Geevor Tin Mine

Geevor Tin Mine, perched on Cornwall’s dramatic Atlantic coast, operated from the 18th century until 1990 and is now a heritage museum. Throughout its working life, miners consistently reported hearing the mysterious sounds of “knockers” - the Cornish mine spirits known in folklore as the Tommyknockers or Buccas. These ethereal beings were said to create tapping and knocking sounds deep within the rock face, warning miners of impending danger or guiding them toward rich veins of ore. The knockers were believed to be the spirits of ancient miners, pixies, or even Jews who crucified Christ, cursed to work underground forever.

Workers at Geevor treated these spirits with great respect, leaving small offerings of food from their pasties and refusing to whistle underground, which was believed to anger the knockers. Many miners credited these supernatural warnings with saving their lives, claiming the knocking would intensify before cave-ins or in areas with dangerous gas pockets. The tradition was so deeply ingrained that it traveled with Cornish miners who emigrated to mining communities worldwide, spreading the legend of the knockers to California, Australia, and South Africa.

Modern visitors to the museum frequently report unusual sounds during underground tours - unexplained tapping, distant hammering, and the rumble of ore carts when none are in operation. Staff members have heard their names called in empty tunnels and witnessed tools moving of their own accord. Some believe the knockers remain as guardians of the mine, continuing their centuries-old vigil even though the last commercial mining ceased decades ago. The persistent nature of these encounters has made Geevor one of Cornwall’s most authentically haunted industrial sites.