The Paranormal Database

An old woodcut of fish raining down from the sky.

Fish Fall

Location: Derby - Exact location unknown
Type: Other
Date / Time: 8 July 1841
Further Comments: A mixture of fish, some 50 mm in length, and ice fell on the city.

Irish Bare Knuckle Fighter

Location: Derby - Falstaff Public House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: This pub claims to be haunted by four separate ghosts: a young boy, an ex-landlord, an Irish prize-winning bare knuckle fighter and a sergeant major. In addition to these spooks being seen, items are moved and hidden, electrical appliances are switched on and off.

Slamming Doors

Location: Derby - Former Howard Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Once housing prisoners in the basement, the cell doors can still be heard being slammed closed - even though they were removed years previous. People have reported seeing an apparition that could be a former guard or a prisoner, though why the shade of a little child heard crying is here is anyone's guess.

Black Monk

Location: Derby - Friary Hotel, currently the Friar Gate Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: One of the corridors in this building, built on the site of a friary, is haunted by a monk dressed in black robes. Other witnesses claim to have seen more than one monk here, sometimes headless. Another shade is that of a Victorian gentleman, who may have killed himself on site.

Man in Blue Coat

Location: Derby - George Inn (currently Lafferty's)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s?
Further Comments: This man with long hair is normally seen on the landing. It is unclear whether he is responsible for the poltergeist activity which throws items around the bar and shattering beer glasses.

Pin Striped Man

Location: Derby - Georgian House Hotel, Ashbourne Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A phantom guest of this hotel, the man in the pin striped suit is blamed for slamming doors and falling items.

George

Location: Derby - Green Man public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: After several Saxon bodies were discovered under the pub, there was a brief paranormal outbreak - the landlord encountered a figure standing by the piano (which was also moved), a pan containing food flew across the floor (emptying the bar), lights were switched on and off, and banging and thumps at night ensured the landlord had very disturbed sleep.

Alice Wheeldon

Location: Derby - Guildhall, tunnels that run underneath the building
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: A suffragette accused (likely falsely) of attempting to poison a Prime Minister, Alice has since been seen lurking in these tunnels. Workers down here have also spotted a ghostly young lad passing though.

Soldiers

Location: Derby - Hair salon, Sadler Gate
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2010s
Further Comments: The owner of this salon claimed that the sound of marching soldiers could be heard in the shop, the sounds perhaps connected to the legend of secret tunnels running from the area to the cathedral.

Monk

Location: Derby - Jimmy's public house, St James Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: While the sound of plainchant haunts this pub, outside a ghostly monk heads towards his monastery that was demolished many years ago.

Black Clad Figure

Location: Derby - MacDonald's restaurant
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: This entity, wearing a long black raincoat, reputedly emerges from a wall after first appearing in Miss Selfridge clothing store.

Cloaked Man

Location: Derby - Manufacturing site, Alfreton Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1999
Further Comments: During a nightshift, a worker at the site spotted a black cloaked figure glide by a glass door. The figure turned to look at the witness and they reported seeing his Adam's Apple.

Black Clad Figure

Location: Derby - Miss Selfridges clothing store
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: This entity, wearing a long black raincoat appears in this store before vanishing into a wall, only to reappear in MacDonald's.

Old Soldiers

Location: Derby - Normanton Barracks
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Squadies tell tales of seeing strange people in the newer buildings who vanish if approached, while outside a phantom horse and cart are occasionally seen.

Drink Obsessed

Location: Derby - O'lafferty's public house (once known as The George), Sadlergate
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: This entity, which enjoys switching the barrels off and causing general mischief, could be related to the thousand year old skull discovered in the basement.

Lady

Location: Derby - Old Vicarage, Wilmorton
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1950s
Further Comments: The owners of the house claimed to have seen a ghostly lady walking down the central corridor of this building.

Former Workers

Location: Derby - Pickford's House Museum
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A long dead gardener still walks along the lawns he once worked so hard on, while a woman haunts the kitchen. The child seen dancing in the house is thought to be a member of the Pickford family.

Slumped Man

Location: Derby - Private house along Derby Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1974
Further Comments: The haunting first came to light during a housewarming party, at which a visitor to the house spotted the body of a man slumped over a banister. The figure was seen again a bit later, reflected in the mirror in the bathroom. Doors would also unlock themselves.

Asian Man

Location: Derby - Private residence along Dexter Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1977
Further Comments: A family sold their house for less than market value to escape the haunting apparition of a young Asian man. An elderly woman was also seen, and crying heard from the attic.

Grey Lady

Location: Derby - Private residence, Canal Street (original residence since demolished)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 1951
Further Comments: A witness living in this house would hear the name 'Jack' be spoken as they lay in bed. On one occasion the witness awoke to see a woman in a grey laced dress standing in the room, laughing hysterically, her hands on her forehead. Muttered conversations and the sound of furniture being moved around could also be heard on the site.

Scraping

Location: Derby - Private residence, Spondon
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: February - March 1987
Further Comments: An occupier and her two children moved out of this property after three weeks, having been subjected to scraping sounds which emerged from the kitchen, and unexplained footsteps walking upstairs. One witness watched a stool move unaided across the kitchen floor.

Cloaked Figure

Location: Derby - Royal Hospital, built on site of Derby City Hospital
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: January 2009 (media reports), November 2011 (nurses)
Further Comments: Staff had reported seeing a figure wearing a black cloak in various parts of the new hospital, particularly around the morgue. While initially the media reported that an exorcism would take place, a later statement from the hospital denied this. Some believe the figure to be a Roman soldier who died nearby, as the old Derby City Hospital was constructed on an ancient Roman road. In November 2011, a witness reported seeing two nurses in old fashioned clothing, one male and the other female, standing by the foot of her bed. They watched the witness in a caring way.

Lady in Grey

Location: Derby - Seymour's Wine Bar
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Said to be a non-threatening presence, this elderly woman dressed in grey is accompanied by the smell of lavender. Mild poltergeist behaviour is also reported, with small items disappearing, only to reappear days or weeks later.

Tortured Woman

Location: Derby - Shire Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Interrogated by having heavy weights placed upon her chest, the 'questioning' proved too much for this woman who returned to haunt the holding cells.

Figure in Overalls

Location: Derby - Showroom, West Meadows Industrial Estate
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: November 1999, 02:00h
Further Comments: While working as a security guard, this witness and his dog observed a figure dressed in white overalls walk along the side of a building. The guard and dog followed the figure who disappeared around a corner. When the guard turned the corner, he was faced with a dead-end - a locked gate with barbed wire along the top. Two days later the guard spotted the same figure, once again at two in the morning. The guard chased the overall clad stranger, taking his eyes off the figure momentarily, only for him to vanish.