Hampshire & New Forest Stories of the Supernatural by Sonia Smith
‘Most people are intrigued by ghosts and stories about paranormal happenings, even if they do not believe in them’.
Category: Fairies
The Ankou
The Ankou was a grim harvester of souls from the dark side of Brittany folklore, once believed to ride the dark lanes of Brittany in search of unwary travellers and the benighted.
The Ankou came in many guises, most commonly as a gangling skeletal figure with long white hair and a revolving head so he could look in every direction, his features shaded by a long brimmed hat.
Ben Bulben
Legendary home of the Irish third century warriors known as the Fianna, Ben Bulben (or Benbulben, Benbulbin, Binn Ghulbain) is a large glacial rock formation in the Darty Mountains.
The Buggane
The Buggane is a fearsome supernatural creature from the rich folklore of The Isle of Man. It appears in literature in various forms, usually having the power to shape shift. In one of its forms it is associated with water, and is similar to the Cabbyl-Ushtey the Manx Water Horse.
Castle Wildenstein
Castle Wildenstein (Schloss Wildenstein) dates from the around the 16th century and has acquired a reputation for being haunted. According to John and Anne Spencer in The ‘Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits’, on 1st March 1953, Baroness von Lobenstein reported seeing an apparition of a young boy in a sailor suit stood in the kitchen.
The Buggane of St Trinians
St Trinian’s church is the ruined shell of a 14th Century building standing at the foot of Mount Greeba on the Isle of Man. The chapel was the haunt of a Buggane: a fearsome creature of Manx folklore that appears in a number of folktales from the island.
Haifa Mermaid
The following article entitled ‘Mermaid Fever Makes A Splash In Israel’ appeared on the Sky News Website 11 August 2009, written by Dominic Waghorn (Middle East correspondent)
Eynhallow, Ancestral Home Of The Finfolk
On 14th July 1990, eighty-eight bird watchers got off a ferry organised by the Orkney Heritage Society and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds at the uninhabited Eynhallow Island. Only eighty-six returned for the journey back, which sparked a huge search and rescue operation involving the police and coastguard.
River Honddu Water Horse
The River Honddu (Afon Honddu) runs through the Black Mountains in the Brecon Beacons starting at the Vale of Ewyas and said, according to folklore, to be the home of a small grey Ceffyl-dwr (a welsh water horse similar to a Kelpie).
Faroe Islands Mermaid
In 1723 a Royal Commission from Denmark visited the Faroe Islands in the Norwegian Sea to investigate claims of a mermaid being in the area. They saw a merman approach their ship, submerge then surface to stare at them intently with deep set eyes. Unsettling those aboard, the vessel was commanded to withdraw and as it pulled away, the creature puffed out his cheeks, roared and submerged again.
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