The Paranormal Database

The Devil and his Mum

Location: Helmsdale (Borders) - Hellmuir Loch (aka Hellmoor Loch?)
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A cave by the loch was once home to the devil and his mother, although Old Nick did kill his mum after she slept in and failed to make his porridge for breakfast.

Devil Speaking

Location: Hemswell (Lincolnshire) - Devil's Pulpit
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Children would once poke pins into a boundary stone before running around it several times. After this they thought they could hear the Devil speaking from deep underground.

Dancing Devil

Location: Hemswell (Lincolnshire) - Spring in wooded area north of village
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Local folklore says that drinking from the spring will result in the devil appearing and break into dance on a rock. One village resident has commented after sipping the water, Old Nick did not appear.

Impact Crater

Location: Hindhead (Surrey) - Devil's Punchbowl
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: One legend says that the punchbowl was created after the Devil leapt into Surrey to avoid sunrise. Another story says Old Nick accidently created the punchbowl while throwing clods of earth at Thor, while a third tale states that the Isle of Wight was created after a giant scooped out the punchbowl and threw the earth at a rival (who he missed).

Devil's Stone

Location: Honiton (Devon) - Church Hill
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present?
Further Comments: This rock is all that remains after the Devil and the locals threw stones at each other.

Boat Inn, Jackfield, copyright 2006 Lawson Clout.

Devil Playing Cards

Location: Ironbridge (Shropshire) - Boat Inn, Jackfield
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Old Nick once paid a visit to the public house, dealing several of the locals into a game of cards. Before the hand was over one sharp eyed witness noticed the Devil's cloven foot. The Devil quickly vanished, leaving only a strong wind in his wake. (Image copyright 2006 Lawson Clout)

Drunk Dry

Location: Kildale (North Yorkshire) - Church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Having picked up a local witch in his black coach, the Devil paused outside the church and drank the well dry. The witch was said to continue to haunt the area, occasionally being spotted flying over the nearby moors.

Devil's Alley, King's Lynn.

Satan's Hoof Print

Location: King's Lynn (Norfolk) - Devil's Alley
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: No longer present
Further Comments: A single footprint belonging to Old Nick was said to be visible down this aging alleyway, although the route has now been resurfaced.

The Devil Helps Thrice

Location: King's Sutton (Oxfordshire) - Church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Fourteenth century
Further Comments: This church is one of three in the area (Bloxham and Adderbury being the other two) that were paid for by three brothers. One of their workers who helped construct this tower never took any pay, never slept and never ate - he vanished as soon as the tower was built. The brothers were convinced that they were helped by Old Nick.

Summoning

Location: Kingston by Sea (Sussex) - Unknown tree in the area
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: There is said to be a tree somewhere in this area where the skeleton of a murdered man is intertwined amongst its roots. Running around the tree seven (or nine) times is said to summon Old Nick.

The Devil's Garden

Location: Kington (Hereford & Worcester) - Area of barren land
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present?
Further Comments: This area of dirt and stone was known as the Devil's Garden by locals as nothing would ever take root there.

Apron Leakage

Location: Kirkby Lonsdale (Cumbria) - Casterton Stone Circle
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Stones still present
Further Comments: This stone circle was created while the Devil used his apron to carry rocks - the strings snapped, the stones fell, and the devil just let them lie.

Built for a Soul

Location: Kirkby Lonsdale (Cumbria) - Devil's Bridge
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still stands
Further Comments: The Devil built this bridge, in return for the soul of the first who crossed it. Alas for him, a local woman let her dog run across it first, and so Satan left with his new pet. A more recent story concludes by saying that when a new bridge was constructed in 1932, Satan was so upset that he delayed the opening by creating heavy rain, hail, and snowstorms.

Rock Hit

Location: Kirkby Lonsdale (Cumbria) - Devil's Punch Bowl
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Depression still present
Further Comments: Old Nick appears to have taken a liking to Kirkby Lonsdale - he once threw a large boulder at a church here, scoring a direct hit. The rock created the depression now known as the Devil's Punch Bowl, and the church is said to be intact but buried deep underground.

A still F W Murnau's Faust .

Feast for a King

Location: Kirkby Malham (North Yorkshire) - Churchyard
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Midnight once a year (reoccurring)
Further Comments: The meal is set out by the Devil to lure the living to him; the last person to sit down for the feast was the village parson, who escaped by making Old Nick and the food vanish when he asked for salt.

An old postcard of Kirkby Stephen in Cumbria.

Mustard Grinders

Location: Kirkby Stephen (Cumbria) - Skinkrith Bridge and River Eden
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: According to local legend, anyone who places an ear in an opening to the rock can hear a low grumbling that was thought to be employees of the Devil crushing mustard seeds. Jingling Annas also haunts the bridge - her hands reduced to stumps by the manacles she was forced to wear.

Dead Devil

Location: Kirkcaldy (Fife) - Under the town
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present (?!)
Further Comments: It was written that 'some say the Devil's dead and buried in Kirkcaldy', even though he complained that his toes were cold. To shut the Devil up, a large house was built at the end of the town to ensure his toes were warmed.

Cornerless Buildings

Location: Kirkcudbright (Dumfries and Galloway) - Various buildings in the area
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present?
Further Comments: To prevent the Devil hiding and causing chaos, several buildings in the area were constructed without corners.

Debt Collection

Location: Lagg, Isle of Arran (Ayrshire) - Lagg Inn
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: It is said a local laird haunts this building, after selling his soul to the Devil for enough money to repay his large debts.

Relocated Church

Location: Leake (North Yorkshire) - Church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Legend says that this church was supposed to be built on top of a local hill, but the Devil insisted on moving the building materials overnight.

Human Sacrifice

Location: Leicester (Leicestershire) - Area of land north-east of the Hoston Stone, Humberstone (was known as Hell-hole Furlong)
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: How the area of land gained its name was unknown even to nineteenth century folklorists, so it was conjectured that it was an area of human sacrifice.

Odilon Redon created several images of Satan.

Walking Backwards

Location: Leixlip (County Kildare) - Conolly's Folly (aka Conolly's Obelisk)
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: A local piece of folklore claims that walking backwards around the structure twelve times results in the Devil appearing.

An old magic lantern slide showing the inside of Lelant church.

Relocation

Location: Lelant (Cornwall) - Church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: During construction, the Devil moved the stones each night to where the church now stands. The church was also said to have been the site of a fairy funeral, witnessed by a fisherman returning home late at night and drawn to the church after seeing the lights on.

Knight

Location: Lewes (Sussex) - Mount Caburn - iron age hillfort
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Hillfort still present
Further Comments: A knight in gold armour and a silver coffin are said to be concealed under this fort. The fort was once believed to have created by Old Nick, one of the mounds of dirt he left behind while digging the nearby 'Devil's Dyke'.

Queen Anne's Well, Lincoln Cathedral.

Finger Lickin' Good

Location: Lincoln (Lincolnshire) - Queen Anne's Well, cathedral area
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Well still present
Further Comments: There are six holes in the door to the well. Legend says if you walk around the well seven times and place your finger in one, good people are awarded with feeling the breath of the Devil on their digit, while bad people have their finger bitten off.