In the village of West Witton, home to ‘Burning Bartle’ and boasting manifestations in both public houses – a ghostly monk in the Fox & Hounds and a Blue Lady frequenting the Whisky Club Lounge of the Wensleydale Heifer, in a private dwelling the reflection of a Victorian crinolined lady is seen in the doors of the householder’s cocktail cabinet, putting in a fleeting appearance before spirits of the non-etherial variety are mixed. This house also holds some past secrets within it’s walls, as when renovation work was being undertaken talismans of a ‘witch repelling’ nature were found within the plaster work, and over the lintel of each door a pigs jaw was found embedded – often associated with protective offerings, some accounts tell of pig jaws being hung down the chimney to prevent evil spirits from entering the dwelling.
Another house in West Witton with a ghostly female presence is the Beacon, former farmhouse and associated with the tract of land running up to Penhill Beacon, situated on the edge of Penhill Crags and supposedly the stone base for a beacon erected in the Reign of Elizabeth I and lit to warn of the coming of the Spanish Armada. The apparition of an old lady favours the front bedroom and becomes particularly active if the bed is moved, although an ‘ill feeling’ has been reported emanating from the Beacon’s cellar, with the ever reliant uncomfortable behaviour of the occupant’s dog providing another indicator that there is an additional resident in the house.