The Paranormal Database

Milking Witch

Location: Mitchell's Fold (Shropshire) - Stapeley Hill
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Stone still present
Further Comments: A fairy gave the villagers a white cow that could yield enough milk for everyone in the area. A local witch named Mitchell attempted to fool the cow, placing a bucket under the creature filled with holes. Mitchell milked the creature until it could produce no more milk and ran off, never to be seen again. Mitchell did not escape punishment - she was transformed into rock.

Hulac Warren

Location: Monsal Dale (Derbyshire) - The Warren Stone
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Stone still present
Further Comments: Monsal Dale was once known as Demon's Dale, and a race of sadistic giants lived there. A shepherdess killed herself rather than be kidnapped by the giant's leader Hulac; the gods were so outraged by his actions that the giant was instantly turned in to the Warren Stone.

Petrified Quoits

Location: Moretonhampstead (Devon) - Hel Tor and Blackingstone hills
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: According to legend, King Arthur stood on Hel Tor, the Devil on Blackingstone, and a game of quoits ensued. They threw discs at each other until Arthur finally won - the Devil, disgusted with the outcome, turned the last two quoits into stone.

Unmoving

Location: Mortehoe (Devon) - Morte Stone
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Still present?
Further Comments: A nineteenth century legend says that no man can move this rock unless he is 'master of his wife', although another version says the rock can only be moved by a team of women who 'rule their husbands'.

The Mottistone Long Stone, Isle of Wight.

St Catherine's Throw

Location: Mottistone (Isle of Wight) - Long Stone
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Stone still present
Further Comments: To settle a dispute over who should control the island, Saint Catherine and the Devil agreed to a stone tossing contest. Saint Catherine's throw was straight and true, landing some seven miles away. The Devil's throw fell short and, true to his word, he left the island. Other versions of the story replace Saint Catherine with a neighbourhood giant, but with the same outcome. Either way, the thrown boulder remains for all to see. It is now thought the two stones are part of a Neolithic long barrow, but of course, I'm sure that's what the Devil wants you to believe.

Not by Guilt

Location: Mottistone (Isle of Wight) - Rocking Stone
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Still present?
Further Comments: A large rocking stone here could be moved by the wind, but never by a man possessing a guilty conscience.

Giant Quoit

Location: Mulfra (Cornwall) - Dolmen
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: The pile of rocks is said to be the discarded remains of stones used by giants during a game of quoits.

Drinking Rocks

Location: New Radnor (Powys) - Standing Stones east of village
Type: Legend
Date / Time: When the church bells ring
Further Comments: Upon hearing the ringing of the local church bells, these standing stones move to a nearby pool and start drinking.

Healer

Location: Newport (Essex) - Leper Stone (aka Newport Stone)
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Stone still present
Further Comments: Likely to have once been a megalithic menhir, the Leper Stone was once used by people to leave offerings to a nearby lepers' hospital, although one local myth claims the stone was named after its own healing powers.

Flogged Man

Location: North Newbald (North Yorkshire) - Whipping Stone
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Stone still present
Further Comments: A large stone in the village, once the base of a large cross, is said to have been the location where people were once whipped to death. One person has reported that the stone is haunted by a man executed in the twelfth century, who manifests each night to take revenge on the living.

St. Gervase de Mertoun

Location: NW6 (Greater London) - Red stone close to Kilburn Priory (no longer present)
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: St. Gervase was killed by his brother Stephen after Stephen fell in love with Gervase's wife. The stone upon which his body fell turned red with blood, forcing Stephen to confess his crime. The stone remained red for decades after the event.

Frozen Maidens

Location: Okehampton (Devon) - Nine Stones, Belstone
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: This set of nine stones are said to be maidens who were caught dancing on the Sabbath. They sometimes come back to life and continue dancing.

Rotating Stone

Location: Orby (Lincolnshire) - Wych Boulder
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Still present?
Further Comments: This pear-shaped rock is said to turn itself over when the clock strikes twelve.

Arthur's Horse

Location: Pennal (Gwynedd) - Carn March Arthur (close to Afon Dyffryn Gwyn)
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Still present?
Further Comments: A rock along this river is said to feature hoof prints where King Arthur's horse landed after leaping across the (now drained and removed) estuary.

Gytrack

Location: Philpots Camp (Dorset) - The Big-Upon-Little Stone (aka Great-Upon-Little stone)
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Early twentieth century?
Further Comments: This phantom black hound once kept the local populace away from the area at night.

Madgy

Location: Porthgwarra (Cornwall) - Madgy Figgy's Chair (rock formation)
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A local witch by the name of Madgy Figgy would fly through the area and land on this rock formation, using a lamp to lure ships towards her and their doom.

Turning Stone

Location: Pyrford (Surrey) - Pyrford Court
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Sunrise (reoccurring)
Further Comments: A large rock near the gateway of the court rotates when the cock crows and dawn breaks.

Grave

Location: Redhill (Somerset) - Hurdlestone Wood
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: Folklore places a giant's grave within this woods. The area is said to take its name from a rock that sits on the edge of a nearby cliff, thrown there by the Devil during a competition.

Giant Arthur

Location: Reynoldston (South Glamorgan) - Arthur's Stone
Type: Legend
Date / Time: 01 January (reoccurring) (walking stone legend said to occur)
Further Comments: One story associated with this Neolithic tomb has King Arthur finding a stone in his boot. The king picked the pebble out and threw it to one side, thus placing the stone where it now stands. Another legend says the stone walks down to the sea once a year for a quick drink. Finally, another story says the stone was split by a miller who was after a millstone - unable to lift it, the split stone has remained laying there since.

Wedding Guests

Location: Ropley (Hampshire) - Bridestone Lane
Type: legend
Date / Time: Still present?
Further Comments: A wedding party failed to invite any of the local fairies to their big day. Travelling back from church, everyone was transformed into stone; they stood by the roadside as a warning to others.

The Rudston Monolith

Location: Rudston (East Riding of Yorkshire) - Churchyard
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: The tallest monolith in the UK, one tale states the stone was thrown by the Devil with the intent of knocking down the nearby church. Another tale states that the rock was dropped from the sky, killing one or two people intent of desecrating the graves.

Mrs de Freville

Location: Saffron Walden (Essex) - Hinxton Churchyard, square stone vault
Type: Post-Mortem Manifestation
Date / Time: 08 May 1885
Further Comments: Shortly after her death, Mrs de Freville was spotted by a gardener standing by her husband's grave. The woman's ghost had a white face and wore a black dress. The gardener was unaware of the lady's death at the time of the sighting.

Failed Bridge

Location: Seascale (Cumbria) - Carl Crag
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Evidence still present
Further Comments: The Devil once tried to build a bridge between Seascale and the Isle of Man - his apron split and all but one of the stones were lost at sea. The remaining rock remains, with two white seams showing where the apron strings were once wrapped.

Wishing Stone

Location: Selborne (Hampshire) - Selborne Hangar
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: The Devil is said to be responsible for the creation of this wishing stone.

An Angel, by Mariotto Albertinelli.jpg

Don't Upset the Tramp

Location: Semerwater (aka Simmer Water, aka Simmerwater) (North Yorkshire) - Lake
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A tramp (or angel or witch, depending on the source) looking for a place to rest was turned away from every house in the neighbourhood, until he came to a farm on the hillside where the occupants of which gave him food and shelter. He thanked his guests and punished the other households by flooding the valley. The lake also once had two large rocks on its banks which were known as the Mermaid Stones, said to have been thrown there by the Devil and a giant.