However, while Drake was a national hero, locals believed that he had only defeated the Spanish Armada because he had made a pact with the devil.

The valley served as a burial ground for pharaohs from the 16th to the 11th century BC, though it really only gained international attention in modern times after the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun (King Tut) in 1922. But St Mary’s is home to something much more disturbing than its lion-head gargoyles and grotesque corbels. Here we uncover spooky stories of dark magic and local legends that feature five of England’s most atmospheric churches. There are disasters, and there are disasters like the one Ukraine faced in 1986 that left it deprived of life.The stone walkways and labyrinth of mausoleums are as beautiful as they are eerie, and Recoleta has a couple of haunted legends of its own. Many visitors to these locations have reported ghostly sights such as phantom horse-drawn carriages, screams from buried alive victims and sinister murdered wives and mistresses. He refused right up until the point he had to give it…and then he found himself giving the sermon anyway. The complex history is rife with tales of burning witches, monks, a Centurian on horseback, real evidence of Devil worship and ritual sacrifice and even rumour that a pagan burial site resided in that exact location over 5,000 years ago. The village name derives from an Old English word which means 'ridge belonging to the god Thunor or Thor'.

Lying in east Hertfordshire is actually what some say Britain's most haunted church which has some wild tales about it. Some people claimed they’d seen Hartland lurking in the churchyard, while others said they’d seen figures walking in the field between the vicarage and churchyard. The city of Long Beach purchased the ship in 1967 and turned it into a hotel, and it still serves that purpose today—although the reported ghosts of the deceased passengers get to stay for free. Today the remains of the church still lie there as does its graveyard and the 15th-century church bell.The Earl’s tomb, which lies inside the building, commemorates the unusual death of the two boys, noting ‘both of which died in their infancy by wicked practices and sorcerye’. From the moment a military technician captured a photograph of a “UFO” hovering over the forest in 1968, Hoia-Baciu has gained paranormal notoriety around the world, with some believing it to be a portal that causes visitors to disappear. According to the Whaley House Museum, some of the family members still haunt the landmark, running up the stairs and turning lights on and off. The newspaper explained that Alderson sold the lead “for whatever could be procured for it” (1854: 4).