The Paranormal Database

Officer

Location: Old Leake (Lincolnshire) - Private location, Chapel Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2004
Further Comments: This witness spotted an airman in officer uniform standing at ease and watching them. The witness speculated that the ghost was related to a Lancaster bomber which crashed nearby in 1943.

Second World War Officer

Location: Ouston (Northumberland) - RAF Ouston
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The Newcastle Journal reported that lights would turn themselves on and off in the sickbay, and an internal door which was kept locked would be open by morning. Personnel near the sickbay would hear footsteps and other strange noises at night, even though the area was secure. Some blamed the ghost of an officer killed on site during the Second World War.

German Pilot

Location: Outer London: Addington (Greater London) - General area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Dying after his aircraft crashed nearby, this the Second World War pilot is still occasionally seen walking around this former village.

Digger Harry

Location: Outer London: Addington (Greater London) - Wooded area near Courtwood Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1932
Further Comments: Harry was so upset when his wife died that he buried her close to his cottage without telling anyone. The authorities, believing Harry had killed her, locked him up for several months before releasing him because of his age. During his incarceration, Harry forgot where his wife was buried, and spent the remainder of his days trying to find her. His tragic phantom was said to continue to roam the area carrying a shovel.

Airmen

Location: Outer London: Bexley (Greater London) - A2 London-bound between Heath turn-off and Black Prince turn-off
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1980s, and 2008
Further Comments: Several witnesses were said to have seen a couple of airmen standing on the hard shoulder of the A2. One wore a leather flying helmet while the other appeared to have a medal or piece of metal near his throat. A local tale says that a Heinkel bomber crashed nearby, killing the crew who could not bail out in time, and it has been speculated that the figures belong to this aircraft.

Heavy Breathing

Location: Outer London: Heathrow Airport (Greater London) - General area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1980s
Further Comments: This ghost was heard several times, breathing heavily around female members of staff, but never being seen. A second entity wears a bowler hat and has been known to ask about the whereabouts of his briefcase - both case and man were in an aircraft that crashed in the late 1940s, killing all on board. A phantom Dick Turpin rides a brown horse across the runways (or cargo sheds), while cleaning staff during the 1970s reported a presence which held them down, applying pressure around their throats. Finally, prior to the airport being built, a phantom Saxon prince reputedly haunted the area close to a pond where he drowned.

Lost Pilot

Location: Outer London: Northolt (Greater London) - RAF Northolt
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2003 / 2004 (seat / presence), others unknown
Further Comments: Seen walking along the east/west runway of this former fighter base, a ghostly figure wears a pilot's uniform dating back to the Second World War. The residence of the station commander is also reputedly haunted, with one occupant hearing someone sitting on a creaky seat throughout the night and feeling its presence (although it was described as non-malevolent). One story says the Officers' Mess is home to a couple of ghosts, while on a road outside the base, a phantom Polish pilot from Second World War asks for directions - the man died when his aircraft crashed a short distance away.

Wet Footprints and Droning

Location: Parham (Suffolk) - Disused Airfield, and Control Tower
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: October 2006 (airman)
Further Comments: Locals have reportedly heard the droning of phantom aircraft over the disused airfields, while the control tower has reappearing 'wet footprints', which begin and end in inexplicable places. One female witness reported seeing the reflection in glass of a man in USAAF uniform who smiled at her. The witness said 'hi' and turned to the figure, but no one was there.

Burning Spitfire

Location: Pocklington (Yorkshire) - Airfield
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A phantom burning spitfire was claimed to haunt this airfield. Another ghost reputedly at home here is a pilot who frequents the control tower, although his history is unknown.

Spitfire

Location: Postling (Kent) - Postling Wood
Type: Other
Date / Time: 21 June 2012
Further Comments: The story of a ghostly spitfire appearing here was carried in the local press; it was actually Spitfire BM597, owned by the Historic Aircraft Collection, and was operating from Pent Farm Aerodrome on the day in question.

Black Cat

Location: Poynton Green (Shropshire) - Field in the village
Type: Other
Date / Time: 22 October, every ten years since 1941 (next in 2021) (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Two Czech pilots died here on 22 October 1941, crashing in the field as they ran out of fuel. A local farmer rushed to the field trying to save them but was beaten back by the flames. He did, however, see a black cat emerge from the burning wreckage. The creature made its home with a local old woman, and when she died, the cat vanished, but appears once every ten years at the crash site.

MP

Location: Raydon (Suffolk) - Second World War Airfield
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Seen by huts near the former Officer's Mess, a ghostly Military Policeman is said to walk around the area. There are also reports of phantom aircraft, including a P-47 and a B-17.

