Mysterious Britain & Ireland

Category: Legends

Apparitions / Buried Treasure / Hauntings

Sykes Lumb Farm

There is nothing now standing of Sykes Lumb Farm though it probably stood near to the present day Sykes Holt. The farm dated back to the the War of the Roses (1455 – 1485) and gained a reputation for being haunted by a boggart that guarded over a hidden treasure. The story has been published several times.

English Folktales / Folklore / Folktales / Legends

Stretford Great Stone

By the entrance of Gorse Hill Park from Chester Road is a large boulder known as the Great Stone. This stone gave its name to Great Stone Road (beside which it stood until 1925) and the old Great Stone Farm. There are many stories, legends and theories concerning the origins of the stone.

Buried Treasure / Legends

Hulme Hall

There are several buildings known as Hulme Hall including one in Allostock, a Grammar School in Cheadle Hulme and a hall of residence for Manchester University. However, the long lost Hulme Hall which was the seat of the Prestwich family is thought to have a hidden treasure protected by occult powers.

Devil / Legends

The Dule Upo’ Dun

‘A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6’(1911) mentions that ‘On the road from Clitheroe to Waddington, near Brungerley Bridge, once stood an inn known as the ‘Dule upo’ Dun’, from its sign representing the Devil galloping madly along upon a dun horse.

Dragons / Legends

Unsworth Dragon

According to ‘Lancashire Legends’ (1873) by John Harland & T T Wilkinson, ‘One of the most noted dragon stories of Lancashire has its locality assigned to Unsworth, a small village or hamlet about three miles from Bury.

Buried Treasure / Demons / English Folktales / Folklore / Folktales / Legends / Occult / Occult Traditions / Witchcraft

Bearnshaw Tower and Lady Sybil

The 17th century Bearnshaw Tower (or Bernshaw Tower) is said to have collapsed in the 1860’s when its foundations were dug away by people hunting for hidden treasure. This pele tower though is best known for its association with a witch, Lady Sybil, who’s story below appeared in ‘Lancashire Legends’ (1873) by John Harland & T T Wilkinson.

Legends

Gifu Castle and The White Serpent God

The current cement Gifu Castle was built in the 1950’s to replace the original which was destroyed when Japan was bombed during World War II. The original castle dated from around 1201 and may have been one of the locations where the following legend of the White Serpent God was set.

Dragons / Legends

Dragon of Aller

The dragon of Aller was a terrifying beast. It spat both fire and venom and flew on vast leathery wings. It lived in a hillside cave just outside of Aller and, as western dragons are want to do, laid waste to the land.

Folklore / Folktales / Legends / Native American Legends / Squamish Legends

The Lions

The two peaks known as The Lions are one of Vancouver’s most recognizable landmarks measuring 5400ft (West Lion) and 5269ft (East Lion). Named Ch’ich’iyúy Elxwíkn (Twin Sisters) by the indigenous Squamish people, the peaks represent two Squamish sisters who marred Haida men and created a peace between the two nations.

Apparitions / Devil / Hauntings / Legends

The Devil of Drakelowe

In ‘Collections for a history of Staffordshire’ (1880) we are introduced to the following account of the events surrounding the case know as The Devil of Drakelowe and the abandonment of the hamlet. The story may have its origins in the Anglo Saxon meaning of Drakelow, ‘Dragons Mound’ which may indicate a burial site with a guardian spirit.