Mysterious Britain & Ireland

Country and County: Cumbria

Apparitions / Hauntings / King Arthur / Legends

Blencathra Mountain (The Saddleback)

This mountain is one of the locations associated with an army of sleeping knights, this time King Arthur and his men, waiting for the call to arms when he is most needed. In old Cumbrian, Blencathra means ‘Devils Peak’

Directions: A footpath leads to the hill from Blencathra Centre.

Apparitions / Hauntings

Carlisle Castle

This building is reputed to be haunted by a ghostly woman. A soldier in 1823 was so frightened when he encountered her, that he bayoneted the apparition, impaling the wall behind it. The soldier fainted and died of shock the following day.

Apparitions / Hauntings

Lowther Hall

The ruined castle and the grounds of this old estate, are said to be haunted by the spirit of Lord Lonsdale. All that remains now is an empty shell of a relatively recent castle on the site of the old hall.

Apparitions / Hauntings

Gibbet Hill, Beacon Edge

A skeletal apparition of a man still trapped in the gibbet, which displayed his corpse, was said to haunt Gibbet Hill, Beacon Edge, Penrith. The ghost is said to be that of a man called Nicholson who bludgeoned to death his godfather Thomas Parker whilst he was returning home from the Cross Keys Inn at Carleton.

Ancient Sites / Burial Mounds / Giants / King Arthur / Legends

Eamont Bridge and Arthur’s Round Table

Two prehistoric henge monuments have become known as Arthur’s Round Table, a common theme in folklore were ancient structures become romanticised into legendary sites.  A cave near Eamont Bridge called giants cave is associated with two legendary giants called Tarquin and Isir.

Apparitions / Hauntings

Levens Hall

The hall, parts of which date back to the twelfth century, is haunted by a multitude of ghosts. A Grey Lady haunts the Hall’s driveway, she appears in front of cars and then disappears without a trace. In the past, before the motor age, she is said to have appeared in front of horse and carts.

Apparitions / Hauntings

Souther Fell, Mungrisdale

A phantom army was witnessed on Souther Fell by a farm hand on Mid-Summers-Eve in the year 1735. The army took the form of mounted troops with infantry marching in a column. One year later on the same date the army was seen again by William Lancaster who was a local farmer.

Apparitions / Hauntings

Gill House, Aspatria

During World War II Gill House was used as a dormitory for the Woman’s Land Army, during this time a great deal of strange phenomena occurred, which led to an investigation by the Canon of Carlisle the Late W. J. Phythian Adams.

Hauntings

Workington Hall

The ruined hall was once a magnificent fortified home belonging to the powerful Curwen family. It is said to be haunted by ghostly children and the Jacobite ‘Galloping Harry Curwen’ (Henry Curwen circa 1715).