Home › Search
Seek a legend
Search by town, county or creature.
Madam Dudley's GhostOxfordshire · GhostsA lady found dead at the foot of the stairs, a ghost that walked so stubbornly it took nine parsons to lay her, and a pond that never froze again.
The Barguest of the OxwellsYorkshire · Black dogsWhen someone important was about to die, a great black dog with eyes like saucers came out, and every dog in the place howled after it.
The Giant Bolster and St AgnesCornwall · GiantsA giant who could stride six miles in one step, and the clever saint who asked him to fill a hole in the cliff at Chapel Porth.
Awd Nance and the Skull That Must StayYorkshire · GhostsAnne loved her new house so much that she made her sisters promise to keep her head in it for ever. They didn't, and the house never let them forget.
Once Burned, Twice BurnedEdinburgh · GhostsA minister carried blindfold through the night, a fire at a great house, and the lady who rose from the flames to give a warning.
Captain Bell and the Old Man in WhiteLondon · GhostsAn old man with a white beard took him by the ear and promised him the time and the place to finish his book. He kept his word.
Scratching Fanny of Cock LaneLondon · GhostsIn 1762 all London crowded into a little house in Smithfield to hear a ghost knock out the name of her murderer.
Cormoran, the Giant of the MountCornwall · GiantsThe giant who built St Michael's Mount from white granite, the green stone his wife dropped on the sand, and the boy called Jack.
The Devil's QuoitsOxfordshire · The Devil · Standing stonesThe Devil lost his temper over a Sunday game and threw three great stones across the Thames.
The Dragon of Dragon HillOxfordshire · DragonsWhere St George killed the dragon, and why nothing will grow where its blood ran out.
The Phantom Armies of EdgehillWarwickshire · GhostsTwo months after the battle, shepherds heard drums in the night sky, and saw the armies fight it all again.
Mrs Griffith's DreamEdinburgh · GhostsThree times in one night she dreamed the boat was sinking, and before dawn she went to her nephew's room to stop him going.
Fair Rosamund and the Silken ThreadOxfordshire · Royal legendsA hidden bower at Woodstock, a jealous queen, and a thread that led her to Rosamund's door.
The Field of the Forty FootstepsLondon · Curses & marvelsTwo brothers fought to the death in a London field, and for a hundred years the grass would not grow in their footprints.
The Unjust Judge of Great TewOxfordshire · GhostsAt midnight the judge who wronged the village drives his coach-and-six round an old elm in the park.
Hob Headless and the Stone by the RoadCounty Durham · Hobs & helpers · GhostsA headless sprite haunted the road to Neasham until he was laid under a stone, and whoever sits on that stone can never get up again.
Hobhole Hob of Runswick BayYorkshire · Hobs & helpersA kindly hob lived in a cave by the sea, and if your child had whooping cough, you knew just where to take them.
The Earl in the Gilt Room and the Lady Who Met HerselfLondon · GhostsA beheaded earl who walks at midnight with his head in his hand, and a daughter who met her own double in the garden.
Parson Ford's MessageLondon · GhostsDr Johnson called it the best-attested ghost story he had ever heard: a dead parson in a cellar, and a message nobody would repeat.
The Just Devil of WoodstockOxfordshire · The Devil · GhostsIn 1649 Parliament's men came to Woodstock to do away with the King's Oak, and something in the old manor made them very sorry they had.
Major Weir and the Burning StaffEdinburgh · Witches · GhostsThe holiest man in the West Bow never prayed without his staff, and when the truth came out, the staff burned with him.
The Night of Wonders in Mary King's CloseEdinburgh · GhostsA grey old man's head at the door, a floating arm that offered to shake hands, and a room full of tiny dancing creatures.
The Men-an-Tol, the Crick-stoneCornwall · Standing stonesCrawl through the holed stone nine times against the sun, people said, and your bad back would mend; lay two pins on top, and it would answer your questions.
The Mermaid of ZennorCornwall · MermaidsA lovely stranger who sang in Zennor church, the best singer in the parish who followed her home, and the mermaid carved on a bench-end to remember them.
The Merry Maidens and the PipersCornwall · Standing stonesNineteen girls who danced when they should have been at church, two pipers who played for them, and a ring of stones in a Cornish field.
Mr Bonnell Walks OutOxfordshire · GhostsTwo students watched him walk out of the college gate and up the High Street at noon. He had not left his bed for days.
The Rollright StonesOxfordshire · Standing stones · WitchesFeatured legend: The King Who Became a Stone. A king, a witch and seven long strides: why the Rollright Stones can never be counted.
The Fire at Roslin ChapelMidlothian · GhostsWhenever one of the St Clairs is about to die, the old chapel seems to blaze with fire, though nothing ever burns.
St Frideswide and the Blinded KingOxfordshire · Holy wells & saints · Royal legendsA princess who wouldn't marry, a king struck blind at the gates of Oxford, and a spring that burst from the ground at Binsey.
Tregeagle and Dozmary PoolCornwall · Ghosts · The DevilA wicked steward called back from the grave, set to empty a bottomless pool with a holed limpet shell, and howling across Cornwall ever since.
Wayland, the Invisible SmithOxfordshire · Hobs & helpersLeave your horse and a coin at the old stones, and come back to find it shod by a smith nobody ever saw.
The White Lady of SkipseaYorkshire · GhostsA Norman lord poisoned his gentle wife and fled across the sea, and she has walked the castle mound ever since.