Spooky Isles

WELCOME TO SPOOKY ISLES

Folklore

England’s 10 Most Mysterious Stone Circles

Spooky Isles Team - 3 March 2025

Television

Armchair Thriller (S2, originally untransmitted): The Chelsea Murders REVIEW

Richard Phillips-Jones - 1 March 2025

Ghosts and Hauntings

Emily’s Room: Uncanny (S2, E4) TV REVIEW

Spooky Isles Team - 1 March 2025

SEARCH SPOOKY ISLES

LATEST ARTICLES >

Dale Kaczmarek Spooky Isles

Dale Kaczmarek Paranormal Investigator INTERVIEW

1 March 2025

King Arthur Mythology

How King Arthur Shaped British Folklore

26 February 2025

Nottingham Sign

Digging Up Nottinghamshire’s Hidden Hauntings

24 February 2025

Ace of Wands TV Series

Ace of Wands: Forgotten Cult Classic That Refuses To Die

23 February 2025

Kristian Lander

Kristian Lander, Paranormal Investigator INTERVIEW

22 February 2025

Shadow Man: Uncanny (S2, E3) TV REVIEW

Shadow Man: Uncanny (S2, E3) TV REVIEW

21 February 2025

Curse of Alloa Tower: The Erskine Family’s Lament

21 February 2025

She-Wolf of London 1946

She-Wolf of London 1946 REVIEW

19 February 2025

GHOST & HAUNTINGS >

Ghosts and Hauntings

Hounslow’s 10 Haunted Places To Visit

Patsy Sorenti - 4 October 201711

PATSY SORENTI serves up a selection of the ghosts haunting Hounslow’s many streets and houses...

Beaumaris Castle Postcard

Haunted Beaumaris Castle: A Ghostly Guide

6 August 2023

Kilkea Castle County Kildare

County Kildare: 5 Haunted Places to Visit

22 January 2023

Lady Ursula’s Ghostly Christmas Walk at Madingley Hall

4 August 2023

Richard Dugdale was at the centre of an infamous 17th century possession case in rural northern England, says RICK HALE

The Possession Of Richard Dugdale, The Surey Demoniac

4 August 2023

Haunted Castles

Haunted Pubs

Haunted Hotels

HORROR & FANTASY FILMS >

CALL GiRL 2014 REVIEW

10 March 2022

10 Batman villains who appeared in British Horror Films

10 March 2022

Axed 2012 REVIEW

13 February 2022

Carry On Screaming! 10 Things You Didn’t Know

22 July 2023

TELEVISION >

Armchair Thriller (S2, originally untransmitted): The Chelsea Murders REVIEW

1 March 2025

Emily’s Room: Uncanny (S2, E4) TV REVIEW

1 March 2025

MJ Dickson talks In Search of the Paranormal

4 August 2023

Ghosts Christmas Special 2023

Ghosts Christmas Special 2023 REVIEW

31 December 2023

Haunted: The Ferryman 1974 REVIEW

26 July 2023

Inside Number 9’s The Devil of Christmas TV REVIEW

23 December 2022

GHOST HUNTING

PARANORMAL REALITY TV

ESOTERIC ARTS

FOLKLORE & SUPERSTITION >

England Stone Circles

England’s 10 Most Mysterious Stone Circles

18 January 2025

King Arthur Mythology

How King Arthur Shaped British Folklore

18 January 2025

The Christmas ‘Werewolf’

6 October 2023

Halloween started in the Emerald Isle, and ANN MASSEY McELROY guides us along the road through five spooky places to visit there for a true Ireland Halloween experience!

Ireland Halloween: 5 Spookiest Places To Visit

1 November 2023

Glossary of British and Irish Folklore Creatures

Glossary of British and Irish Folklore Creatures

20 October 2024

Otta Swire, Otta F Swire

Otta F Swire, Scotland’s Forgotten Folklorist

7 August 2023

DARK HISTORY >

Curse of Alloa Tower: The Erskine Family’s Lament

5 January 2025

Holy Trinity Church Bone Crypt

Holy Trinity Church, The Bone Crypt of Rothwell

21 January 2025

Hatchet Inn: Blackbeard and Ghosts in Bristol’s Oldest Pub

11 November 2024

Image of Woodvale Cemetery in Brighton

Woodvale Cemetery: Victorian Beauty and Crowley’s Final Farewell

8 October 2024

Executioner Jack Ketch beheads James Scott, Duke of Monmouth, in 1685.

