Specific Location: Thirsk

Radiant Boy

‘There is the popular legend of the ‘Radiant Boy’ — a strange boy with a shining face, who has been seen in certain Lincolnshire houses and elsewhere. This ghost was described to Mr. Baring-Gould by a Yorkshire farmer, who, as he was riding one night to Thirsk, suddenly saw pass by him a ‘radiant boy’ on a white horse.

Lady Well, Thirsk

“An old historian of the town says: "In the marsh near the church flows a spring of pure and excellent water, commonly called Lady Well, doubtless a name of no modern description." Yorks. Folk-lore, p. 199. . [The Legendary Lore of the Holy Wells of England by Robert Charles Hope (1893)]

Headless Woman of Dalton

The following account appeared in ‘Notes on the Folk-lore of the Northern Counties of England and the Borders’ by William Henderson (1879) “At Dalton, near Thirsk,” writes Mr. Baring-Gould, “is an old barn, which is haunted by a headless woman. One night a tramp went into it to sleep.

The Blinded Giant, Dalton

The following tale of a North Yorkshire giant appeared in ‘English Fairy and Other Folk Tales’ by Edwin Sidney Hartland [1890] who cited ‘Notes on the Folk-Lore of the Northern Counties of England and the Borders.’

Upsall

Upsall is associated with a common tale: A man from the village dreamed for three consecutive nights that he should go to London and stand on London Bridge. Conceding to impulse he went to London and while on the bridge he was approached by a Quaker, to whom he told his dream.