The Paranormal Database

Foaming Wolf

Location: A1067 - Road between Fakenham and Norwich
Type: Werewolf
Date / Time: 2006
Further Comments: A driver on the way back from the cinema in Norwich encountered a large black wolf eating a carcass along this road. The creature was described as standing around a metre at the withers, with yellow eyes and black matted hair. The driver slowed and the wolf briefly looked up before continuing to eat. The witness continued home, shaken.

Shaggy Creature

Location: A1075 - Between Thetford and East Wretham, half a mile from the level crossing
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: June 1986, and 22 December 2007
Further Comments: Driving towards Thetford from the direction of Watton, this witness spotted a large, long haired creature coloured greyish white. It had small ears, a long snout, large eyes, and stood on four legs. The witness drove past the beast three times in total, ensuring a good look at it; on the third pass the creature rose on its hind legs, taking an almost human form, and stood between six to eight feet tall. The driver quickly returned home, only returning two days later to look at the area again - the creature had gone, but there were tracks at the site suggesting something had been dragged. Another witness, a similar creature in December 2007, but said it was greyer in colour with black patches.

Male Silhouette

Location: A11 - Road from Norwich, heading towards London
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Between 06:00h-07:00h, January and February
Further Comments: On two occasions, a DJ returning to London encountered a lone figure on the road. On the first encounter during a light snow shower, the driver swerved to avoid the silhouette of a man in hat, though the figure vanished as the driver neared. A similar event happened again the following month, although the snow was replaced by mist.

Faceless Man

Location: Acle - A47 (aka Acle straight)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2002
Further Comments: A figure wearing green with no face stood on the side of the road. Other motorists have reportedly had to brake hard to avoid hitting a figure which quickly and mysteriously vanishes.

Burge's Pooling Blood

Location: Acle - Bridge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 07 April (Reoccurring)
Further Comments: Josiah Burge was murdered by a man seeking revenge for the death of his sister. Josiah's blood is now reported to pool at the location on the day of the fatal attack. The stories state that Burge's ghost appeared only once - returning to kill his murderer.

Middle Aged Man

Location: Acle - Heading west into Acle from Halvergate turnoff
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 30 March 2009
Further Comments: Passing the turn off to Halvergate towards Acle, a driver watched as a middle aged man walked out into the middle of the road (from the right hand side) in the path of their car. The figure turned to look at the driver, and the car passed straight through him. The area is traditionally known to be haunted by a horse and cart.

Heard's Lantern

Location: Alderfen Broad - Marshland between Alderfen and Neatishead, known as Heard's Holde
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Weather Dependent: Misty nights. Event occurred pre-1890s
Further Comments: The ghost of Heard, a man who accidentally drowned after committing heinous crimes, would wave his lantern on misty evenings, trying to lure the unwary into the marshes. The phantom was finally trapped in a bottle by three men reading scripture and a boy with two pigeons which distracted the spirit.

Shadowy Forms

Location: Ashmanaugh - Council house along Church Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: This house is haunted by a female form that has been heard talking and seen only fleetingly.

Magic Oak Tree

Location: Ashwellthorpe - Ashwellthorp Hall
Type: Legend
Date / Time: 16th Century
Further Comments: In an act of Christmas kindness, Sir Thomas Knyvet welcomed a stranger into his home. The visitor used a magic acorn to grow a huge oak tree in the great hall in front of his Christmas guests. They chopped down the tree but were unable to move the fallen trunk - the stranger had to summon two goslings who picked the tree up and took it into the grounds.

Large Feline

Location: Attleborough - A11, near Attleborough
Type: ABC
Date / Time: February 1996
Further Comments: A large unknown cat was seen by both motorists and a policeman.

White Lady

Location: Aylmerton - Circular Hollows (local name Shrieking Pits)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1700s onwards
Further Comments: The White Lady has been observed looking into each pit, crying out in pity. Her origin is unknown, but she could just be a story concocted by local smugglers. The sound of the screams heard in the pits, which local folklore attributes to the woman's phantom, is more likely to be the wind.