Jack Ketch: The Executioner Who Horrified London

6 October 2024

Campden Wonder: A Mystery of False Confessions and Injustice

20 September 2024

LITERATURE >

The Magician by W. Somerset Maugham

The Magician: W. Somerset Maugham’s Lost Horror Classic

18 January 2025

7 Chilling Victorian Ghost Stories Perfect for Christmas

7 Chilling Victorian Ghost Stories Perfect for Christmas

24 December 2024

Alex Guinness as Jacob Marley in Scrooge 1970.

Who are the Ghosts of A Christmas Carol?

2 December 2023

Macabre Notions by Aaron White BOOK REVIEW

10 March 2022

Travelling In Jonathan Harker’s Footsteps through Romania

8 August 2023

Bram Stoker’s Top 5 Inspirations For Count Dracula

14 August 2023

Dracula

Frankenstein

Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde

UFOS & ALIENS >

Paranormal The Village That Saw Aliens

Paranormal: The Village That Saw Aliens TV REVIEW

8 July 2024

The Bizarre Legend of St Catherine's Island

The Bizarre Legend of St Catherine’s Island

19 April 2024

The Warminster Thing, UFO over Wiltshire

4 February 2024

Weirdest England UFO Encounters from History

14 January 2023

UFOs over England with Nigel Wright VIDEO

23 September 2023

The Rendlesham UFO Coverup: What Really Happened?

4 August 2023

CRYPTOZOOLOGY >

Beast of Bodmin Moor

The Beast of Bodmin Moor: Myth or a Very Big Cat?

10 November 2024

Morgawr: Cornwall’s Legendary Sea Serpent

15 November 2024

Alien Big Cat Sightings Claw Through Kent

Alien Big Cat Sightings Claw Through Kent

12 November 2023

Beast of Bodmin Moor

The Beast of Bodmin Moor: Myth or a Very Big Cat?

10 November 2024

Cryptid Worms: Legend and Lore

4 August 2023

Was The Terrifying Bat Beast Of Kent Really An Alien UFO?

4 August 2023

MYSTERIOUS PHENOMENA >

Curse of Alloa Tower: The Erskine Family’s Lament

5 January 2025

Chilling Messages: My Haunting Encounter with the Unseen

Chilling Messages: My Haunting Encounter with the Unseen

8 September 2024

Mysterious Overtoun Bridge Where Scottish Dogs Go To Die

4 February 2025

An artist's impression of what might have happened to Thomas Farrant

The Mysterious Locked Room Death of Thomas Farrant

5 January 2023

The Bizarre Kersey Time Slip Mystery

The Bizarre Kersey Time Slip Mystery

27 October 2023

Richard Case and Gef The Talking Mongoose

Richard Case: How I’d Solve The Talking Mongoose Mystery

9 October 2023

EDITOR'S PICKS

Folklore

What Lurks At The Written Stone, Longridge?

Rick Hale - 27 October 20220

Spooky stories surround The Written Stone of Longridge, Lancashire, including tales of boggarts, says RICK HALE

Werewolves of Wales: Everything You Need To Know

22 April 2013

The Karnstein Trilogy: Hammer’s Sexy Vampires

19 June 2012

Graeme Reynolds

Graeme Reynolds Horror Author Talks Werewolves

27 June 2013

Shadow of the Vampire 2000 REVIEW

6 December 2021

I Wanna See Joan Collins Give Birth To A Demon

26 May 2012

5 Greatest Dracula Films You Can’t Afford to Miss

20 April 2012

MJ Dickson talks In Search of the Paranormal

7 October 2021

Don’t Open Till Christmas 1984 REVIEW

19 December 2022

Bella Ramsey as The Worst Witch (2017-2020).

