The Paranormal Database

Pekinese and Pepi

Location: Darlington - The Civic (once the Hippodrome)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Mid-to-late-twentieth century
Further Comments: The little Pekinese dog was buried within the walls of the theatre, its ghostly presence indicated by lightly padding feet moving across the floors, and soft panting. Pepi, the dog's owner and former manager, is also said to haunt the building, as are several other entities; a stage manager, a female dancer, and a hanging man.

Broken Apron

Location: Dene - Castle Eden
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: 1133
Further Comments: The Devil decided to sabotage the construction of Durham Cathedral; he visited Castle Eden and found an inferior piece of limestone that could added to the cathedral foundations. Placing the stone in his apron pocket, the Devil took to the skies, only for his apron to snap and the stone to fall. The Devil's scratch marks can still be seen on the rock, where he tried to catch it but and failed.

Spinning Tree

Location: Dunston - Private residence, Malvern Gardens
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1969-1975
Further Comments: Cupboard doors would open and close, a bed lifted itself up, and the Christmas tree span with such forced that decorations fell from it. One man collapsed after seeing a ghostly shape walk towards him down a passage.

Highwayman

Location: Durham - A1 heading towards Durham
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2015
Further Comments: A horse-mounted highwayman stood on the roadside, looking towards Durham. The legs of the horse vanished at the knee, and the ghost vanishes if approached.

St Cuthbert's Mist

Location: Durham - All over city
Type: Other
Date / Time: 30 May 1942 (night)
Further Comments: A Luftwaffe mission to bomb the city failed after a mist appeared and covered the castle and cathedral, preventing them from being hit. It is said that St Cuthbert created the mist to protect his relics.

Teenage Tearaway

Location: Durham - Area around the Old Rectory
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Late nineteenth century
Further Comments: A postman spotted a ghostly shrouded child as he walked past the graveyard - he panicked and ran, the ghost in pursuit. Reaching home, the postman dived into his bedroom where both he and his wife barricaded themselves in. The phantom could be heard smashing up the room next door; both people took the opportunity to run away. A local wise woman who was summoned convinced the ghost to return to the grave.

Lady in Grey

Location: Durham - Crook Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The staircase here is reportedly haunted by a fleeting female in grey, while a beautiful woman in white has been seen in other areas of the building.

An old postcard of Durham Castle.

Grey Shadow

Location: Durham - Durham Castle, black staircase
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Reportedly the wife of one of the former Prince Bishops of Durham, this figure haunts the black staircase where she fell and broke her neck.

A reproduction of the Sanctuary Knocker at Durham Cathedral: a 'cat headed' demon with three tongues (private collection).

Passage of Horror

Location: Durham - Durham Cathedral
Type: Other
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A secret passage is said to run from the cathedral to Finchale Abbey, though the journey is so terrifying no one can survive the journey. The Sanctuary Knocker at the Cathedral is hundreds of years old and appears to show a demonic entity with three tongues.

Murdered Inmate

Location: Durham - Durham Prison
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Mid twentieth century
Further Comments: A ground floor cell is said to be haunted by the scene of one prisoner murdering another with a table knife.

Northumbrian Pipes

Location: Durham - Elvet Bridge (including Jimmy Allen's club)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The horse rustler Jimmy Allen died in this former cell days before his pardon arrived - he can still be heard playing on his pipes from beneath the bridge. The ghost of another man, who mysteriously vanished, would be spotted at the base of the bridge, standing on the river's banks.

Young Woman

Location: Durham - HMP Low Newton Prison
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 26 February 2011
Further Comments: A prisoner reported seeing a woman standing by a window in their cell. A guard later told them that someone had committed suicide in the spot the figure had stood.

Violet

Location: Durham - Kerry Foods Factory
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2012
Further Comments: A phantom woman who suddenly disappears when spotted was nicknamed Violet after the scent in the air which she leaves.

Coach

Location: Durham - Langley Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Seen galloping towards the hall, this coach is pulled by four black, headless horses. One legend says the coach contains a coffin.

Vanishing Lady

Location: Durham - Newton Hall estate
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: January 2024
Further Comments: Observing the silhouette of a woman walking down the street, a witness watched as the figure promptly disappeared after passing under a streetlamp. Realising there was nowhere the figure could have gone, the perplexed witness searched the area without success.

Twisted Man

Location: Durham - North Bailey
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Emerging from the cellar of a property once owned by the city's chief constable, this little man, twisted and bent over, was said to wear a white ruffled shirt, black trousers and a nightcap.

Woman in a Black Dress

Location: Durham - Private residence, Coatsworth Road
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: 1996
Further Comments: A sixteen year old girl screamed for her mother after seeing a phantom woman wearing a black dress appear in a bedroom. The following morning the family received a phone call informing them the girl's grandmother had died the night before, around the same time as the sighting.

Elusive Hare

Location: Easington - General area
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A hare which avoided hunters for many years was finally bitten on a hind leg by a hound. The creature was seen to dart into a nearby cottage, and when the huntsmen entered, they discovered an old lady with a bloodied leg.

Searching Monk

Location: Egglestone - Bridge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1928
Further Comments: This figure, dressed in brown habit, has his head down as he scours the bank for a lost item.

Gus

Location: Elwick - McOrville public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2006
Further Comments: A group of mediums who gathered here to investigate the strange goings-on claimed to have contacted a five year old boy named Gus. The young lad died in an accident involving a horse in the 1940s.

An old woodcut of a long snake-like serpent.

Wyrm

Location: Fatfield - Lambton Castle and grounds, Worm Hill
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: 1400s?
Further Comments: The Lambton worm, sounding more like a very large snake, took up residence here and terrorised the locals - on returning from the crusades, a young and noble member of the Lambton fought the creature and won; but only by wearing spiked armour that impaled the creature as it wrapped itself around him.

Wishing

Location: Fatfield - Worm Well close to Worm Hill
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Hill still present
Further Comments: Crooked pins would be left here in the hope of a wish being granted.

Piano Player

Location: Ferryhill - Mainsforth Miners Hall / Community Centre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A worker who died while the hall was being constructed reputedly still loiters on the site, playing the piano and whistling. Visiting ghosthunters have reported clothing being tugged and doors that closed and locked unaided.

Lost Children

Location: Ferryhill - Manor House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This manor house featured in Most Haunted and was claimed to be home to a phantom child crying for their mother. A local legend also says there is a secret tunnel on the site, which leads to a cathedral some eight miles away.

Andrew Mills

Location: Ferryhill (Parish of Merrington) - Brass Farm, now known as High Hill House farm
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 01 January (or a couple of days either side) (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Andrew went on a killing spree at the farm in 1863; he claimed he was talked into it by a devil. The wild cries of Andrew Mills can be still heard near the locality of the farmhouse.