Welcome to Weird Wiltshire
Weird Wiltshire is a county steeped in ancient history. Tales of legends, ghosts and folklore abound this area in the South West of England. Ancient monuments, ruinous castles, stately homes and humble cottages fill the beautiful rolling downlands.
In my quest to find strange and unusual tales, I explore stories of ghosts and the paranormal, folklore, history and anything weird, found in Wiltshire and beyond. I’ll be sharing spooky tales from around the world too!
Mixing first-hand accounts from those willing to share their stories and exploring yarns and mysteries from past times, I bring together a collection of stories and true tales for you to explore.
You can follow me on Twitter or contact me here. It would be good to hear from you!
Latest blog posts
A Mummified Hand at The Haunch of Venison Salisbury
Why is a strange mummified hand under lock and key in an old bread oven in The Haunch of Venison Salisbury pub? I found out! And it wasn’t just a shrivelled hand that made this very old inn a curious place to visit... Originally the building was used to house craftsmen working on the spire of Salisbury Cathedral. It dates back to 1320. The building wasn’t licenced until approximately 200 years later when it became a brothel and eventually an...
Sharing Spring Cottage
This is a personal tale about a farm cottage, called Spring Cottage, in Chilmark, Wiltshire that I rented with my boyfriend. It was a quaint little two-bedroom cottage with small windows and thick stone walls, dated 1876. We were looking to move out of Salisbury into one of the quiet villages in the South West of Wiltshire. I had lived in various cottages in the villages surrounding Salisbury as there were always plenty of rental properties...
Searching for Kitt’s Grave and the Ghosts of Bowerchalke
Confusion surrounds the story and location of Kitt’s Grave. It’s often the case when investigating stories from the past. Tales based on real-life events were rarely recorded on paper and there was no internet! Evidence is often scant. Their existence today relies upon ‘word of mouth' with the stories passed from generation to generation being embellished and changed over time. It seems this may be the case with the story of Kitt’s Grave but I...
The Haunted Bartender
I'm happy to announce I have been granted an exclusive interview with Barnesy, otherwise known as The Haunted Bartender. Originally from a small village in North Wiltshire called Aldbourne, The Haunted Bartender has been working in the hospitality trade for over 30 years, managing pubs and hotels throughout the West Country. Barnesy has collated tales of reportedly haunted drinking establishments from around England and bought them together on...
Sign of the Angel, Lacock Ghost
Haunted Pubs of Weird Wiltshire Series The Sign of the Angel, Lacock ghost has been seen on a few occasions and is even advertised on their sign by the door. It's not surprising this pub has at least one ghost, given it's history! It's a well preserved example if one of the many old pubs and inns you can find across weird Wiltshire. At this present time, the pub count in Wiltshire is around 920. Being such an ancient county, quite a few of them...
Crop Circles in a Year of Covid
I came across these amazing photos of crop circles, discovered in Wiltshire in late May 2020. One looks like a Chinese yin and yang symbol. The other is uncannily similar to a cartoon Covid viral droplet. Is that the right science word there? I’m not sure! It made me think about writing a bit about crop circles since so many of them seem to turn up in weird Wiltshire! Here’s a video of the two circles mentioned above-...
Notting Hill Police Station Ghost- The Sugar Bowl Incident
This is a story my dad told me about a potential Notting Hill Police Station ghost. He was a policeman in London for over 30 years and is not the kind of man given to being overtly emotional or having fanciful notions. When someone sceptical about ghosts and the paranormal tells me a ghost story they can’t explain, it always interests me more. They will always look to explain the situation away before thinking it is due to ghostly...
Are black cats lucky? This one was!
Photo by Hannah Troupe on Unsplash Black cats- lucky or not? What do you think when a black cat crosses your path? 'Yay! It's my lucky day.' Or, 'Oh no! Now I'm in for some bad times.' It's only in recent years, well since the 1800's, that black cats have been perceived as lucky. Older records show that the good fortune you may or may not receive from encountering a black cat was dependent on the circumstances of your encounter. If the cat...
The History of Halloween
Before you head out trick or treating, there's time to remember a little of the history of halloween. Autumn is well and truly here by the time the 31st of October comes around. These days it’s all about dressing up in scary costumes, trick or treating your neighbours to get plenty of sweets and partying! Early Origins of Halloween What a lot of people don’t realise is the history of Halloween stretches back many, many years to the time of the...
Ghosts of Wardour Castle, near Tisbury
Wardour Castle is one of my favourite local spots where I walk my dogs in the surrounding woodlands. Although it is an English Heritage site, it is generally pretty quiet and off-the-beaten-track. A chance sighting of one of the ghosts of Wardour Castle also adds to the temptation of a visit there. Next to the castle is a beautiful lily pond and there is nowhere more peaceful to sit, on a warm Summer evening. But Wardour Castle is quite a...