West Yorkshire Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana
Elsie
Location: Leeds - Private residence, Kirkstall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 25 October 2015, 22:30h (Elsie seen)
Further Comments: A former shop worker, the ghost identified as Elsie was spotted in the hallway. Other activities reported here include disembodied footfalls, giggling, and lights switched on.
First added: 2017-05-09 | Last updated: 2017-05-09 | ID #12414
Brass Band
Location: Leeds - Private residence, Lynwood Crescent
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Early 1990s, around midnight
Further Comments: As one young man went to bed, he could hear the faint sound of a brass band. Within five minutes the band sounded like it was outside his house so he climbed out of bed and looked out the window but could see nothing. Ten minutes later the sound of the band was so loud it was as if it was in the house. Once again, the man looked out of the window - there was nothing there and the sound stopped. Thinking the incident could have been a dream he did not mention it, although several years later he started to tell his brother the story, who finished the story as he had also heard the same thing.
First added: 2014-05-26 | Last updated: 2014-05-26 | ID #11560
Man in Basement
Location: Leeds - Retail premises along Hunslet Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: March 2007
Further Comments: An employee at this shop spotted an old man in the basement. When they described the man to their manager, they were told the description matched the manager's grandfather who had also worked on the site.
First added: 2012-05-06 | Last updated: 2012-05-06 | ID #10861
Black Hound
Location: Leeds - Roundhay Park
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Photographed (or not) in 2019
Further Comments: This park, like many in Yorkshire, is reputedly home to a large demonic black hound. A photograph published by the local press in 2019 claimed to show the entity, but is more likely to be a dog being walked by its owner.
First added: 2019-08-21 | Last updated: 2019-08-21 | ID #13317
Lift Travellers
Location: Leeds - St James's University Hospital
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: A member of staff would often use a lift in the building, sharing with occupants who would travel upwards only to vanish just before the doors opened.
First added: 2011-07-03 | Last updated: 2011-07-03 | ID #10496
Golden Haired Woman
Location: Leeds - St Mark's Church, Woodhouse
Type: Other
Date / Time: Circa October 1900
Further Comments: A crowd of people gathered to watch a ghostly female figure spotted outside the church, described as having golden hair and sparkling eyes. A woman arrested nearby was named as the 'ghost' and promptly placed in gaol for drunkenness.
First added: 2022-04-03 | Last updated: 2022-04-03 | ID #14445
Blue Lady
Location: Leeds - Temple Newsam House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: While not alone in haunting this mansion, the blue lady is the best known here, having a room named after her. Other entities reportedly include a monk in brown robes, a Knight Templar, a small boy who climbs from out a cupboard, and a non-descript misty form. Screams have been heard from the South Wing, as have the sounds of something or someone heavy being dragged across the floor. One old story says shoes left on the floor overnight in one room would be always be found moved around thirty-centimetres in the morning.
First added: 2002-10-16 | Last updated: 2026-07-15 | ID #2636
Man in a White Coat
Location: Leeds - Thackray Medical Museum
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Post-1997
Further Comments: A ghostly man in a white coat has been spotted in the recreation of a Victorian Street within this building, while a grey lady dressed in nineteenth century clothing waves at staff along the second floor.
First added: 2012-04-08 | Last updated: 2012-04-08 | ID #10814
Charlie Peace
Location: Leeds - Town Hall, the Bridewell
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Held in the Bridewell (a small prison) under the town hall while awaiting his trial, Peace was later executed for a double murder. His ghost is said to remain within his cell.
First added: 2012-04-08 | Last updated: 2012-04-08 | ID #10815
Tall Figure
Location: Leeds - Unknown property, Fieldhead Terrace
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 1932
Further Comments: The knocking sounds from the attic occurred for several nights before a phantom six foot tall man in a long coat started to appear. The owner and all her tenants moved out in November 1932.
First added: 2007-04-11 | Last updated: 2007-04-11 | ID #7287
Armoured Man
Location: Leeds - York Road near Killingbeck
Type: Other
Date / Time: Summer, mid 1990s, around 04:30h
Further Comments: Two occupants of a car spotted an armoured figure riding a horse towards Killingbeck. The witnesses were unclear whether it was a 'real' person heading towards the Royal Armouries Museum.
First added: 2017-02-25 | Last updated: 2017-02-25 | ID #12338
Knelling Woman
Location: Lydgate - St Ann's Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: November 2009
Further Comments: A freelance photographer caught an image of a misty woman kneeling by a gravestone at this churchyard. He later returned to the location and found that the grave at which the woman was photographed belonged to a child who died in the 1800s.
First added: 2014-01-04 | Last updated: 2014-01-04 | ID #11465
Banging
Location: Meltham - Colne and Holme Isolation Hospital (closed 1960s and demolished)
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: January - April 1909
Further Comments: The hospital became plagued by tapping on windows and banging doors over a four-month period. It was suspected a human agency was involved, although guards, police (who spent sixteen nights watching the area) and a private detective were unable to capture anyone.
