The Paranormal Database

Woman

Location: Lanchester - Peth Bank
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early twentieth century onwards
Further Comments: A phantom woman reputedly stands on the spot of an accident involving a horse and coach during the early nineteenth century. Sometimes the ghostly coach and horse also makes an appearance.

Roman

Location: Lanchester - Warrior's Bridge, A691
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This bridge may possibly take its name from the ghostly Roman soldier seen in the area, thought to be connected to nearby forts.

Fred

Location: Langley Park - Centurion public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: October 1974
Further Comments: After taking over the pub, George Fitzgibbon-Hall said that a family ghost had followed him around for many years, blaming the spirit for throwing ashtrays around the site and turning up the heating.

Raided Building

Location: Langley Park - Langley Hall (ruins)
Type: Environmental Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: Over the past two hundred years, there have been several reports of this building seen to be on fire with soldiers running around its base - the vision vanishes if investigated. Another tale of the area tells of a headless coachman who drives a phantom coach.

Priest

Location: Lartington - Priest's Hill
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Summer (reoccurring)
Further Comments: An Elizabethan priest is said to haunt this knoll, the site he was executed by soldiers for administrating forbidden rites.

Pony in a Pit

Location: Littleburn - Littleburn Colliery
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: 31 December 1919
Further Comments: A worker on night shift reported seeing a phantom pony walking in the pit, which was grabbed by a disembodied arm - exactly fifteen years previous on that very night, a worker had been killed in the pit by a runaway pony.

Robin, from an eighteenth century chapbook.

Robin Hood's Peniston

Location: Lunedale - Stone along the road between Nettlepot and Wenmer Gill
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown if still present
Further Comments: This large stone was thrown into position by a bored Robin Hood while entertaining his men on top of Shacklesborough, a nearby hill.

Lost Child

Location: Middleton in Teeside - Tower Hill
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: It was at the nearby river that a woman once found a fairy child that she took home. The little creature, with red eyes, cried constantly, and would not stop until returned to the place it was found. If your ear is placed by the ground, you can hear fairy music within the hill.

A gathering of fairies.

People in Green

Location: Middridge - Hill near the village
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Seventeenth century, summer nights
Further Comments: Tiny people dressed in green would be briefly seen by locals visiting the site during the summer months. If alone. to catch a glance of the figures would be considered lucky, but if in a larger party, any witnesses to the fairies would be struck with ill-fortune. When the hill was being cut by railway engineers, the banks would collapse at night. Fairies were blamed for the disruption and navvies requested additional money in dealing with the paranormal problem (which was granted).

Pitchfork Hurlers

Location: Middridge - Middridge Grange and surrounding area
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The fairies found here are full of mischief; the critters once chased a visitor to the village, who managed to seek shelter within the grange just before a pitchfork embedded itself in the door.

Woman with Child

Location: Neville's Cross - Lane in the area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 21 December (reoccurring)
Further Comments: The lane is home to a phantom woman murdered on the site. She is said to be sometimes accompanied by a strange looking child who possesses an oversized head. During the nineteenth century she was said to appear in or on waggons and carts passing through the area.

Sounds of Battle

Location: Neville's Cross - Neville's Cross (ruins)
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Circa nineteenth century
Further Comments: A local piece of folklore once said that whoever walked around the cross nine times before resting their head on the ground could hear the sounds of battle.

Lavender

Location: Neville's Cross - Unnamed private residence
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late 1990s
Further Comments: It was reported that the presence of a Victorian woman who had killed her own baby was responsible for causing one woman to faint after smelling lavender. A child also present said that she felt hands on her shoulders which prevented her from moving.

Tall Man

Location: Newton Aycliffe - Private residence, Skipton Close
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: July 2013
Further Comments: The local press reported that Adam Maddison claimed his home was haunted by a tall man, spotted moving through the guest bedroom. The entity was blamed for slamming a door so hard that the hinges broke.

Grey Lady

Location: Norton - Kiora Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2022
Further Comments: During restoration, two night workers at the hall fled after being spooked by voices and footsteps. Lavender perfume would also be detected. The hall has the reputation as being haunted by a grey lady and a military officer.

Mavis

Location: Old Cornsay - Black Horse public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Mavis is said to haunt the pub's cellar and the area in and around the toilets.

Goblin disguised as a pig.

The Picktree Brag

Location: Pelton - Exact location unknown
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A goblin which enjoyed playing tricks on the locals, this creature would normally take the form of a farm animal before creating mischief.

Murder Victim?

Location: Peterlee - Three bedroom council house, Basingstoke Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: December 2007 (actual exorcism on 27 December)
Further Comments: The local council came in for criticism after agreeing to pay 50% of the fee of a medium who offered to exorcise this home. The owners believed it haunted, and the medium claimed to have contacted a poltergeist called Peter who wanted to take over the tenant's young daughter.

Man in Gaiters

Location: Piercebridge - George Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A ghostly gentleman wearing gaiters has been reported standing by an old clock in the hotel. The sound of two people in disagreement has been heard coming from the empty bar.

The freaky Peg Powler.

Peg Powler

Location: Piercebridge - River Tees
Type: Other
Date / Time: Circa nineteenth century?
Further Comments: Referred to as a goddess in some cases, Peg Powler was said to drag children playing near the edge of the river to a watery grave. She was said to be particularly active on Sundays.

Murdered Girl

Location: Pittington - Lady Peace Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: The daughter from the local manor house was murdered along this lane, and now she has returned, her screams can be heard from the nearby village.

An old image of Raby Castle.

Henry Vane

Location: Raby - Raby Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Seen in the library, the only part of Vane's body observed is the head and shoulders. A figure resembling Lady Barnard has been seen along the corridors after dark (with one story claiming she knits as she walks, her knitting needles glowing red), while a third ghost can be seen entering the castle from outside, vanishing as he reaches the gate. Charles Neville, the Sixth Earl of Westmorland, drifts up the staircase to the Baron's Hall.

Chained Child

Location: Redworth - Redworth Hall Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Lord Surtees had his mentally ill child chained to the fireplace - the youngster can be heard crying and wailing.

Drowning Entity

Location: River Skerne - General area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This river, like several in the northern part of England, was said to contain an entity which would drag the unwary under the water.

Singing Lady

Location: River Tees - Cauldron Snout waterfall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A farm girl who killed herself once a relationship with a local miner ended, her pitiful shade can now be heard singing.