Richard Andrews

Location: Aylsham - Black Boys Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Generally credited as being the first innkeeper, Andrews was killed during a fight with a member of the New Model Army. He was buried on the site and is said to haunt it.

Thomas Boleyn, as pictured on his tomb.

Phantom Coach

Location: Aylsham - Bridge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 19 May (Reoccurring)
Further Comments: A ghostly coach and four passes over this bridge once a year. It is said to be driven by a headless Sir Thomas Boleyn and is one of eleven bridges that he passes over on the night of his daughter Anne's execution.

Sentry

Location: Baconsthorpe - Baconsthorpe Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Soldier unknown, EVP July 2018
Further Comments: The former soldier who still patrols the battlements is blamed for the stones that are occasionally thrown into the moat, breaking the normally still waters. A visitor who recorded audio in the gatehouse (empty at the time) caught a snippet conversation between a man and woman.

Henrietta Nelson

Location: Banningham - Rectory
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: The ghost of Henrietta Nelson accompanied her portrait, and when the painting was moved here by Bryan Hall, Miss Nelson came along. The face of the painting was said to change, sometimes changing from happy to sad in a matter of moments. The portrait is now back at Yaxley Hall.

Footmen

Location: Barford - Watton Road, between Barford and Kimberly
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 01 September 2013, 01:15h
Further Comments: A driver had to swerve to avoid three figures standing in the road. One wore a long red cloak, while the other two were dressed as eighteenth century footmen. The figures paid no attention to the car. The driver later contacted nearby Kimberly Hall to see if they had a fancy dress event on that evening - they had not.

Big Cat

Location: Barnham - Barnham Common
Type: ABC
Date / Time: 19 April 1985
Further Comments: An unidentified large cat was seen in the woods in the area.

Beautiful Face in the Lake

Location: Barton Turf - Barton Broad
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Accidentally killed by her father (or so the story goes), the woman in question intended to run away with a knight. Her spirit haunts the water and is said to be a blessing to any who see her face.

Woman with Red Hair sitting by the Fire

Location: Barton Turf - Rectory
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Only appearing if the chair is placed by a fire, the red headed woman is believed to have burned to death in an abbey fire.

Miss Nelson

Location: Barton Turf - Rectory
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1850s onwards
Further Comments: The ghost of Miss Nelson is reported to accompany her portrait. Once haunting Cobb Hall, Yaxley, the ghost moved to Barton Turf when the painting was bought by the current owner. The painting was stolen in 1995 - the ghost vanished with it...

Blue Lights Dance

Location: Bawburgh - Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 30 May (Reoccurring)
Further Comments: Blue lights are said to appear and dance over the church well.

Digging Devil

Location: Beechamwell - Hangour Hill
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Hill still present
Further Comments: As Old Nick dug out the nearby dyke, Hangour Hill was created with the discarded earth.

Grey Entity

Location: Beeston Regis - Old footpath which ran through the grounds of Beeston Priory
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Between 1938 and 1943?
Further Comments: A hooded grey ghost would hide behind two boulders which once stood here, leaping out at passers-by at sunset. A local farmer grew tired of this and requested that one of the large stones be placed on his grave when he died, so that the phantom had nowhere in future to hide. The farmer died in the late 1940s - one boulder was used to cover his grave and the ghost was never seen again.

Phantom Coach

Location: Belaugh - Bridge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 19 May (reoccurring)
Further Comments: A ghostly coach and four passes over this bridge once a year. It is said to be driven by a headless Sir Thomas Boleyn and is one of eleven bridges that he passes over on the night of his daughter Anne's execution.

Richard Slater

Location: Belaugh - River
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Legend says entity appears nightly, but date of last sighting unknown
Further Comments: Slater worked at the rectory; he stole money, gems and other valuables from the church and buried them in the garden, waiting for a convenient time to recover the items to safely fence. Slater chose the time to do so badly, as he was caught by the rector as he dug the items up. In his haste to escape, Slater then drowned in the nearby river, weighed down by the stolen goods.