The Paranormal Database

Flogged Man

Location: North Newbald - 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.

Moved Foundations

Location: North Otterington - Church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The church here was intended to be built closer to Thornton-le-Moor but the Devil moved the stones to where the church was finally constructed.

Large Hound

Location: Northallerton - A684, between Northallerton and Leeming Bar
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Summer 2001, between 20:00h - 22:00h
Further Comments: A large black dog ran in front of two women travelling to Leeming Bar by car. The driver closed her eyes and braked hard, expecting to hit the creature. The passenger watched the hound pass through the bonnet, and noticed the creature had no facial features, floppy ears, and was shadow-like. A man who the women spoke to once they reached their destination later killed himself - was the hound a portent?

Large Cat

Location: Northallerton - Hailstone Moor, near Scholla Lane
Type: ABC
Date / Time: December 2011
Further Comments: One man reported two sightings of a big cat on consecutive days in December 2011. The creature was bigger than a domestic cat and stood against a fence which was later used as a reference point to measure it; the creature was estimated to be around five foot (150 centimetres) long.

Young Girl

Location: Northallerton - Northallerton Prison (no longer operational)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-January 2014
Further Comments: The prison was said to be haunted by the ghost of an eleven-year-old girl imprisoned for stealing bread.

Wishing Well

Location: Northallerton - St John's Well, near the ruins of priory at Mount Grace (may no longer exist)
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Nineteenth century
Further Comments: Wishes were said to be granted if you stuck a pin into an ivy leaf before casting it into this well.

Two Children

Location: Northallerton - The Cleveland Tontine
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Several ghostly presences are reputed to haunt this building, including two children who hide items, and a man who is said to be protective of the kids. Outside, a disembodied pair of legs wander around.

Victorian Gentleman

Location: Norwood - Lady le Gros public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1998
Further Comments: Samuel Peacock, a former landlord, still maintains a presence in his former bar, and has been seen several times or heard as he walks down the cellar steps.

Rustling

Location: Nunnington - Nunnington Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The property was once said to be haunted by the sound of a rustling dress. The sound was said to come from a woman whose only son died after falling from an upper floor window. She spent the reminder of her life sitting quietly, occasionally rushing to the window from where he fell, before once again returning to her seat.

Self-Healing Dragon

Location: Nunnington - Exact location unknown - Loschy Hill?
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The dragon which set up home near here possessed the ability to heal itself and spit poison. It was finally defeated by Sir Peter Loschy and his dog; as Sir Peter cut pieces of the monster off, the dog picked the segments up and ran away with them. Alas, the knight also died when his dog jumped up and licked his face in celebration, rubbing some of the dragon's poison on to his master.

Catherine Stamper

Location: Nunnington - Nunnington Avenue
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The ghost of Catherine has been spotted walking around the area, though her motivation is unclear.

Veiled Woman

Location: Osgodby, Selby - General area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa November 1910
Further Comments: This female entity stepped out in front of a farmer driving a horse and trap, bidding the man 'goodnight' before disappearing into nearby trees. A cyclist also encountered the ghost, describing it as a woman wearing a black veil.

Friendly Entity

Location: Osmotherly - Cottage attached to Lady Chapel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1924
Further Comments: A booklet discussing the chapel mentions that the friendly ghost which inhabited the cottage was exorcised in 1924.

Oscar and his Mother

Location: Osmotherly - General area
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A legend says that the village is named after a mother and her son Oscar who drowned (or froze to death, depending on the story). The pair were lay to rest side by side, hence Os-by-his-mother-lay.

Thomas Bamber

Location: Oswaldkirk - Malt Shovel public house (closed 2017)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2007
Further Comments: After tables and chairs were found in disarray, and small items were tossed through the air, a rector exorcised the building in the late 1990s. However, new landlady Pam Wilson believes the pub to be haunted by Thomas Bamber, a five year old boy who died around the turn of the twentieth century.

Baker Ghost

Location: Ouseburn - Kirby Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1950s-1980s
Further Comments: A vague figure which was occasionally seen on the second floor would be accompanied by the smell of cooking, gaining it the nickname Baker Ghost. Mild poltergeist activity was also reported - contents from a bookcase found thrown around a room.

Hob

Location: Over Silton - Carlhow Hill, Hobthrush Hall (cave) and surrounding area
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This member of the fairy family was said to be live in the caves and would occasionally leap around upon the hills in the area. He was also reported to churn butter for the local innkeeper in return for a slice of bread and butter. On one occasion, the innkeeper forgot to leave the food out for Hob, resulting in the entity leaving the area in disgust.

Gliding Monk

Location: Pickering - Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1950s
Further Comments: Clad in grey clothing, this robed figure drifted across the lawn outside the front of the castle. The witness said it looked like the ghost had a bloody face and was carrying something, though he could not see what.

No Chest

Location: Pickhill - Hill
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Mother Shipton was said to have prophesied that when the hill was cut open, a black chest filled with money would be found. Alas, when the hill was cut into by railway workers in 1851, no treasure was discovered.

Fletcher

Location: Raskelf - Exact location not known
Type: Post-Mortem Manifestation
Date / Time: July 1683 (or 1684)
Further Comments: The village fletcher was murdered by his wife, her lover and another recruited solely for the act. The group would have gotten away with the crime, if it were not for the fletcher returning as a ghost and appearing to the lover, warning him to confess. The lover disclosed the crime to his sister, who told a friend, who told a Justice of the Peace, who ensured the criminals were caught, tried and executed.

Chest of Gold

Location: Reeth - Maiden's Castle (Iron Age fort)
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Every attempt to find this hoard of gold is met with failure; it is protected by a hen capable of extinguishing candles and, when the hen fails, violent storms which rise from nowhere.

Helpful Hob

Location: Reeth - Sturfitt Hall (aka Sturfit Hall) (no longer standing?)
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A domesticated fairy who took up residence here left when the owner insulted it by offering the creature a new set of clothing.

Susan Peacock

Location: Reeth - Tan Hill Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Skull photographed November 2019, other sightings not known
Further Comments: The inn featured in local press after an unconvincing skull was photographed in a smoky fireplace. The site is reputed to be haunted by former landlord Susan Peacock, who may have manifested at the foot of a bed dressed in 1930s clothing. The smell of pipe smoke has also been reported.

Richmond Castle (public domain).

King Arthur

Location: Richmond - Richmond Castle
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Beneath the keep of the castle, deep underground, is a secret room where King Arthur rests until Britain needs him. A young drummer who was sent down a tunnel to find the hideout vanished without trace, though his phantom drumming can still be heard underground. Finally, the castle's Gold Hole Tower had associated folklore which said gold was concealed underneath, although no evidence of this has ever been uncovered.

Ripley Castle, Yorkshire.

Bottom Half of a Lady

Location: Ripley - Ripley Castle, the Tower Room
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1998?
Further Comments: Witnessed by one of the castle guides leaving the Tower Room, this ghost walked through two closed doors. The Tower Room also experienced poltergeist activity when the chimney was unblocked in the middle of the twentieth century - pictures were turned around and the furniture positions altered. The other ghost of the castle is said to be a nun, who walks around at night, knocking on bedroom doors, and entering when invited.