Mysterious Britain & Ireland

Author: Ian

Apparitions / Hauntings / Road Ghosts

Hitchhiker of Ragley Hall

Another Warwickshire road ghost has become known as the ‘Hitchhiker of Ragley Hall’. Drivers have apparently stopped and given an old lady described as wearing a shawl and bonnet a lift to Dunnington Cross only to have her disappear.

Apparitions / Hauntings / Road Ghosts

A435 Road Ghost

The Paranormal Database refers to a road ghost on the A435 near Coughton Court which dates from the 1990s.  Described as a middle aged woman in a beige raincoat she has been seen stepping out into the road then vanishing.  This has apparently been seen several times and caused at least

Apparitions / Hauntings

Coughton Court

A Pink Lady was said to haunt  the area around the Tapestry Bedroom in the Grade I listed Coughton Court, though she is thought to have been exorcised in the early 20th century.  The seat of the Throckmorton family, who owned the estate from 1409, Coughton Court is probably best known for its links with the Gunpowder Plot of 1605.

English Folktales / Folklore / Folktales

Hoghton Tower

Dating from 1560-1565, Hoghton Tower is a Grade I listed fortified manor house situated on the highest hill in the Hoghton area. The following tale by John Roby was published in his ‘Traditions of Lancashire’ in 1872. He refers to it being left to decay and by the middle of the 19th century it was derelict.

English Folktales / Folklore / Folktales / Hauntings

Ince Hall, Ince-in-Makerfield

John Roby in his ‘Traditions of Lancashire’ (1872) relates the following tale which he entitled ‘The Haunted Manor House’, which he identifies as being Ince Hall in Wigan. As Roby acknowledges, there are a few buildings known as Ince Hall which leads to confusion when trying to identify the exactly where this tale is said to be based.

English Folktales / Folklore / Folktales

Raven’s Castle

Raven’s Castle is a cluster of rocks on the moors about 6 miles north of Slaidburn and close to the Lancashire border with Yorkshire. John Roby in his ‘Traditions of Lancashire’ (1872) set the following folk tale amongst these rocks.

Ancient Sites / English Folktales / Folklore / Folktales

Mab’s Cross

The remains of this 13th century (earliest known mention 1277) stone cross can be found on Standishgate and is thought to have been a medieval waymarker between Chorley and Wigan.  It was moved from its original position on the other side of the road in 1922 when the road was widened.  The cross’s name is derived from its legendary association with Lady Mabel Bradshaw.  T

Folklore / Hauntings

Pickens County Courthouse

A mysterious and ghostly tale is told about the Pickens County Courthouse in Carrollton, Alabama. It concerns a supposedly innocent man being lynched, the evidence of which is still there for all to see today.

Apparitions / Hauntings

Verdala Palace

Dating from 1586, the Verdala Palace was built from a hunting lodge by the (52nd) Grandmaster of the Order of Malta (Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta or Knights of Malta) Hughues Loubenx de Verdalle (Born 1531 – Died 1595) and has been the official summer residence of the President of Malta since 1987 as it had been for the British Govern