Television

The Worst Witch (2017-2020) TV REVIEW

Gemma Johnson - 25 October 2024 0

Ouija Board Laptop

Esoteric Arts

Ouija Boards Are ‘Laptops Plugged into Dark Web’

Jaimie Lee-Barron - 31 July 2024 1

St Frideswide of Oxford

Ghosts and Hauntings

St Frideswide’s Day and Oxford’s Ghostly Secrets

Spooky Isles Team - 18 October 2024 0

Welcome 14

Television

Shadows (E3, S7): Honeyann

Richard Phillips-Jones - 1 November 2023 0

Lifeforce 1985

Film Reviews

Lifeforce 1985 REVIEW

William Bove - 23 July 2024 0

Ghosts BBC Carpe Diem

Television

Carpe Diem: Ghosts BBC (S5, E5) EPISODE REVIEW

Gemma Johnson - 3 November 2023 0

The Ancient Unicorn, Bowes

Ghosts and Hauntings

The Ancient Unicorn: A Tragic Ghost Story

Spooky Isles Team - 11 November 2023 0

Welcome 15

Television

Armchair Thriller (S1, E6-10): A Dog’s Ransom REVIEW

Richard Phillips-Jones - 24 May 2024 0

Jack The Ripper's Bedroom, 1907, painted by artist Walter Sickert

True Crime

Why Was Walter Sickert Mistaken For Jack The Ripper?

Guest Writer - 2 March 2024 0

Ripper Street

Television

Ripper Street: Victorian Shadows and Haunted Detectives

Spooky Isles Team - 27 September 2024 1

Ivy

Superstitions

Ivy Folklore: Things You Didn’t Know

Helen J.R. Bruce - 25 December 2023 0

Vincent Price’s eerie narration elevates the stripped-down 1949 TV adaptation, The Christmas Carol, a haunting and vintage take on Dickens’ classic ghost story

Television

The Christmas Carol 1949 TV REVIEW

David Saunderson - 23 December 2024 0

Religious Horror and the Ecogothic

Literature

Religious Horror and the Ecogothic BOOK REVIEW

Kaja Franck - 9 July 2024 0

Swindon

Ghosts and Hauntings

Swindon: 5 Haunted Places to Visit

Spooky Isles Team - 12 February 2025 0

Alex Guinness as Jacob Marley in Scrooge 1970.

Literature

Who are the Ghosts of A Christmas Carol?

Spooky Isles Team - 16 December 2023 0

DISCOVER MORE FROM THE ARCHIVES

Welcome 16

Have You Driven Scotland’s A75, The Haunted Road?

MJ Steel Collins - 13 July 2014 0

MJ STEEL COLLINS takes a spooky trip down the haunted stretch A75 in southern Scotland

The Making of Harry Potter Studio Tour REVIEW

25 September 2012

The Crown at Kingsclere

Kingsclere’s Ghosts: Echoes of Wartime Tragedy

26 September 2023

Hands of the Ripper Poster

Hands of the Ripper 1971 REVIEW

30 August 2013

Mystery of the Gwydir Witch: Beyond Their Emerald Spires

1 May 2024

Emily’s Room: Uncanny (S2, E4) TV REVIEW

1 March 2025

Spring Heeled Jack

The Further Adventures of Spring Heeled Jack

16 August 2013

10 Haunted Irish Pubs to Visit for St Patrick’s Day

17 March 2015

Enfield Poltergeist Children

Enfield Poltergeist Origins Unveil A Creepy Tale

30 August 2014

PARANORMAL

Most Haunted Live Dick Turpin

Paranormal Reality TV

Dick Turpin Most Haunted Live REVIEW

Guest Writer - 21 July 2014 2

DARK HISTORY

Easingwold Church

Dark History

The Communal Coffin of Easingwold, Yorkshire

Spooky Isles Team - 29 May 2012 2

HORROR FILMS

Welcome 18

Film Reviews

Citadel 2012 REVIEW

Ann Massey McElroy - 14 April 2015 0

FILM REVIEWS >

Men 2022

Men 2022 REVIEW

Kate Ingleby-Parylo - 29 January 2023 0

Men 2022 treads the fine line between blatant and profound, says KATE INGLEBY-PARYLO

Victor Frankenstein 2015 REVIEW

23 February 2016

Taste the Blood of Dracula 1970 REVIEW

23 October 2013

Unearthly Stranger 1963 REVIEW

19 February 2015

The Quiet Ones 2014

The Quiet Ones 2014 REVIEW

13 April 2014

Albert Finney as Scrooge 1970.

