Diss grew up around its mere, a body of water of about six acres which is still the centre of the town, with shops, streets and houses close around it. Like many deep pools in East Anglia, it attracted stories.
A Spooky Isles feature on the Diss area reports local folklore of mysterious lights seen moving across the water, particularly on misty evenings, and of shadowy figures glimpsed around the shoreline that vanish when approached. No dates, names or named witnesses are given, so these are general local stories rather than recorded incidents.
Older tales claimed the mere was bottomless. The feature points out that it is not, but that its unusually deep water and long history make it easy to see how the idea arose. The bottomless pool is a very common motif in Norfolk folklore, found at Great Melton, Northrepps and elsewhere, and is often paired with a drowned coach or a ghostly woman.
This entry is thin by nature. It records a general reputation of the place, and I have found no specific dated sighting. The mere makes a useful starting point for the Diss area, which also has the Scole Inn and the Scole Experiment close by.
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