Yorkshire Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana
Singing
Location: Ripon - Fountains Abbey and Hall, near the village
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown, but archaeologist's encounter 1989
Further Comments: The gentle sound of a choir singing has been heard as the sun goes down, though no earthy singing group is based nearby. A blue lady is reported to haunt the nearby hall. An archaeologist working on site reported seeing a heavy door unlatch and open itself, although he did not feel threatened and continued his work.
Old Boots
Location: Ripon - Unicorn Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Known to his friends as Old Boots, Tom Crudd was a well-liked boot boy, and his nonfrightening ghost now haunts the hotel.
Hugh Ripley
Location: Ripon - Wakeman's House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Horn still blown today
Further Comments: The town has a famous ritual which involves blowing the Charter Horn, traditionally used to warn against Viking raiders before its use became ritual. Hugh was the first mayor of Ripon and was obsessed with ensuring that the horn was blown correctly, watching over its use every day. If the horn is not blown correctly, Hugh will appear and gaze out of the attic window disapprovingly. Some say the town will be hit by disaster if the horn is not respected.
Man with Penny Farthing
Location: Ripon - Workhouse Museum
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2010s
Further Comments: A ghostly man standing alongside a penny farthing bicycle has been spotted standing outside the museum. Children's voices can reportedly be heard coming from within the workhouse after it has been closed and locked up for the night.
White Horse
Location: River Wharfe - Wharfedale's Strid
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: 01 May (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Together with a fairy, this pale horse rises from the dangerous waters once a year. It has been known to drown people who come too close.
Floating Man
Location: Rivock Edge - Bridleway along the plantation
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1998
Further Comments: Appearing twice in the same area within the year, this figure unnerved workers who were improving the paths and drainage in the plantation.
Drifting Monk
Location: Roche - Roche Abbey
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s
Further Comments: This hooded spook has been seen slowly moving around the ruins of this once proud abbey, as has the shade of a grey lady. The site is also home to a wishing well.
Green Eyed Cat
Location: Rossendale - Healey Dell Nature Reserve
Type: ABC
Date / Time: 2011, 2018
Further Comments: In 2011, one witness spotted what they thought was an Alsatian-sized dog, but it ran off and jumped over a wall like a cat. Seven years later, the witness's neighbour had a similar sighting and reportedly observed a black panther with big green eyes.
Man in Top Hat
Location: Rossington - Rossington Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A former landowner, this gentleman has been reported near the stables.
Whispering
Location: Rotherham - Bar Refrigeration factory (no longer standing)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1996
Further Comments: Whispering was heard in a storeroom by a lone worker, which lasted several minutes; the language was not in English. Footsteps were also heard in the empty building.
Mr White
Location: Rotherham - Cross Keys public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: A former landlord who died in the mid-twentieth century, Mr White now manifests as a dark figure in various parts of the building.
Written Messages
Location: Rotherham - Doncaster Road, East Dene
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: April 2012
Further Comments: The Rotherham Advertiser carried the story of Angela Casswell, who claimed to have experienced paranormal phenomena at her home, including threatening messages written on her window, bangs, flashing lights and unexplained footsteps.
Mauled Miner
Location: Rotherham - Silverwood Colliery
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Mid to late twentieth century
Further Comments: This phantom miner was seen wearing old overalls carrying a lamp - his most distinct feature was the black space that filled the place where his facial features should have been.
Angry Miner
Location: Rotherham - Winter Green public house
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 2022-2023
Further Comments: A ghostly angry miner who once worked the pits under the pub is blamed for poltergeist activity in the pub and is nicknamed Derek by locals.
The Rudston Monolith
Location: Rudston - 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.
Pilots in Hangar
Location: Rufforth - Rufforth Airfield
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: A disastrous bomber landing resulted in almost a dozen deaths, a wrecked farmhouse, and three more bombers ruined as they sat on the ground - the crew of the aircraft responsible have been observed in a hangar on the site.
Cure for Whooping Cough
Location: Runswick Bay - Hob Holes - caves along the coastline
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: Any child taken into the caves at low tide would be cured by the little people (or little person, depending on the legend) who lived within.
Headless Woman
Location: Ruswarp - Churchyard wall, Prospect Hill
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This headless phantom sits upon an old wall here.
Goosey
Location: Ruswarp - Sleights Road
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Murdered by an unknown person, the man once known as Goosey now returns to the village whenever an accident is eminent.
Little Girl
Location: Saddleworth - Cross Keys Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2007
Further Comments: This phantom little girl appeared briefly in one bedroom before vanishing. The sound of horses' hooves and of something being dragged have also been reported.
Moaning
Location: Saltburn-by-the-Sea - Creek leading to the sea (around six miles inland)
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Pre-nineteenth century, windy days (reoccurring)
Further Comments: When the wind was strong, a terrible groaning could be heard coming from the creek, which the fishermen believed to be a warning that the sea would take a life.
Trapped Shade
Location: Saltersgate - Saltersgate Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Still present?
Further Comments: The peat fire is said to have burnt continuously for two hundred years, with successive landlords upholding the tradition - the body of a murdered man is hidden under the spot, and it is told that his shade will escape if it ever goes out. The moorland nearby is haunted by the sound of sobbing.
Tom
Location: Sand Hutton - Busby Stoop Inn, road outside
Type: Curse
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Tom Busby murdered his father with a hammer - an event which resulted in the public house in which the crime was committed being named after him. Hanged for the crime, his shade now comes back complete with noose, and any who see it are doomed. The shade was once thought to be centred on Tom's favourite chair, though when the chair was removed to Thirsk Museum, Tom stayed pub-bound. The chair itself was thought to be cursed, anyone sitting on it would die soon after.
Dancers
Location: Scalby - Moors in the area, heading north
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A young man heading towards Whitby spotted a group of fairies dancing in a circle. The man joined them. At one point during the dance the fairies called out 'whip, whip!', and they pulled out and cracked small hunting whips. The man then called out the same words, which resulted in the fairies whipping him and giving chase as he fled towards Whitby.
Horse and Cart
Location: Scampston - Mill (likely no longer standing)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Eighteenth century
Further Comments: After the death of the man who transported corn to the mill, an old white horse and cart took to haunting the area.
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