First added: 2026-07-15 | Last updated: 2026-07-15 | ID #16710
Faceless Man
Location: Meltham - Coulters Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1959
Further Comments: A local man, Peter Compton, ran after encountering a faceless male figure around 190 centimetres tall, which gave chase.
First added: 2026-07-13 | Last updated: 2026-07-13 | ID #16682
Black and Stocky Cat
Location: Meltham - General area
Type: ABC
Date / Time: Spring 2005
Further Comments: The local newspaper offered five hundred pounds to the first person to photograph the large black cat which had been spotted locally dozens of times over a ten year period.
First added: 2005-05-22 | Last updated: 2026-07-13 | ID #6277
Cloaked Figure
Location: Meltham - Golf Course
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1999, (possibly summer) evening
Further Comments: Observed from a shed on the golf course, this cloaked figure had no visible feet and made no sound while passing through the grass.
First added: 2024-11-23 | Last updated: 2026-07-13 | ID #15705
Annie
Location: Meltham - Unidentified council house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 31 March 1961(encounters ended by end of year)
Further Comments: A family here were left terrified by a tall misty woman entity until they discovered it would sit by their young son as he lay in bed, stroking his legs which were affected by meningitis. A medium told them that the phantom was a family member named Annie, who had died a few years previous. After a couple of years, the son regained the use of his legs.
First added: 2013-01-06 | Last updated: 2026-07-13 | ID #11263
Wave
Location: Menston - Staff canteen at High Royds Hospital
Type: Post-Mortem Manifestation
Date / Time: Early evening, early 1990s
Further Comments: A witness said hello to a long-term patient who, known for hardly ever speaking, waved back. The witness later found out the patient had died a week prior to the encounter. The patient had looked completely 'normal'.
First added: 2015-06-16 | Last updated: 2015-06-16 | ID #11821
Joan
Location: Midgley - Milk Churn Joan (standing stone)
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: 31 December (reoccurring)
Further Comments: A few folkloric stories exist concerning the stone, based around Joan going to fetch milk for her family (or fellow villagers) during winter before freezing to death. Another says Joan was turned to stone by the devil, while a third states the name is a corruption of Churnmilk Peg, a fairy-like entity who protected the area. One custom says leaving a coin on top of the stone is lucky. Finally, the stone turns itself over three times at the end of the year.
First added: 2026-06-20 | Last updated: 2026-06-20 | ID #16665
Force
Location: Midgley - Two adjoining cottages, Town Gate
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: February 1955
Further Comments: Mr Quain, a water diviner, claimed to have been pushed against a wall and his rods broken by a powerful force while investigating this haunting. Quain returned with a doctor and another man a week later but could not detect anything untoward. The doctor blamed the haunting on loose floorboards.
First added: 2024-01-14 | Last updated: 2024-01-14 | ID #15232
Servant?
Location: Mirfield - Hollybank (was Roe Head School)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This phantom is said to be at home behind an attic door, close to the spot where a servant may have fallen to their death.
First added: 2013-04-07 | Last updated: 2013-04-07 | ID #11335
Glowing Light
Location: Mirfield - Northorpe Home for Boys
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: September 1965
Further Comments: Footsteps could be heard walking around in the early hours of the morning, while the director of the hall witnessed a strange light, the source of which could not be found, illuminating a chair. The press reported the hall was considered haunted by locals, although the housekeeper was quoted as saying the phantom 'added character'.
First added: 2024-09-15 | Last updated: 2024-09-15 | ID #15631
Prioress of Kirklees
Location: Mirfield - Three Nuns public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1985 onwards, investigated by GCUK in 2013
Further Comments: Doors have opened unaided and shadowy figures spotted in this building. Ghost Chasers UK reported that the building was haunted by two spirits; a nun named Katherine Grice who killed herself on site, and the Prioress of Kirklees, who bled Robin Hood to death.
First added: 2013-12-08 | Last updated: 2013-12-08 | ID #11448
Lady Julia Barwick
Location: Nether Yeadon - Low Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: It was said that a large slab of slate was used to cover up a window to prevent the phantom Julia from entering and exiting. After that she took to using the priest hole.
First added: 2007-08-28 | Last updated: 2007-08-28 | ID #7909
Fordson Tractor
Location: Normanton - RAF Bottesford (aka RAF Normanton) - no longer operational
Type: Environmental Manifestation
Date / Time: 04 October 2009
Further Comments: A visitor to the site heard what he first thought was an old Fordson tractor ticking over, though the sound later changed to an aircraft carrying out pre-flight checks.
First added: 2009-12-31 | Last updated: 2009-12-31 | ID #9779
Records 126 - 150 of 213
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