flow visible through its windows. However, the house was demolished many years previous. Even when not seen, locals have reported hearing music coming from the site. A large black knight on horseback is still occasionally seen, once a year.


ID #3327, last updated 2002-12-31

Coach & Four

Location: Driffield (Wiltshire) - Between Driffield and Harnhill
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early or mid twentieth century
Further Comments: A phantom coach drawn by a team of four horses travel around this area. They are said to look quite solid, though is illuminated by an unknown source.


ID #9467, last updated 2009-06-07

Buck Jones

Location: Dublin (County Dublin) - Jones's Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Riding headless on the back of a white horse, this phantom is named as Buck Jones, former City Sheriff (though the man died in a debtor's prison).


ID #6110, last updated 2005-04-12

Headless Horseman

Location: Dublin (County Dublin) - Roper's Rest, leading to Love Lane
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: Winter (reoccurring)
Further Comments: This decapitated figure rides along the road once darkness falls, and is thought to be an ill omen for any witness, or one of their family.


ID #6097, last updated 2022-09-19

Shadowy Coaches

Location: Dublin Mountains (County Dublin) - Montpelier Hill - ruins of the Hell Fire Club
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Founded in the 1730s, the Hell Fire Club quickly became notorious for its black antics. The former meeting ground is said to be haunted by some of these dark deeds, and by phantom horse and coaches which rush past the building, containing the souls of former Hell Fire Club members.


ID #6090, last updated 2005-04-12

Headless Rider

Location: Duddlestone (Somerset) - Exact location not known
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This decapitated male wearing a flowing cape passes through the village on an off-white horse.


ID #3848, last updated 2003-02-14

Horseman

Location: Dumfries (Dumfries and Galloway) - Castle Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1940s
Further Comments: This figure rides the area in search of his head that was removed as he hit a low branch while galloping at fantastic speed, escaping from his girlfriend's overprotective brothers. Two more ghosts have been reported in the same area, both running away from a murder site.


ID #4178, last updated 2003-04-26

Squire Fulford

Location: Dunsford (Devon) - Roads in area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Driving a coach pulled by four headless horsemen, the squire passes though the village only at certain times of the year.


ID #4951, last updated 2003-12-27


Dunwich Heath, Suffolk.

Squire on Horseback

Location: Dunwich (Suffolk) - Heathland in the area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Nights of the full moon (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Riding his fastest racehorse, this phantom landowner charges around the heathland worrying the locals.


ID #2414, last updated 2002-09-12

Coach

Location: Durham (Durham) - Langley Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Seen galloping towards the hall, this coach is pulled by four black, headless horses. One legend says the coach contains a coffin.


ID #2838, last updated 2002-10-27

Phantom Horse

Location: Durnford (Wiltshire) - Salisbury Road between Durnford & Amesbury, near Chalk Pit Hill
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This creature, only heard and not seen, would gallop on the road and in the fields in this area.


ID #1600, last updated 2002-07-04

Horse & Cart

Location: Durweston (Dorset) - River Stour
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The phantom horse and cart that haunts this area came into being after falling into the river and vanishing without trace.


ID #9554, last updated 2009-06-28

Man on Horseback

Location: E4 (Greater London) - Chingford Mount Cemetery, Old Church Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: The ghostly galloping rider seen crossing this area of land must at times dismount - disembodied human footsteps have been heard on the paths, as have strange voices.


ID #2201, last updated 2002-08-17

Colt Pixie

Location: East Boldre (Hampshire) - Cold Pixie's Cave (Bronze Age barrow), Beaulieu Heath
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: An equine pixie, this fairy entity would play mild pranks and call out to horses, the distraction causing the creatures to become lost.


ID #9071, last updated 2025-07-15

Horse

Location: East Chinnock (Somerset) - Main road in the village
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Midnight
Further Comments: The sounds of a horse have been heard as it gallops down the street. Some believe it carries two eloping lovers from the rectory.


ID #9197, last updated 2009-04-12

Taxi Service

Location: East Coker (Somerset) - Coker Court
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: A phantom horse and carriage arrive in the courtyard, picking up an unidentifiable person before once again vanishing to the ether.


ID #3841, last updated 2003-02-13

Rushing Horseman

Location: East Malling (Kent) - Barming Woods
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: January (normally) (reoccurring). Seen last in 1971
Further Comments: This figure has been both seen and heard as he darts around trees and over roads. One witness said the entity charged towards their car, disappearing on impact.


ID #2904, last updated 2002-10-28

Duke of Monmouth

Location: East Woodyates (Dorset) - Old coaching house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The Duke is said to return to the place where he rested while escaping to the coast after the Battle of Sedgemoor. The grounds of the inn are also said to be haunted by the disembodied head of a white horse.


ID #10142, last updated 2011-01-09

White Rider

Location: Eckington (Derbyshire) - Moss valley, between town and Ridgeway
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 24 August 2002 (rider), 16 May 2022 (grey lady)
Further Comments: Two women out walking their dogs watched a white female figure on horseback in the woods. The entity vanished as it rounded a non-existent corner. A local piece of folklore says the area is haunted by a white horse, although traditionally riderless. In 2022, witnesses spotted a hooded grey lady carrying a basket who disappeared into bushes.


ID #3044, last updated 2023-02-11

Runaway Horses

Location: Edale (Derbyshire) - Crossroads between church and railway station
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early twentieth century?
Further Comments: Three farmers walking home from a village meeting heard horses running towards them. The men made ready to stop the runaway but were amazed when the sounds past straight through where they stood, and they could see nothing.


ID #5581, last updated 2004-11-14


Castle Hill and The Royal Mile, Edinburgh.

Deacon Brodie

Location: Edinburgh (Lothian) - Castle Hill and Royal Mile
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Brodie is reputed to walk this area, carrying a lantern. A coach pulled by a team of black horses (which sometimes breath fire) s also said to start its journey here before travelling along the royal mile. The coach is filled with people in black garb. Another phantom, General Dalzell, rides the same route, but this time on a white horse.


ID #9893, last updated 2010-04-18


Grassmarket, Edinburgh.

Grizel

Location: Edinburgh (Lothian) - Grassmarket
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The face of this lady, heavily scarred by fire, has been seen around the area of the Grassmarket - her and her brother were killed by the local authorities for sex crimes and black magic. Some people have also reported seeing her in a phantom coach being pulled by a team of six horses.


ID #1484, last updated 2002-06-25

Riders

Location: Edinburgh (Lothian) - Lochend Loch, Restalrig
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Sixteenth century
Further Comments: As Bessie Dunlop tied her horse to the edge of the loch, she heard dozens of people on horseback dash past her into the water, although nothing could be seen.


ID #9918, last updated 2010-04-18


Ellingham Drove.

Driverless Coach

Location: Ellingham (Hampshire) - Ellingham Drove
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The driverless phantom coach is said to contain Lady Alice Lisle, one of three locations where her ghost haunts. Though the coach and horses have not been seen for many years, it has been said that the sound of a carriage can still be heard.


ID #8387, last updated 2025-07-16

Alice Lisle

Location: Ellingham (Hampshire) - Moyles Court
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: For assisting two fugitives, Alice Lisle was hanged in 1685 - though her defence argued that Alice did what any good Christian would do. The rustling of Alice's silken dress and footfalls could be heard echoing down the corridors for many years after her death. Alice also haunted the road outside the hall, appearing in a coach pulled by headless horses.


ID #1529, last updated 2002-07-02

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