Somerset and Bristol Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana
Thrown Stone
Location: Williton - Battlegore tumulus
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: Battlegore was the landing site of a stone thrown by a giant from West Quantoxhead, competing with the Devil. Old Nick's rock fell short, resulting in his banishment from the area.
Sir John Popham
Location: Wilscombe Bottom (aka Wiveliscombe?) - Area between village and Wellington
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 10 June 1607 onwards
Further Comments: Capable of only moving a cock's stride per year, folklore says the ghost of Popham is on the move from Wilscombe Bottom where he died to the church in Wellington, where he seeks salvation. The distance is around 10.7 kilometres, and with an average chicken step of nine centimetres, as of 2025 Popham would have travelled 37.62 metres and should finish his journey by AD120,495.
Giggling
Location: Wincanton - Uncle Tom's Cabin public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2010s-2020s
Further Comments: When placed on the market in August 2023, this building's haunted background became a selling point. The sound of a child's giggling had been heard, glasses would smash without reason, and staff could feel something breathing on the backs of their necks.
Wagon
Location: Winsford - Winsford Hill
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The wagon that haunts this spot was supposedly crushed as its owner tried to move aside the heavy monolith located here, to steal the treasure beneath.
Dog with Glowing Eyes
Location: Winsford - Winsford Hill, and surrounding Exmoor area
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The devil dog found in Exmoor has been known to dematerialise slowly, leaving just a pair of red glowing eyes behind.
Serving Girl
Location: Witham Friary - Farmhouse in area
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Late nineteenth century
Further Comments: A poltergeist took up residence in the cheese room of this farmhouse, throwing chairs around and rattling ornaments, ultimately resulting in the room being left unused. The disturbance was blamed on a servant who had taken her life in the room.
Joan Carne
Location: Withycombe - Area which is currently Sandhill Farm
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Nineteenth century
Further Comments: This woman is thought to have killed her three husbands, and soon after her death in the early seventeenth century, came back and was seen in her kitchen. A nineteenth century exorcism may have laid her for good, though some believe her phantom's appearance is an ill omen.
Witch of Wookey
Location: Wookey Hole - Cavern
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Cottage haunting occurred 1947-1954, diver seen 1998
Further Comments: It was once believed that an old hag lived in this cave, cursing anyone who tried to visit her. She was finally turned to stone by a monk. A cottage on the site was briefly haunted by an old woman wearing black and white; the ghost vanished after the site was blessed by a vicar. A tour group in the cave in 1998 reportedly observed a figure in an old fashioned goldfish bowl helmet silently moving through the caves. When they checked with the tour guide the group was told it was the ghost of a diver who had been seen several times previous.
Giant Eel
Location: Wookey Hole - Flooded Caverns
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A huge eel, some ten metres in length was chased into this cave system by angry fishermen.
Galloping
Location: Wrington - Lane through woodland between village and Cleeve
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Mid twentieth century
Further Comments: Reports slightly differed regarding this phantom horse. Although never seen, the creature would either be heard galloping, or a slower steady clop like a shire horse pulling a heavy load.
Moving Beverage
Location: Wrington - Private house
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: May 2004, midday
Further Comments: While working at their desk, a witness watched their drink move thirty centimetres across their desk. A few moments later, two loud crashes were heard followed by the sound of children running through the building. The sound of footsteps had previously been heard by the witness and other occupants.
Dancing Stone
Location: Wrington - The Waterstone
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Nights of the full moon (reoccurring)
Further Comments: This stone becomes animated on nights of the full moon.
Robed Figure
Location: Yatton - Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1952
Further Comments: Two witnesses reported, at separate times, seeing a female figure in a grey robe walking away from the altar. The ghost had her head bowed and hands clasped.
Hungry Jack
Location: Yeovil - Barwick Park - Jack the Treacle Eater Tower
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: This monument tower has a statue of Jack perched on top of it - it is said that he will descend the building at night and eat any treacle left at the base of the tower.
Fading People
Location: Yeovil - Cemetery
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Summer 2013
Further Comments: Five people exploring the cemetery spotted a couple of figures with their heads bowed standing by a grave. As the group moved closer, the two figures faded away.
Woman with Sword
Location: Yeovil - Elephant and Castle public house, Middle Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s
Further Comments: This lady is said to walk about the building holding both a lamp and sword (or possibly just a lamp). She was seen passing through a closed wardrobe.
Tizzy
Location: Yeovil - Ilchester Arms public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s
Further Comments: This spirit, thought to be a teenager who died of fever, was heard typing late at night. The teen is also blamed for creating the sounds of barrels being rolled over cobbled stones - the stones had been removed many years previously.
Molly
Location: Yeovil - Railway Station
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: Molly worked at the railway restaurant during the 1960s and died on the platform. Her ghost is held accountable when items are moved around, and electrical items are switched on and off.
Bear in Ball
Location: Yeovil - Road between town and South Petherton
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Seventeenth century?
Further Comments: Travelling between the two towns, a lone man reported a huge bear with flaming eyes along the road, rotating within what sounds to be a large plastic ball (like the hamster 'toy'). The witness's horse then bolted and ran back home.
Zig Zagging Light
Location: Yeovil - Road through Stoford
Type: UFO
Date / Time: Winter 2015, and Summer 2018
Further Comments: On two occasions, a witness travelling through the area observed a bright light flying low in a zig zag motion. During the second sighting, the witness checked their flight tracker app, but the craft did not appear. On both occasions, the witness found online comments that other people had seen the lights.
Footsteps
Location: Yeovil - Shop along Middle Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early 2000s
Further Comments: Marching footsteps could be heard in the upper part of the building in the evening. It was said that the building was used for drills during the Second World War.
Records 401 - 421 of 421
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