The Paranormal Database

I Live Here

Location: Derby - William & Glyn's Bank, Corn Market
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: May 1973, 1982-1983
Further Comments: Three builders demolishing walls within the bank's basement knocked through to a hidden cavity where they spotted a young boy. One of the men asked the youngster what he was doing there. The boy replied, 'I live here', before vanishing before their eyes. Ten years later the building was a DHSS office - stories were told about the cellar being haunted by a maid, while another witness claimed to have entered an office which contained a sitting man; the witness was never able to find the office again. Finally, a member of staff reported seeing a hand on a rail of a staircase coming down towards them, but when they expected to see the owner of the hand, no one was present.

Bump

Location: Derby - Ye Olde Dolphin Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 01 February 2002
Further Comments: A family sitting at one table felt it move slightly, as if someone had bumped into it, although no one could be seen. At the same time a picture on the wall moved slightly. The inn is said to be haunted by a grey figure, seen in the restaurant.

An old postcard of Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire.

Monk with White Face

Location: Doe Lea - Hardwick Hall grounds
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: January 1978
Further Comments: Seen by several people, this phantom monk was almost hit by a car before it vanished into the grounds. A light has also been reported floating around the courtyard, containing a strange face, while inside the hall itself a phantom cat and a woman in blue have been reported.

Marriage Tree

Location: Doveridge - Churchyard
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Maid Marian and Robin Hood are said to have been married under the old yew tree which stands in the churchyard.

Violence

Location: Drakelow - Drakelow Hall / Dracan Hlawe (no longer standing)
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Twelfth Century
Further Comments: The Gresley family were reputed to have fled the site after something 'knocked things apart' in their home.

Coffin Carrying Returners

Location: Drakelow - General area
Type: Vampire
Date / Time: Circa 1090
Further Comments: Several servants fell ill and died after taking seed corn from the Abbey barns. The servants soon returned, their coffins carried on their backs while running across fields and knocking on doors. More villagers fell sick, and the pestilence only ceased when the dead were dug up and burned. The survivors fled the village and left it to fall into ruin.

Buried Wyrm

Location: Drakelow - Winlatter Rock
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: Circa 772?
Further Comments: A dragon is mentioned in a document dating to 772 as being buried in a prehistoric tumulus.

Those to Die

Location: Dronfield - Church
Type: Legend
Date / Time: 24 April, year not unknown
Further Comments: On St Mark's Eve, the spirits of those doomed to die over the forthcoming twelve months enter the church at midnight.

Headless Woman

Location: Dronfield - Place 'where three roads meet' between village and Coal Ashon
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Not much more is known about the phantom headless woman who haunts the junction.

Skeleton

Location: Dronfield - Unidentified house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1906
Further Comments: Knocking and footsteps were heard in the house, worrying the married couple who had moved in to such an extent that they refused to sleep without a light in the bedroom. One night the wife awoke to find the lamp had extinguished. Striking a match, she briefly spotted a skeletal figure that moved towards the bedroom door. The couple left the property.

Thyme

Location: Drunfield - Footpath between Stubley and Drunfield
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Nineteenth century?
Further Comments: A woman murdered by her partner along the path was carrying a bunch of thyme. The smell of the herb was said to denote her presence.

Relocation

Location: Duffield - St Alkmund's Church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Church still standing
Further Comments: Wayne Anthony, in Haunted Derbyshire and the Peak District, writes that St Alkmund's was going to be constructed next to Duffield castle, but every night for a week the building materials were moved by the Devil to the current site where it was eventually erected.

Chatty Landlady

Location: Earl Sterndale - Quiet Woman public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A former landlord, tired of the 24/7 chattering of his wife, ended up decapitating her. Even though death has kept her silent, her ghostly form remains.

White Rider

Location: Eckington - Moss valley, between town and Ridgeway
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 24 August 2002 (rider), 16 May 2022 (grey lady)
Further Comments: Two women out walking their dogs watched a white female figure on horseback in the woods. The entity vanished as it rounded a non-existent corner. A local piece of folklore says the area is haunted by a white horse, although traditionally riderless. In 2022, witnesses spotted a hooded grey lady carrying a basket who disappeared into bushes.

Infrequent

Location: Eckington - Seldom Seen Engine House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2022
Further Comments: It is not particularly clear how this former colliery engine house gained its name, but one theory says that it comes from the site being haunted by a seldom seen entity. One visitor to the site had the feeling of being crushed.

Big Animal

Location: Edale - Area around The Tips
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: 1930s
Further Comments: A large, black ghostly dog is reputed to walk around The Tips area.

Runaway Horses

Location: Edale - Crossroads between church and railway station
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early twentieth century?
Further Comments: Three farmers walking home from a village meeting heard horses running towards them. The men made ready to stop the runaway but were amazed when the sounds past straight through where they stood, and they could see nothing.

Werewolf or just a large dog?

Howl like a Foghorn

Location: Edale - General area
Type: Werewolf
Date / Time: 1925
Further Comments: A large black creature of unknown origin caused havoc here in the 1920s when it killed dozens of sheep. Though rarely seen, the creature was said to have a howl like a foghorn. Locals allocated the blame on a lycanthrope.

Fading Figure

Location: Edale - Path from Ringing Roger towards Edale
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 14 June 2014
Further Comments: Two people in a group of four watched a person-shaped shadow fade in and out of existence along a footpath. The experience lasted between 15 - 20 seconds, although the other two people in the group were not aware of the entity.

Splash

Location: Edale - River Noe
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The endlessly repeating sounds of a boy's scream, followed by dragging and ending in a splash, are all that remain as evidence of a murder which occurred by the river many years ago.

Entrance to Hell

Location: Eldon - Pothole near the village
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: This hole is said to be bottomless and used by Old Nick to travel between this world and his own.

Galloping

Location: Elvaston - Alvaston Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Summer 1989, around 01:00h
Further Comments: The sounds of horses and rattling riding equipment was heard by a witness, but nothing could be seen, though a gust of wind was felt as if the creatures were quickly passing.

Maria

Location: Elvaston - Elvaston Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Women unknown, man in rags in 2010, others in 2004 and 2012
Further Comments: Maria, former wife of the 4th Earl of Harrington, is said to manifest as a white lady who gazes from a window or walks around the area with a pale dog. A grey woman is also said to haunt the area, and in 2010 it was said that a family spotted a man in ragged clothing in nearby woodland who suddenly vanished. Two years later, two witnesses heard sounds close to the castle which they initially thought to be a party. When unable to see a party nearby, the witnesses realised the sounds comprised of men fighting, muskets discharging, and horses. Around 2004, a witness exiting the castle witnessed apparitions of horse-pulled carriages containing men who shouted and chanted.

Speeding Car

Location: Eyam - Between Eyam and A6 Chapel en le Frith bypass
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 01 June 2013, 00:10h
Further Comments: A driver was tailgated along a country road by a dark, older model sports car. The sports car overtook the driver once the A6 was reached, only to suddenly vanish a short distance ahead. There were no turn offs.

Isabel

Location: Eyam - Bradshaw Hall
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: Prior to death
Further Comments: The phantom of Isabel Bradshaw is said to appear to the lover of anyone who is currently in the process of dying.