Mysterious Britain & Ireland

Category: Folklore

Folklore / Hauntings / Legends / Vampire

Annan Castle

Annan Castle was the home of the Lords of Annandale, the de Brus family (later known as the Bruce family), before they moved to Lochmaben Castle. The move occurred after the River Annan flooded and damaged the motte and bailey castle’s foundations.

Hauntings / Vampire

Melrose Abbey

In 1136 the Cistercian Melrose Abbey was founded following a request from King David I (Scotland) (Born 1084 – Died 24 May 1153) and took ten years to build, though it was added to and extended over the following decades. Being in the border region the Abbey was unfortunately damaged several times during conflicts between the English and the Scottish.

Folklore / Folktales / Manx Folktales

The Stone Cross Of Ballafletcher

In a wild and barren field near Ballafletcher there was formerly a large Stone Cross, but in the many changes and revolutions which have happened in this Island has been broken down, and part of it lost; but there still remains the cross part.

Hauntings / Vampire

Buckinghamshire Revenant

The following by the Augustinian Canon William Parvus, also known as William of Newburgh (or Newbury) (Born 1136 – Died 1198) concerns a haunting or what is sometimes considered a potential vampire case.

Ancient Sites / Vampire

Berwick upon Tweed Vampire

This account of a haunting is considered to be one of the earliest possible accounts of a vampire in Britain. It was written by William Parvus, also known as William of Newburgh (or Newbury) (Born 1136 – Died 1198), an Augustinian Canon who wrote several accounts of haunting/potential vampire cases.

Folklore

El Pipila

A poor Nahuatl Indian boy was born in the countryside near the city of San Luis Potosi in Guanjuato state sometime around the year 1790. The unfortunate child was born with hideous deformities which gave him a peculiar walk and ensured he was picked on by others in the community.

Folklore

Nun Pit, Newington

Many years ago a nunnery in Newington was the scene of a murder. The abbess was the victim and her staff were to blame. ‘About the end of the eleventh century, it is said, there were certain nuns at the manor of Newington, whose prioress was strangled in bed at night by her cook, and in consequence the King took the manor into his own hands and removed them to Sheppey.

Folklore

Nunfield Farm, Old House Lane

There is a story attached to Nunfield Farm that it is built on the site of an old nunnery/monastery and that a nun was bricked up alive there. This is mentioned as follows in ‘Some Notes on the Road from London to Canterbury in the Middle Ages’ (1898) Edited by Henry Littlehales.

Black Dogs / Folklore

The Black Dog, Little Eaton

Little Eaton in Derbyshire has a black dog legend. It is said that the large black animal was a working, hunting hound owned by the last squire of the village, which howled constantly for three days and nights as its master was dying. When the dog ceased howling, the household staff and the villagers knew that the squire had died.

Folklore

Drum Hill, Fuzhou

Drum Hill can be found on the northern bank of the Minjiang River, in the eastern suburbs of Fuzhou, Fujian Province. It is thought that it gets its name from a huge boulder, shaped like a drum that sits on the summit of the hill.