One of the most scariest places above ground that I've experienced was when on a ramble (in the very early 1960's) walking the footpath which goes from the A6 just before Taddington Hill, up through Deep Dale by the side of Great Shacklow Woods near to Magpie sough tail. I carn't explain the sinister feeling that I felt when on this walk, it felt really evil and enclosed, I didn't want to look back and felt as though something evil was right behind me. I never ever repeated this walk. Afterwards I discovered that an alternate name for the dale is Demon's Dale, but wasn't aware of this fact at the time. The footpath eventually passes near the Hubberdale mines. I have no explanation for sensing this evil feeling nor do I know of any ghostly legends around there to explain it.
Iclok - congratulations, you are indeed a gentleman of many gifts, a poet as well as an artist. Have you perchance come across a Derbyshire book called "Ghosts of Derbyshire" by Clarence Daniel (from memory he came from Eyam - the Plague Village that shut itself off from the world around 1665/66 so as not to spread the disease to the rest of the county, many of the villagers died - and it is his collection that forms the basis of the excellent Eyam Museum) published by Dalesman Books in 1977 cost 85p, it contains extracts from old mining and ghostly poems and gives authors names. I have a copy and can give you quotes of poems and authors if you want them.
Regarding Big Cats, there appears to be one much nearer home to Ripley than Cornwall. My spar mining friend Charlie from Bonsall and his wife were driving down Salters Lane in the snow earlier in the year (remember your snowy photos of Magpie and Middleton that you entered in the photo competition that you were desperately trying to win - are you still having a mardy over not winning!!!), they were driving down to Matlock had passed Jugholes Wood, the field with the Police Radio Mast and the exposed stretch of the lane (with the wonderful views looking north up the Derwent Valley) and had entered that very long narrow bendy section with no passing places, when all at once they saw big cat prints in the snow along the side of the lane, they were far too large for a fox or badger, the cat prints turned into a gate, so they stopped the car and followed them into the field, Charlie who is in his late 70's, has lived in Elton and Bonsall all his life and worked most of his life opencasting for spar in that area also the north of Derbyshire, he says that he has never ever in all his life seen such large animal footprints. Being concerned as Bonsall is in sheep country, my friends went back home and got their digital camera, took pictures and one photo has been printed in Bonsall Village monthly magazine called "The Mutterings". For comparison an egg was placed by the paw mark and the photograph can be viewed at :-
http://www.bonsallvillage.org/Images/Documents/3495-mutterings69.pdf .
The photo can be found under the section entitiled "Village Notice Board" with the title "Is this a large cat print?" No-one else apparently saw them or came up with an explanation. The photo is in "Mutterings" No. 69, March, 2009.
Incidently did you enjoy the walk to Anchor Church you undertook a few weeks ago, you never reported back.