Spooky Isles has covered ghosts, folklore, horror and dark history across the UK and Ireland since 2011. Our aim is to tell a good story without blurring the difference between documented history, testimony, folklore and paranormal claims.
Fact, claim and legend are not the same thing
A haunting may contain several different kinds of information. A building date can be historically documented. A newspaper may record that somebody reported seeing a ghost. A witness can describe what they personally experienced. A local legend may have been repeated for generations without a traceable original source.
We try to make those differences clear rather than presenting every part of a ghost story as established fact.
Labels you may see on Spooky Isles
Information supported by historical records, archives, reputable published research or other identifiable sources.
A claim or event recorded close to the time it was said to have happened, often in a newspaper or other period source.
A person’s own description of what they say they saw, heard or experienced. It is testimony, not independent proof of the cause.
An interview, recording or account gathered directly by Spooky Isles rather than copied from another publication.
A story that forms part of a place’s tradition or oral history but may not be verifiable as a historical event.
A photograph, EVP, video, instrument reading or similar item presented as potentially paranormal. We do not treat ‘unexplained’ as automatically supernatural.
Our attempt to put competing accounts, sources and explanations into context. Where an interpretation is disputed, we aim to say so.
How we research place-based stories
Depending on the subject, research may include historic newspapers, archive material, books, local-history sources, official records, interviews, investigator accounts and previous Spooky Isles reporting.
For visitor information such as tours, opening dates, meeting points and prices, we prefer the operator or venue’s own current information and record when practical details were last checked.
Original interviews and archive material
Spooky Isles has recorded investigators, witnesses, authors, folklorists and horror creators over many years. Where that material is relevant to a case or place, we increasingly link it directly from the article rather than leaving it hidden in an old archive.
Explore original interviews, video & audio
Photographs, EVPs and video
Images and recordings can be interesting without being conclusive. Compression, reflections, insects, dust, camera movement, audio interpretation, editing and missing provenance can all affect what appears to have been captured.
Our evidence archive therefore separates the reported claim from the material’s provenance and possible ordinary explanations wherever that information is available.
Explore the Paranormal Evidence archive
Corrections and updates
Older articles can contain information that has changed, particularly visitor details, ownership, opening status and links. We update material as it is revisited and welcome specific corrections supported by a reliable source.
Contact Spooky Isles if you have a correction, a primary source we should see or first-hand information that could improve a story.
What Spooky Isles does not claim
Publishing a ghost story does not mean we are declaring that a supernatural explanation has been proven. Our job is to preserve and examine the story, its history, its witnesses and the evidence around it — and to be clear about which is which.