Road Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana
Black Hound
Location: Lismire (County Cork) - Road between village and Bawnmore
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A man cutting turf along this road just after dusk was approached by a large phantom hound. The presence worried the man, so he quickly left. It was speculated he was digging close to buried treasure, and phantom animal protecting the hoard.
Floating Figure
Location: Little Hallingbury (Essex) - Junction at the bottom of Church Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2010s?
Further Comments: A motorist had to break to avoid hitting a floating black figure which quickly vanished.
Disappearing Cyclist
Location: Little Milton (Oxfordshire) - A329, and Rofford Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2006, and December 2015
Further Comments: A driver heading towards the village spotted a cyclist who disappeared. The driver stopped to see if the cyclist had fallen off their bike but could not find anyone. Nine years later, in the same neighbourhood, the same driver was travelling with their son. Both watched a cyclist disappear, and despite looking, no trace of the cyclist was found.
Faceless Woman
Location: Little Milton (Oxfordshire) - Country Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000
Further Comments: Passing along this country road during the day, a driver passed a tall woman wearing old fashioned dark clothing. Looking back at her through his rear view mirror, the driver realised she had vanished.
Small Robed Figure
Location: Little Petherick (Cornwall) - Road near the Rosehill Country Club
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century, summer
Further Comments: This short entity has been seen several times, laying in the road and appearing to be scrabbling at the surface. One witness realised the figure had no face before it vanished.
Skipping Figure
Location: Little Wishford (Wiltshire) - A36, near some trees, heading towards Knock
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2019?
Further Comments: Driving to Somerset, a witness spotted what looked like a person, caught in headlights ahead, crossing the road. It moved like a woman and it half skipped towards the side of the road. As a vehicle in the opposite lane passed through it, the figure disappeared, and as the witness's own car reached the spot, nothing could be seen.
Harriet
Location: Littlehampton (Sussex) - Road between Littlehampton and Worthing (may have been replaced)
Type: Post-Mortem Manifestation
Date / Time: After dark, winter, circa 1833
Further Comments: A man riding back home came across a white female figure standing in the road who he recognised as a family friend who had died a couple of years previous. The man was aware that the future of the woman's two children was in the balance and assured the ghost that he would look after them. After making the promise, the ghostly lady vanished.
Floating Torso
Location: Liverpool (Merseyside) - Lime Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s
Further Comments: Sightings of the ghost of Lime Street are said to go back hundreds or years. One of the more recent witnesses described the entity as being quite tall, though the legs could not be seen, with the mouth silently moving. An unnamed hotel (that later became offices) along the road is also haunted by the figure of a tall woman.
Hitchhiker
Location: Liverpool (Merseyside) - Liverpool to Birkenhead tunnel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Killed in the middle of the twentieth century in the tunnel under the Mersey, this phantom hitchhiker is still occasionally seen.
Tablecloth
Location: Liverpool (Merseyside) - Springwood Avenue, close to Allerton Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa September 1979
Further Comments: Two teenagers jogging along the avenue heard what they thought sounded like a horse a short distance behind. Turning to have a look, they observed what appeared to be a tablecloth and a horse's body without a head running along. Frightened, the pair ran faster and when they turned again, the entity had gone.
Monk
Location: Liverpool (Merseyside) - Walton, road close to St Mary's Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1980/81, 03:45h
Further Comments: A bus driver on his way to work watched a monk cross the road in front of his car. The driver slowed and watched the monk vanish, initially believing the figure had gone down a subway. The driver later learned that the area was supposed to be haunted by a monk and nun.
Horseless Horse Rider
Location: Llanerchymedd (Llannerch-y-medd) (Gwynedd) - Road between Llangefni and Benllech, near the California Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Thrown off her mount and killed, this shade now stands around the place where she broke her neck.
White Lady
Location: Llangennith (West Glamorgan) - Main road through village
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century? 06:30h.
Further Comments: A motorist reported almost running over (or through) a white lady that stepped out on the road in front of him.
White Horse
Location: Llangynwyd (Mid Glamorgan) - Roads in the area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Even the most fearless residents on the village felt terror when they encountered this phantom, snow-white mare along the roads at night.
White Lady
Location: Llanidloes (Powys) - A470, 'Red Bridge' area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: May 1973
Further Comments: This ghostly figure has appeared several times, manifesting in the middle of the road only to pass through incoming traffic. One male driver stated that the female form looked at him with sad eyes as she passed through the bonnet of his car.
Person in Duffle Coat
Location: Llanrhos (Clwyd) - Road close to St Hilary's church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1959
Further Comments: Police officer Gareth Jones spotted a figure in a duffle coat walking along this lane in the rain. He drove alongside the figure and wound down his window to offer them a lift, but they had vanished. Jones later found out that others had seen ghostly figures in the same area.
Figure in Grey Long Coat
Location: Llyswen (Powys) - A470, heading north towards Builth, just past a right turn onto the River Wye bridge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 12 January 2008, around 06:55h
Further Comments: While driving along this stretch of road, this driver and passenger spotted what they thought was an older gentleman standing by the side of the road. He stood around six foot tall and wore a long grey coat. However, the head was oval, possessed no features, and gave off a faint glow. Immediately after passing the entity, the driver had a strange feeling, a mix of shiver and yet feeling hot, which lasted for around a minute.
Vanishing Car
Location: Loch Cluanie (Highland) - A87 running alongside the loch
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-1940s
Further Comments: This car would be seen from the distance, vanishing as it moved closer to the witness.
White Horse
Location: Loch Dornoch (Highland) - Straight piece of road lined with trees on both sides
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2001
Further Comments: Witness Mr Morrison stopped his car suddenly when he encountered a white horse ridden by a Victorian man in the middle of the road. Both entities vanished quickly into the distance.
Dispatch Rider
Location: Locksgreen (Isle of Wight) - Vittlefields crossroads
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1940s onwards?
Further Comments: A phantom dispatch rider on his motorcycle is thought to haunt this road - he was killed during the Second World War when he drove into a military tank. Drivers have swerved to avoid hitting the phantom.
Headless Horseman
Location: Loddington (Leicestershire) - Road on a steep hill in the area
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The horseman, holding his head under one arm, gallops at breakneck speed down the hill, with anyone who witnesses him doomed to suffer a family bereavement.
Headless Man
Location: Loders (Dorset) - Yellow Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The lane is said to be haunted by a coachman who lost his head while travelling too fast - he hit an overhanging branch, decapitated him in an instant.
Headless Horses
Location: Long Compton (Warwickshire) - Long Compton Hill
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Weather dependent: After a storm
Further Comments: A coach pulled by six headless horses is said to travel up the hill. There are also vague reports of a shuck-like dog that runs in the same area. Another ghost, that of a scary old woman with matted black hair, was also reported here in 1973.
Headless Officer
Location: Long Marston (North Yorkshire) - Lanes in the area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown, likely pre nineteenth century
Further Comments: As the clock struck midnight, a headless officer upon his horse emerged from the ground and rode around the village lanes looking for the battle which once took place here. After two hours of searching, the ghost would give up and ride back to the area from which he came, vanishing into the ground. It was said that once the local population were taught such an entity could not exist, the phantom never appeared again.
Victorian Cyclist
Location: Longridge (Lancashire) - Clitheroe Old Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2008
Further Comments: A man and his daughter driving home passed a woman dressed in Victorian clothing riding a bicycle. The man turned the car around to have another look, but the figure had vanished.
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