Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana of the Sea
Creature with Many Humps
Location: Thorpeness (Suffolk) - Off coast
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 1931
Further Comments: Witnessed by three women sitting on a lawn, this sixty-foot long sea creature with an estimated thirty humps was said to move at great speed.
Sam
Location: Tilbury (location as of 2008) (Essex) - Ross Revenge (home of Radio Caroline)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1983 onwards
Further Comments: This former pirate radio station is reportedly home to 'Sailor Sam', a phantom in yellow oilskins who appears all over the ship.
Sea Serpent
Location: Tintangel (Cornwall) - Off coast
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 1907
Further Comments: A student and a chaplain watched a large sea beast swim by while watching from this point.
Lizard-like Creature
Location: Tiree (Argyll and Bute) - Waters off the island
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 19 July 1934
Further Comments: A fishing boat reported being attacked by this creature, resembling a lizard but fifty foot (fifteen metres) in length with a long neck. The creature took a bite out of the boat before retreating into the deep.
Spanish Girl
Location: Torquay (Devon) - Old Spanish Barn, King's Drive, and seafront in area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Dying of illness while being held prisoner immediately after the destruction of the Spanish Armada, this teenage girl now haunts the area near where her life was lost.
Snake
Location: Trusthorpe (Lincolnshire) - Off coast
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Late 1930s
Further Comments: A boy reported seeing a large snake-like creature a few hundred metres off the coast.
Fire
Location: Vale (Guernsey) - L'Ancresse Bay - large stone (no longer standing)
Type: Curse
Date / Time: Unknown - pre twentieth century
Further Comments: Despite dire warnings from locals, Mr Hocart of Belval had workers cut this former monolith into stone for his new house. The day the building work had finished, a fire broke out, killing two servants. Two ships which carried spare stone to the UK sank within the year, and even though Hocart moved into a second house to Alderney, the fire curse followed him, destroying that dwelling also. Hocart finally returned to Guernsey, but just prior to landing, some rigging fell and landed on his head, killing him instantly.
Sea Trows
Location: Ve Skerries (Shetland) - Sea in the area
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: These water-based troll-like creatures were once believed to swim the waters here, occasionally coming onto land to rest. It is thought they dressed in seal's skin while swimming, pealing it off to resemble humans when needing to leave the water.
Admiral Tryon
Location: W1 (Greater London) - Eaton Place, Belgravia
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: 22 June 1893
Further Comments: The solid looking form of Admiral Tryon appeared in front of several of his wife's friends at his home, at the exact moment he was going down with his ship in the Mediterranean.
Pealing Bells
Location: Walton-on-the-Naze (Essex) - Off coast
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Weather Dependent: Before a Storm
Further Comments: The church at Walton was taken by the sea in the late 1790's, and now its bells warn of incoming storms. The church is said to have reappeared briefly in 1928.
Lord Blaney
Location: Warrenpoint (County Down) - Carlingford Lough
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: November 1916
Further Comments: A Steam-Packet which travelled between Warrenpoint and Liverpool, the Lord Blaney broke in two when it hit a sandbank, sinking with most of its crew and travellers. The ship is said to reappear when a naval disaster is close to hand, such as in November 1916 when the Connemara and the Retriever collided and sank.
Sea Horse
Location: West Wemyss (Fife) - Off coast
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: July 1939
Further Comments: A six metre long monster with the head and mane of a horse and large eyes was spotted by a team of fishermen.
Four Legged Beast
Location: Western coast (Isle of Man) - Sea
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 1910
Further Comments: The Captain of the HMS Caesar reported seeing a reptilian creature leaping out the sea, which he compared to a 'skinned chow dog'(!), though much larger in size.
Long Necked Creature
Location: Weston-super-Mere (Somerset) - Off coast
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 02 December 1988
Further Comments: Three witnesses watched for several minutes a strange creature possessing a long neck swimming around in the mist covered sea.
Sea Beastie
Location: Wick (Highland) - Off the coast
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 21 September 1938
Further Comments: The crew of a cargo ship reported having a strange fish follow their craft for half an hour. It was described as having a three metre long body, 1.2 metre long neck and an oval head.
Trow
Location: Yell (Shetland) - Area around Windhouse, exact spot said to be known to the local population.
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Pre-mid-Eighteenth century, Christmas Eve
Further Comments: A shipwrecked sailor made his way to Windhouse on Christmas Eve, only to find the family in the process of leaving. They explained to the sailor that every Christmas Eve, terrible things would happen, and a death would normally occur. The sailor offered to spend the night in the house, and sure enough, after sunset, the sailor encountered a huge Trow. The sailor grabbed an axe and gave chase, catching up with the creature outside and giving it a whack (or two). When the family returned home, the sailor took them to the spot, where the body had vanished, leaving only bright green holly.
Mathew Trewhella
Location: Zennor (Cornwall) - Church and Sea
Type: Legend
Date / Time: 1400s?
Further Comments: A son of a church warden, Mathew Trewhella one day disappeared without trace. A sea captain later told the village folk that Mathew was with a mermaid, living under the sea.
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