South Yorkshire Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana
Young Boy
Location: Longley - Longley Old Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This building is reportedly home to two entities - the first a young boy dressed in breeches, the other an older woman wearing a black gown with a flower pattern.
Mary Revill
Location: Loxley - Loxley common
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Murdered on New Year's Eve 1812 by persons unknown, Mary's wraith has appeared several times since. The creaking chains of a gibbet have also been reported, even though it was removed in the early nineteenth century. The gibbet contained the body of Frank Fern, executed after being found guilty of the robbery and murder of a jeweller crossing the common.
Alien Chase
Location: Loxley - Myers Lane
Type: UFO
Date / Time: 1977
Further Comments: A couple in a car were reportedly pursued by a UFO. Both people claimed to have seen the occupant of the craft and described the figure as large with frizzy hair.
Birthplace
Location: Loxley - No exact area
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Loxley has been named as the most likely birthplace of Robin Hood.
Drunken Miner
Location: Maltby - Quarry near local mine
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: September 2005
Further Comments: Two lads walking by here came across a semi-naked man drinking from a cider bottle who warned the pair to be careful. The figure entered a nearby shaft and vanished. One of the witnesses later found out that a former miner with a drinking problem was found dead in the area, his body discovered in the slurry pit.
Drifting Monk
Location: Maltby - 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.
Organ Player
Location: Monk Bretton - Baily Club
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: The sounds of a hymn being played on the club's organ were reported, though there was no one on the instrument at the time. A shadowy figure has also been reported, as have cold spots and strong bursts of wind.
Shadows
Location: Monk Bretton - Mill of the Black Monks
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: The vague shapes of men in long gowns have been seen running around this area.
Leering Woman
Location: Mosborough - Former school grounds (no longer present)
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: July 1974, evening
Further Comments: Two people out walking spotted a woman running in the opposite direction. She wore a long flowing dress, had long hair, and took massive strides, as if her legs were too long for her body. As she ran, the woman looked in the direction of the witnesses, revealing a leering expression and no eyes...
Horse & Cart
Location: Mosbrough - The Crofts public house, road leading to
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1980s
Further Comments: Patrons of this pub reported seeing a ghostly cart being pulled by a horse, in turn being led by a farmer. The apparition would disappear at a nearby pond.
Music
Location: Nether Haugh - Private residence
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1980-2000
Further Comments: It was reported that the poltergeist at this location could be heard playing a piano and a xylophone. Footsteps would also be heard in empty parts of the building and electronic machines were watched as they stopped and started unaided.
Crying
Location: Newmillerdam - Private residence along Barnsley Road
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: 04 / 05 September 2008, around 02:45h
Further Comments: On two consecutive nights, a couple awoke to the sound of a young child crying. The sound lasted four or five minutes before stopping. There were no children in the building at the time.
Man in Top Hat
Location: Old Royston - Bridge/cycleway between Old Royston and Newmillerdam
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: 14 July 2014
Further Comments: One witness photographed what was thought to be a ghostly figure wearing a top hat and tails standing under this bridge.
Shaking Bed
Location: Oxspring - Private residence, Sheffield Road
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: August - September 1926, and 1922
Further Comments: A train driver living here in 1926 reported hearing footsteps walking around his bed before it would be violently shaken by an unseen hand. Another family member had seen glasses and chairs move unaided. The family dog refused to climb the staircase. A similar outbreak had previously occurred on the site.
Well Dressed Man
Location: Penistone - Cannon Hall, area around the Deer Shed
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Nineteenth century
Further Comments: This figure, which would disappear if approached, was thought to be the ghost of a local man who had fell in love with a family maid; they had arranged to run away together, but this was prevented, so the man joined the army. He died soon after, and his ghost returned to what should have been his romantic rendezvous point. In 1729, the hall became home to Little John's bow after it was removed from Hathersage church.
Dead from the Moor
Location: Penistone - Dog and Partridge public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early 2000s
Further Comments: This public house was once used to store dead bodies which were found on the nearby moorland - it is believed a few of these unfortunates have remained earthbound and are now seen as fleeting shadows from the corner of one's eye. Strange smells have also been reported.
Corpse Candles
Location: Penistone - St John's Church
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: July 1793
Further Comments: A local curate watched two lights dance around a particular grave in the village, before disappearing. The following day, the grave was opened to allow the burial of a young boy who had died at the time the glowing balls had been seen.
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.
Laughing Man
Location: Royston - Private residence, Station Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s
Further Comments: A former resident recalled several ghosts during her childhood which included an abnormally large black cat, malnourished children in nightgowns, the sound of a crying baby, and a disembodied hand, in a green silk sleeve, carrying a glass of water. The witness also recalled seeing a man in a red plaid shirt who silently laughed.
Young Girl
Location: Scawsby - Private residence
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 2010
Further Comments: A woman in a bedroom became aware of a girl sitting on the bed. Believing the girl to be her sister's daughter, who was staying in an adjoining room, she reached out to touch the girl, but her hand passed through the figure.
Records 51 - 75 of 158
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