Scrooge 1970 REVIEW

11 December 2023

Xtro 1982 scene

Xtro 1982 REVIEW

12 September 2021

Frankenstein The True Story 1973 TV REVIEW

13 March 2014

Konga 1961 REVIEW

26 October 2013

FOLKLORE

Love knot

Esoteric Arts

Strange British Love Spells and Curses

Jon Kaneko-James - 20 January 2013 1

ESOTERIC ARTS

John Dee

Esoteric Arts

John Dee, Occult Pioneer: 10 Things You Need To Know

Spooky Isles Team - 13 July 2023 0

HORROR FILMS

Sara Karloff and Stephen Jacobs

Horror and Fantasy Films

Sara Karloff Visits London To Salute Her Father

David Saunderson - 13 October 2012 0

The Demon Headmaster

The Demon Headmaster Keeps Us Spellbound!

Doctor Jekyll 2023

Doctor Jekyll 2023 REVIEW

Dracula Chapter 7

Dracula by Bram Stoker – Thoughts on Chapter 7

Libraries in the London Borough of Lambeth have some very special connections to horror literature and the supernatural, says guest writer DAVID TURNBULL

Lambeth’s Fantastical Trinity of Specialist Libraries

Hammer Horrors Never Made

11 Greatest Hammer Horrors Never Made

As Doctor Who celebrates its 60th anniversary today, DAVID TURNBULL looks at how the iconic sci-fi show has used monsters and other Whovarian horrors to terrify us in its classic episodes

Whovian Horrors: Watching Doctor Who From Behind The Couch

Haunted Scotland

Haunted Scotland’s 25 Spookiest Places to Visit

The Uninvited 1944

The Uninvited 1944 REVIEW

Welcome 22

What do Angels mean in Cemeteries?

Sauchie Poltergeist

The Sauchie Poltergeist: From Despair to Hope

Barbie Wilde Female Cenobtite

Hell Hath No Fury Like Barbie Wilde, INTERVIEW

The Return of Dracula 1958

The Return of Dracula 1958 REVIEW

Who was Bob Dragon?

The Tragic Tale of Glasgow’s Bob Dragon

Northern England Charms That Guard Against Evil

Northern England Charms That Guard Against Evil

Stoney Middleton

Stoney Middleton’s Dark Past

Thriller (S1, E1): Lady Killer REVIEW

League of Gentlemen Christmas Special 2000

The League of Gentlemen Christmas Special 2000 – Yule Never Want...

Ham House, near Ricmond

The Haunting of Ham House, Richmond

Love knot

Strange British Love Spells and Curses

Welcome 24

Legend of Old Crockern And The Right To Roam VIDEO

Crumlin Road Gaol in Belfast.

Crumlin Road Gaol: What ghosts lurk within its walls?

Challenger Lodge Today

The Ghost Dog of Ward Nine, Challenger Lodge

Irish horro and ghost story writer Sheridan Le Fanu

Sheridan Le Fanu’s Ireland: 11 Historic Places to Visit

Austin Osman Spare paints nightmares

Jill the Ripper

Jill the Ripper? 5 Women Accused Of Being Jack

Welcome 26

Armchair Thriller (S2, E11-14): Dying Day REVIEW

Bramall Hall Courtyard

Fairies and Spectres Curse Haunted Bramall Hall

Welcome 27

5 Reasons Your House Probably Isn’t Haunted

The Shout 1978 REVIEW

Wind Chill 2007

Wind Chill 2007 REVIEW

Welcome 29

H.G. Wells: 10 Things You Didn’t Know

From Beltane to Halloween, ZOWIE SWAN explores the fiery legacy of Teanlay Night on Lancashire's Fylde Coast

Teanlay Night: A Fylde Coast Halloween

Elliott O'Donnell Bigfoot

Did Elliott O’Donnell Meet Bigfoot?

Cadair Idris

Cadair Idris: Snowdonia’s Mountain of Mysteries

Screaming Lord Sutch Jack the Ripper

7 Top Jack the Ripper Songs

Ghost Hunting in Northern Ireland

Welcome 31

Nosferatu the Vampyre 1979 REVIEW

Frankenstein is the epitome of British Gothic Horror

Reading Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a liberation against an old world...

The Hole in the Wall pub in York

7 Most Haunted York Pubs To Visit

Toads, Witches and Murder in Stradbroke Village, Suffolk

Walter Map

Vampires and Zombies: Walter Map’s Monsterous Herefordshire

10 Werewolf Fun Facts to make you howl!

Haunted Balgonie Castle in Fife, Scotland

Chester: 5 Haunted Places To Visit

The Haunting of Helen Walker

The Haunting of Helen Walker 1995 REVIEW

Welcome 36

George Hotel Crawley: A True Account Of Ghosts And Murder

Black Swine, Feral Pigs in London Sewers

Black Swine: Did Feral Pigs Live In London’s Sewers?

