The Paranormal Database

Doggett

Location: Blandford Forum - Area near Eastbury Park (no longer standing)
Type: Vampire
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A corrupt manservant who stole thousands of pounds from his employer, Doggett finally killed himself, and now drives his phantom horse and carriage along this area. One local story says he returned as a vampire; after his body was exhumed many years after his death (from St Mary's Church in Tarrant Gunville) it was found to be uncorrupted, with a rosy tint to the cheeks.

Raped Nurse

Location: Blandford Forum - Army Base
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1937
Further Comments: This figure dressed in white is reportedly a nurse raped and killed near the barracks - her shade has been observed floating around the area, her facial features almost blank.

Carriage

Location: Blandford Forum - Ashley Wood Golf Club
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Maybe a story from the nineteenth hole, this golf club is reputedly home to a horse and carriage that can only be heard.

Suicides

Location: Blandford Forum - Bridge over the River Stour, close to The Crown
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A small cross on the bridge is said to be the marker where a person committed suicide. A few people have been named as the suicide (including a nun and a nanny), though there is little evidence indicating exactly who the ghost seen here is. A phantom hound it also said to haunt the area, though it is unclear whether is it a shuck.

A traditional looking ghost.

Stone Dogs

Location: Blandford Forum - Bryanston gates
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The stone hounds sitting upon the gatepost are said to occasionally animate at night, going to the nearby river to drink. A floating white figure was reputedly seen along the road near Bryanston woods by a dog walker.

Snooker

Location: Blandford Forum - Coupar House (now British Legion)
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This building is said to experience the moving around of small items in the bar, and snooker balls which roll under their own impetus.

Woman in Black

Location: Blandford Forum - Crown Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Wearing a black crinoline dress, this ghostly woman has been observed on the first floor. One of the cleaning staff spotted a woman in black enter a room, but upon investigation, the room was devoid of life. The hotel is also home to a phantom highwayman who hangs about in the courtyard.

Decapitated Rider

Location: Blandford Forum - Edge of Cranborne Chase, Iwerne Steepleton
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This unlucky jockey was decapitated by a low hanging branch - he continues to ride the route that killed him.

Woman in White

Location: Blandford Forum - Exact location unknown
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: 1837
Further Comments: A child told her mother that she had seen a white woman drifting towards the house. Her mother dismissed the claim, until they received word that her father had drowned around the same time as the sighting.

Dragon Train

Location: Blandford Forum - Fields in area which were replaced by railway station (now Edward Street / Alexandra Street area)
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Seventeenth century
Further Comments: Baron Ryves was said to have had a vivid dream of a fiery dragon which passed roaring over his land, its chest filled with holes in which people could be seen. The creature disappeared into the ground. The area of land later became a railway line and tunnel. Prophetic or coincidence?

Funeral

Location: Blandford Forum - Grove Field (woods)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The site of a battle which occurred long ago was said to be home to phantom pallbearers.

Flying Bottle

Location: Blandford Forum - Nelson's Wine Bar
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: It is speculated that the presence that has been known to throw around bottles was a female prisoner. There are also reports of children crying in the upper part of the building.

Teenage Girl

Location: Blandford Forum - Private residence
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1999
Further Comments: While in bed hoping to fall asleep, this witness spotted a teenage girl wearing jeans and a striped top standing by a bookcase. The figure vanished and the witness screamed. The witness's parents ran in and told the witness that it was a dream, although the witness was adamant that they had been awake for some time.

Fred or Mary

Location: Blandford Forum - Royal Signals Museum
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2006
Further Comments: Once known as Fred, the ghost that moves small objects and creates phantom footsteps and cold spots was renamed Mary. It is believed she was a local woman due to marry a Second World War US serviceman. Mary was murdered just before her wedding day in the area where the museum was later constructed.

Sheep

Location: Blandford Forum - Sheep Market Hill and/or Damory Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A herd of phantom, ruminant animals are reputed to walk along this street. Some say the sheep are to be headless, while another version says there is in fact only one sheep (complete with head).

Footsteps

Location: Blandford Forum - The Old House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: When devoid of occupants, a neighbour reported hearing loud footsteps and dragging sounds from within the house. Police were called but found nothing untoward.

Hand on Shoulder

Location: Blandford Forum - Unnamed shop in the town
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 2017
Further Comments: While browsing a shelf, a shopper felt a large hand on her shoulder. She assumed it belonged to her husband who was in the same shop, but as she turned, no one was near her.

Hunt

Location: Blandford Forum - Woods in the area
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Thought to be part of a phantom hunt, these ghostly dogs have been heard running and yelping through woodland. It is also thought that a headless shuck haunts the area, though it is less sure whether the entity is connected to the hunt pack.

Normal Treasure

Location: Bloxworth - Barrows on private field (currently in varying states of damage)
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: It is said that treasure remains under these barrows, though there is no evidence to support this.

Human Torch

Location: Bloxworth - Bloxworth House (prior to restoration)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-1970s
Further Comments: Prior to restoration, the grounds of the manor house were reportedly haunted by the tall, glowing apparition of a man.

Bournemouth Town Hall, Dorset.

First World War Soldier

Location: Bournemouth - Bournemouth Town Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 31 October (reoccurring)
Further Comments: This incorporeal soldier of Indian heritage appears here once a year to help himself to a drink of water. There are also a few reports of phantom horses and carriages being seen outside the building, while a ghostly cat is also said to haunt several of the town hall rooms.

Figures in Brown

Location: Bournemouth - Branksome Park estate
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Early twentieth century
Further Comments: Seen in a garden on this estate, several little people dressed in brown played in and around the bushes before being scared off.

Langtry Manor Hotel, Bournemouth.

Lillie

Location: Bournemouth - Langtry Manor Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late 1970s
Further Comments: The story is that this building was commissioned in 1877 by Edward VII as gift for his mistress Lillie Langtry. The house became an hotel in the 1930s, and during the 1970s, the grey form of a woman, thought to be Langtry, was spotted several times by the hotel's chef. All this told, there is no historical documentation which links the building to Langtry - the story looks as if it was constructed around the 1940s, which means that the ghostly grey lady remains unidentified.

Millhams Lane, Bournemouth.

White Lady

Location: Bournemouth - Millhams Lane, and surrounding Longham area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: February (reoccurring); last confirmed in 1970s, but legends say she continues
Further Comments: The area around the A348 bridge is reportedly haunted by a ghostly white (or grey) woman, killed when hit by a horse and trap along the road. One story says she tries to entice men to jump off the bridge.

West Howe Baptist Church, Bournemouth.

Woman in White

Location: Bournemouth - Outside West Howe Baptist Church, on the corner of Holloway Avenue and Anstey Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1979
Further Comments: A lady dressed in a white gown floated across the road before disappearing through a wall which led to a garden.