Not sure if this is really a ghost story as I always thought it might be a genius loci, but here goes.

When our collie dog was younger my wife and I would often take turns walking her in Macclesfield Forest, a largely cultivated patch of woodland (mainly non-native softwoods with increasing patches of native broad-leaves) on the edge of the Peak District that occupies the head of a valley and affords quite spectacular views of this corner of England and in the far distance North Wales. The forest is dotted with derelict farms and criss-crossed by stone walls with the occasional leafy spring hidden in damp green corners.

After a walk one day I was heading down the hill back to the car with the dog trotting ahead when a few yards away in the forest a green mist, about the size of a person rose up in front of me. I kid you not, it lingered for a few minutes as I approached then dispersed. It was definitely green, and it was a warm day totally without the mists which cling to the trees some days. I wasn't unnerved, just dismayed. I went to the patch where the mist rose and there was nothing there but grass; I thought it could have been pollen but it was very localised and not a hint remained in the seconds it took me to get there. In truth, it simply didn't look like pollen and I've never seen anything like it in 15 years of walking around the local countryside on a daily basis.