England UFO Sightings

Weirdest England UFO Encounters from History

Welcome 37

Henry Bertram Starr, The Case Of The Blackpool Ripper

Hauntings by Neil Oliver

Hauntings: A Book of Ghosts by Neil Oliver BOOK REVIEW

Enfield Poltergeist Children

Enfield Poltergeist Origins Unveil A Creepy Tale

Camberwell’s Machete-Wielding, Pram-Pushing Ghost

Welcome 39

Shadows (S3, E4): The Boy Merlin

St Magnus the Martyr Church in the City of London

8 Haunted English Churches You Must Visit

Welcome 40

Eerie Essex with Bethan Briggs-Miller VIDEO

Outcast 2010 scene

Outcast 2010 REVIEW

Most Haunted Leap Castle

Which UK Paranormal Reality Show Is The Best?

Welcome 41

Are these Jack the Ripper ghosts?

Prince Rupert Hotel

Prince Rupert Hotel’s ancient paranormal horrors

Great British Ghosts

Galleries of Justice and Viaduct Tavern: Great British Ghosts (S1, E5)

Cursing Stones, the Mysterious Altar for Revenge in Ireland

Welcome 43

Why I love Night of the Demon (1957)

Welcome 44

A Warning To The Curious 1972 REVIEW

St Stephen's Green Dublin

St Stephen’s Green, Dublin: A Centre Of Spooks And Spectres!

Welcome 45

Shadows (S1, E7) The Other Window REVIEW

Ghost Army Still Haunts Culloden Moor

Salisbury: 5 Haunted Places To Visit

Wales Witches

Why Witches Were Safer In Wales

Powis Castle

Haunted Powis Castle’s Spooky Secrets

Redwood Castle

The Haunting of Redwood Castle, County Tipperary

Welcome 48

The Magic of Drake’s Drum Still Beating Strong

Welcome 49

The Exorcism of Bobby Bawn of County Westmeath

El Conde Dracula 1970

El Conde Dracula 1970 REVIEW

Nothing but the NIght

Nothing But The Night 1973 REVIEW

Phantasm Collective

Phantasm Collective Blends Mystical With Science

Pearlin Jean, Pearlin' Jean

Pearlin’ Jean: A Ghost Story Of Umpteen Variations

Murder by Decree

Murder by Decree 1979 REVIEW

Jack the Ripper Books

6 Essential Jack the Ripper Books for Beginners

Welcome 50

Ballymena: 5 Haunted Places to Visit

Welcome 51

10 Creepiest Ireland Burials

Welcome 52

Bury St Edmunds: 5 Haunted Places to Visit

You’ve got to be Choking!

Protecting Against Grave Robbers

Haunted Yorkshire Pubs That Will Terrify You

Cheltenham Poltergeist

Was The Cheltenham Poltergeist The Real ‘Woman In Black’?

Haunted Exeter Is Alive With Paranormal Activity

Cabra Castle

Cabra Castle: Second Scariest Hotel In The World?

Hever Castle

Hever Castle, Kent: Beware Anne Boleyn’s Ghost!

Welcome 55

David Warner OBITUARY

New Slains Castle, The Real Dracula Castle?

5 Unexplained UFO Sightings in London

Farewell Douglas Wilmer, TV’s Sherlock Holmes

Ireland’s 6 Scariest Ghost Children

Welcome 59

Basil Rathbone, Spooky Star Profile

Halloween started in the Emerald Isle, and ANN MASSEY McELROY guides us along the road through five spooky places to visit there for a true Ireland Halloween experience!

Ireland Halloween: 5 Spookiest Places To Visit

Most Haunted Leap Castle

The Hellfire Caves Most Haunted REVIEW

William Terriss

William Terriss’ Ghostly Encores In Haunted London

Peter Cushing fan

Why I love Peter Cushing, by Marcus Brooks

Welcome 60

Britain’s 5 Spookiest Haunted Hospitals

Welcome 61

The Demon Bride of County Monaghan

Spooky Isles is the UK and Ireland’s leading independent horror and paranormal online magazine. We're dedicated to exploring all the dark history, horror, folklore and mysterious phenomena our islands have to offer.