Scarborough: The myths and legends that draw visitors to the Yorkshire coast town including secret doors for smugglers and ghostly processions

There are many reasons millions of visitors flock to Scarborough - some include the fascinating myths and legends that haunt the Yorkshire coast town.

Paddy Billington, 45, set up an independent tourist website Visit Scarborough more than 10 years ago to help share Scarborough with the world.

His main job is radio presenting a breakfast show for This is the Coast and having lived in the town all his life, he is a keeper of all myths and legends that inspire visitors every year.

A popular tale is about the lives of smugglers during the medieval times and there are buildings across Scarborough that date back to that era.

“I’m very passionate about Scarborough,” Paddy said.

“Like a lot of coastal places, especially here on the Yorkshire coast, the stories about smugglers are quite big.

“There are stories of medieval tunnels running from, in particular, the old Three Mariner's Inn in the old town down at the harbour which is still there now.

“If you peep through the windows, you can still see some amazing original features. There are meant to be lots of secret doors, hidden passageways.

“The idea was that if the authorities came in, then smugglers could make a quick getaway.”

According to local superstition, anyone who keeps staring at the porch at St Mary’s Church on St Mark’s Eve at midnight on April 24 will see a procession.

Paddy said that he never dared to do this.

“That procession is meant to show you the people that are going to be dying in the coming year,” he said.

“There is one story of a person who saw this procession and actually saw themselves in this procession.

“The shock of it actually made them collapse and die on the spot. So it kind of came true.

“I've never dared go to St Mary's Church at midnight on the 24th of April just in case I see something or even worse myself.”

According to legend, on Merchants Row a woman spotted and reported the smuggling that was going on but ended up getting buried alive in a tunnel.

“A woman who found out about some of the smuggling that was going on alerted the police but she ended up getting buried alive in this tunnel which collapsed.

“Apparently you can still hear her screams from within the tunnel these days as well.

“There's also meant to be The Headless Earl at Scarborough Castle, Piers Gaveston, from the time of King Edward II.

“Piers Gaveston was captured at Scarborough Castle in the 1300s, and he was actually executed away from Scarborough.

“But there's a legend that his headless ghost wanders the castle trying to lure unsuspecting people towards the edge late at night.”

Harry Bob’s Cave is famous among locals and tourists alike and the mysterious stories behind it.

“In the North Bay, there's a skate park now, which is called Harry Bob's Skate Park, and that's just below Harry Bob's Cave,” Paddy said.

“It's a giant boulder that's probably fallen off the castle headland and it has been sculpted out with a door and two windows. Nobody actually knows the origins.

“There are lots of myths about where it comes from. But the most common one is that it was a hairy man called Bob who was fed up with his wife's nagging that he went to the cliffs and he spent all his time carving this rock.

“That was a bit of a sanctuary for him. But when you do go to it, it's slightly disappointing because you can't quite go into it. You could pop your head in.

“It’s quite an iconic landmark and everyone always wonders what the story is behind it.”

Many stories about witchcraft and the Grey Lady at Scarborough Castle are also popular with locals and visitors.

“There's the Grey Lady at Scarborough Castle who's meant to be mourning the spirit of a woman who died of starvation,” Paddy said.

“There's a story about witchcraft as well; a woman called Old Wife Green who was burned in the market square back in 1630.

“There are a lot of witch bottles used to ward off evil that were buried and some of them have been found locally under fireplaces and under buildings. So they've got some of those exhibited.”

Paddy hosts guided walking tours around Scarborough and gives them an insight into some of the places that many people don’t know about.

“When I do guided walking tours, I always take people around the back of the harbour,” he said.

“A lot of visitors to Scarborough will go along the beach and the harbour, but actually if they went back to the harbour behind the buildings, there's a medieval street called the Bolts.

“Some of the buildings were cleared when they got rid of the slums and some were bombed

during the war but there are still some little pockets of buildings.

“Bolts is an amazing street that many visitors don't see so whenever I'm doing guided walking tours, I will always show it to them.

“Millions of people visit Scarborough every year and it’s been really good the last few months because the weather has been so good.”