Empty huts at the former Ridgewell airfield, Essex.

Crashing Aircraft

Location: Ridgewell (Essex) - Second World War Airfield
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century?
Further Comments: Now little more than a collection of old huts, the area is haunted by the sounds of crashing Second World War aircraft, shouting airmen, and other wartime noises.

Hugh Ripley

Location: Ripon (Yorkshire) - Wakeman's House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Horn still blown today
Further Comments: The town has a famous ritual which involves blowing the Charter Horn, traditionally used to warn against Viking raiders before its use became ritual. Hugh was the first mayor of Ripon and was obsessed with ensuring that the horn was blown correctly, watching over its use every day. If the horn is not blown correctly, Hugh will appear and gaze out of the attic window disapprovingly. Some say the town will be hit by disaster if the horn is not respected.

Lancaster Bomber

Location: Rishworth (Lancashire) - Saddleworth Moor, along M62
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 15 August 1995, around 14:30h
Further Comments: A father and daughter driving eastbound spotted a Lancaster bomber flying nearby, smoke coming from a left right hand engine. They passed under Scammonden Bridge, and after coming out were no longer able to see the aircraft.

The site of old air force base at Rougham.

Disappearing L'il Butch

Location: Rougham (Suffolk) - Old USAAF base
Type: Post-Mortem Manifestation
Date / Time: 1945
Further Comments: Towards the end of the Second World War, L'il Butch was shot down during a bombing run on Germany, but briefly reappeared at the air base a few months later, as if it had just landed. Little exists of the airfield now - an industrial site now stands on the area, and fields cut off access to the runways.

Lancaster Bomber

Location: Rowsley (Derbyshire) - Road by an unnamed retail outlet
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 03 August 2015
Further Comments: Richard and Helen Jephson were reported in local news as having witnessed a Lancaster bomber which flew low and silent above them. They expected the aircraft to crash into a nearby wooded area, but it did not happen.

Pilots in Hangar

Location: Rufforth (Yorkshire) - Rufforth Airfield
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: A disastrous bomber landing resulted in almost a dozen deaths, a wrecked farmhouse, and three more bombers ruined as they sat on the ground - the crew of the aircraft responsible have been observed in a hangar on the site.

USAAF Pilot in Car

Location: Saffron Walden (Essex) - B1052, between Saffron Walden and Hadstock
Type: Post-Mortem Manifestation
Date / Time: November 1993
Further Comments: Exactly fifty years after dying in a flying accident (1943), the ghost of an USAAF pilot appeared in the back seat of a woman's car, as she drove past the old crash site of the plane in which he flew.

Pilot

Location: Salcombe (Devon) - Hope Cove Bunker
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This former Second World War radar station, and later nuclear war bunker, is reputedly home to a pilot who walks around the staircase after dark.

Sitting Airman

Location: Sawbridgeworth (Hertfordshire) - Former RAF Sawbridgeworth
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: This lonely airman sits by the side of the road, patiently waiting for a lift which has never yet arrived.

Pilot in Lifejacket

Location: Scampton (Lincolnshire) - Old RAF Base
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: This pilot, thought to date from the Second World War, has been seen in the control tower at the air force base. He may have been the source of the disembodied voice which said 'hello!' to a man walking through an empty hangar. Chatting has been heard in the crew room, though when investigated it has been found devoid of life. Guy Gibson's dog is also reported to haunt the base, killed on the road outside in 1943.

Lt Peter Salter

Location: Scampton (Lincolnshire) - Old RAF Base
Type: Post-Mortem Manifestation
Date / Time: 7 December 1916
Further Comments: During the First World War a pilot reported greeting Lieutenant Salter as he walked into the officer's mess, and the Lieutenant responded in kind; unbeknown to the witness, Salter had just died in an air crash many miles away.

Shadow-like Man

Location: Scopwick (Lincolnshire) - Road parallel to RAF Digby
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: 17:25h, 29 January 2007
Further Comments: Two men travelling back to Waddington spotted a figure wearing a long cloak or tailcoat disappearing into a hedge row towards the airbase. One witness said the figure was transparent or shadowlike and did not appear to have any legs.

RAF Pilot

Location: SE28 (Greater London) - Abbey Road and Tavy Bridge (former Erith Marshes), Thamesmead
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: This pilot died when his spitfire crashed into the marshes during the Second World War. This tall, dark uniformed man has been reported in several buildings along the road. Some also report that the sound of a German aircraft crashing into the marshes here can still be heard.