The Paranormal Database

Vanishing Car

Location: A171 - Road across the moors
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 23 August 1979(?), 22:00h-23:00h
Further Comments: Driving across the moor as it smouldered from wildfire, occupants of a car found themselves closely followed by a vehicle which appeared literally out of nowhere and sat on their rear bumper; whatever movements the driver made, the vehicle behind them copied. The strange car followed for ten minutes, only vanishing as the witnesses passed over a bridge.

Floating Coffin

Location: Acaster Malbis - Hauling Lane?
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown - pre nineteenth century?
Further Comments: Two men driving sheep and returning home to York spotted a coffin floating in the air ahead of them, dipped as if carried on the shoulders of invisible men. A Bishop walked behind the coffin, his mouth moving but with no sound being heard. The apparitions vanished close to a field. Both men were said to have spent several days in bed after their encounter.

Giant's Treasure

Location: Addleborough - Barrow in the area
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The giant's treasure slipped from his grasp as he crossed the area, the hoard sinking into the ground and becoming covered in rocks. The giant had to leave the treasure behind, but it was written that a mortal man could recover the wealth if a fairy in the form of a chicken or an ape appeared; the man would have to reach out and grab the treasure without making a sound, and if he failed to do so, the fairy would never appear to him again.

Banished Spirit

Location: Aldwark - Roads near the stone known as the Conjuring Stone, close to Chapel-garth (currently on grounds of Aldwark Manor)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A ghost which haunted the roads around this area would terrify the locals after dark, so a holy man was dispatched to banish the entity. After a time, the ghost was tied to a large rock which was designated the Conjuring Stone.

Earth-shaking Sounds

Location: Appletreewick - Low Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Mid eighteenth century
Further Comments: Coming from deep underground, low unearthly groans would often knock ornaments from their stands. The cause of the disturbance was finally exorcised.

Barguest

Location: Appletreewick - Trollers Gill (or Ghyll)
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Possessing glowing red eyes and a yellow tint to its fur, the dog-like barguest is a harbinger of doom.

Trolls or just pareidolia?

Trolls

Location: Appletreewick - Trollers Gill (or Ghyll)
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Living beneath the ravine, the trolls are said to emerge at night and track down their prey - humans. At least one farmer was lured to his death by their ability to trick people into straying from the road.

Monks

Location: Askrigg - Fors Abbey
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-twentieth century
Further Comments: It was once believed that any torch taken into a particular stone passage would be extinguished by the ghosts of the monks. Logic would suggest that the torch would be blown out by the winds.

Mary

Location: Askrigg - Nappa Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1878
Further Comments: This location is another haunt of the spiritually busy Mary Queen of Scots, who has been seen here wearing a black velvet dress.

Best at the Bottom

Location: Austwick - Unidentified deep pool
Type: Other
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A man with a group of friends either jumped or fell into a deep pool in the village. The man did not return to the surface, but a series of bubbles emerged from the water, the popping forming the words 'It's best at the bottom'. The man's friends all jumped in to see whether the words spoke the truth. None returned from the pool.

Lady in Black

Location: Aysgarth - Road between Aysgarth & Woodhall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: March 1934
Further Comments: Dressed in dark Victorian clothing with white gloves and a walking stick, this woman has been mistaken for someone living, though she never interacts with witnesses.

Crimson Lady

Location: Ayton - Crossroads in the area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Two phantoms were reputed to haunt this crossroads. A crimson lady (who is now likely redundant) would scare passing horses by leaping out at them. The second ghost, a pale woman on horseback, would scream at witnesses, and was said to chase passing cars.

White Figures

Location: Bainbridge - Semmerdale Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-nineteenth century
Further Comments: It was written that if this building were passed while travelling along an old dirt track from Bainbridge, white ghostly figures could be seen wandering around.

Butter Makers

Location: Baysdale - Unidentified spring or well in the area
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The little folk would use water in this area in the creation of their butter.

A strange figure in woodland.

Misty Figure

Location: Bedale - A684 road, leading to Leyburn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The road leading west from Bedale is reputedly home to a grey misty figure. The mist is also said to haunt a nearby wooded area.

Housekeeper

Location: Beningbrough - River near the village
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Murdered in a house that no longer stands, this lost shade has migrated to the nearby river where she walks along the bank.

Bogie Goose

Location: Berry Well - General area
Type: Other
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The village is home to a mischievous spirit that has taken the form of a large white goose.

Hording Lizard

Location: Bilsdale - Exact location not known
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A dragon was said to reside in a tumulus, protecting its hoard.

White Lady

Location: Boltby - Road leading into village
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: June 2012, around midnight
Further Comments: One witness in a car reported seeing a white woman wearing an old fashioned party dress, although the woman's legs disappeared below the knee and the face was blurred. The witness said it was like watching a 'replay', and although the witness's car headlights did not illuminate the figure, the woman was visible against the darkness of the environment.

Tall Woman in Black

Location: Boltby Bank - Track between Bilsdale & Thirsk
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Murdered by her husband before he escaped to mainland Europe, this lady once haunted a hall that stood nearby. Once demolished, she took to haunting the surrounding area.

An old postcard of Bolton Abbey in Yorkshire.

Walking Monk

Location: Bolton Abbey - Bolton Priory - area between abbey and ruins of priory
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 18 August 1912
Further Comments: This figure trudges across the land, forever carrying on with an unknown task that connects the two buildings. The apparition was last seen in the rectory by Lord Hartington, who said the figure had a round faced and was unshaven.

White Horse

Location: Bolton Abbey - Ghaistrill's Strid, River Wharfe
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: Prior to a drowning
Further Comments: The appearance of a ghostly white horse would indicate someone would soon be drowned in the Strid (according to one story, it would be the person who spotted the phantom).

Tom Hoggett

Location: Boroughbridge - Great North Road (A1), between town and Scotch Corner
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This former highwayman, wearing a coat so long it almost drags along the ground, is still thought to lay in wait for the unwary along this stretch of road.

Devil's Bolts

Location: Boroughbridge - Standing Stones, in a field near Aldborough
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Stones still present
Further Comments: These large standing stones are said to have been thrown by Old Nick at Aldborough, an old Christian settlement that once stood here. After failing to hit his target, the Devil hanged himself from the largest stone!

Airman

Location: Burn - Wheatsheaf public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown, but said to be most likely to appear on Mother's Day
Further Comments: This pub is said to be home to a phantom airman wearing a great coat, most likely to be seen on the fourth Sunday of Lent.