The Paranormal Database

John

Location: Stockport (Greater Manchester) - Gardener's Arms public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: A former member of staff claimed the pub's cellar was haunted by a ghost named John - failure to say 'good morning' to the ghost would result in him wolf whistling in your ear. The phantom would also object if the cellar was rearranged and would move things around and turn taps on.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2012-04-08   Last updated: 2012-04-08   ID: #10832

Figure in Black

Location: Stockport (Greater Manchester) - Mauldeth Home, Heaton
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: April 1978
Further Comments: The Evening News reported that ten night-nurses called in a union member after a faceless phantom dressed in black had grabbed workers by their throats, leaving finger marks and breaking skin. Researchers from Manchester University were also called to investigate (their results not given in the news report).

Source: Historical Record
First added: 2026-07-14   Last updated: 2026-07-14   ID: #16697

Open the Window

Location: Stockport (Greater Manchester) - Private flat, central Stockport
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2016-2019
Further Comments: The people who lived in this flat had several experiences. One person heard a man whisper 'open the window' close to their ear, leaving them terrified. Another person fell down the stairs, convinced that they had been pushed by small hands. EVP picked up the voice of a teenage boy.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2019-08-03   Last updated: 2019-08-03   ID: #13313

Glowing Lady

Location: Stockport (Greater Manchester) - St Thomas's Hospital
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Prior to a death
Further Comments: This radiant woman appears dressed as either a nurse or a nun, and always just before the death of a patient on a certain ward.

Source: Investigation, Published Media
First added: 2003-10-26   Last updated: 2003-10-26   ID: #4730

Escapee

Location: Stockport (Greater Manchester) - Staircase Cafe (currently Staircase Museum), the Market Place
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: June 1956
Further Comments: Workmen discovered a hidden staircase which led to an additional three rooms being found in this cafe. The tenant of the building reported hearing strange sounds, 'as if someone is trying to get out', according to a contemporary press report.

Source: Historical Record
First added: 2025-07-18   Last updated: 2025-07-18   ID: #16002

George

Location: Stockport (Greater Manchester) - Star and Garter public house and surrounding area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A young boy murdered nearby in 1861, George is still said to play with living children.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2008-10-14   Last updated: 2008-10-14   ID: #9037

Figure in Hat

Location: Stockport (Greater Manchester) - Stockport Grammar School, Victorian convent house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1964 and onwards
Further Comments: A group photograph taken at the school in 1964 shows a figure in a hat standing at the rear of the group, at an angle otherwise impossible to be caught on film. Witnesses say that the convent house is haunted by footsteps coming from empty parts of the building.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2006-03-17   Last updated: 2006-03-17   ID: #6789

Woman

Location: Stockport (Greater Manchester) - Thatched House public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Lurking in the cellar, this female shade is said to horrify anyone who encounters her. Another ghost, Doctor James Briscall, is said to sit at the bar - the doctor set the building up as the town's first infirmary.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2008-10-14   Last updated: 2008-10-14   ID: #9038

Back Slapper

Location: Stockport (Greater Manchester) - White Lion public house
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 2003
Further Comments: A DJ reported feeling someone slap his back and head, although there was no one close by. Reporting it to the landlady, he was told that other DJs had told her similar stories.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2016-06-26   Last updated: 2016-06-26   ID: #12196

The phantom attacker is likely to have been much less dramatic than this.

Horned Man

Location: Stretford (Greater Manchester) - General area
Type: Other
Date / Time: Early 1886
Further Comments: Several women reported being attacked by a figure in 'a covering of skin, with two horns on the top of his head'. The man would leap from behind hedges, and lightly shake his victims before running off. During the same period, the figure was also reported in Gorton and Cheetham Hill.

Source: Historical Record
First added: 2022-01-27   Last updated: 2022-01-27   ID: #14373

Howling Man

Location: Stretford (Greater Manchester) - Stagnant pool (since drained) near Cross Bridge, between Stretford and Cross Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1806
Further Comments: A ghostly man would be seen running around the edge of the pool, howling in distress until approached, when he would disappear into the water. Animals became frightened near the pool. After the pool was drained and the body of a missing butcher discovered, the haunting ceased.

Source: Historical Record
First added: 2025-11-29   Last updated: 2025-11-29   ID: #16195

Mary on Piggyback

Location: Swinton (Greater Manchester) - Area near river
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Mary killed her husband's prized pig, so he drowned her in return. Mary is now said to ride the hog around the area of the river where her husband murdered her.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2002-10-18   Last updated: 2002-10-18   ID: #2729

Attack in the Cellar

Location: Swinton (Greater Manchester) - Bull's Head public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1980s
Further Comments: Two men were attacked in the cellar by an unknown presence, one requiring several stitches to a head wound. Phantom voices have also been heard on the telephone, and footsteps have been heard echoing around.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2003-12-24   Last updated: 2003-12-24   ID: #4806

Victorian Woman

Location: Swinton (Greater Manchester) - Private residence, East Lancs Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early 1970s
Further Comments: While waiting for her boyfriend, this witness watched a Victorian woman appear and disappear through the window of a nearby house. Later mentioning it to friends, they said the property was empty and had a reputation of being haunted.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2015-10-18   Last updated: 2015-10-18   ID: #11940

Bearded Older Man

Location: Swinton (Greater Manchester) - Private residence, Manchester Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2015
Further Comments: The occupant in this property encountered an angry older man with a grey beard who wore a long coat. The figure disappeared when the witness closed his eyes and reopened them. When the occupant mentioned the encounter to his landlord, he was told that previous tenants had reported the site haunted, although no further details were offered.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2022-01-13   Last updated: 2022-01-13   ID: #14349

Tall Gaunt Figure

Location: Westhoughton (Greater Manchester) - A6
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Date unknown, 19:00h
Further Comments: Two occupants of a car slowed down after spotting a tall gaunt figure start to cross the road ahead of them. The figure stopped on a small traffic island but had vanished as the car reached the spot. The occupants of the car did not mention their sighting to anyone, but twelve months later a friend said that they had seen the same figure. One of the witnesses returned to the area to investigate further; locals shared the store of a phantom highwayman in the area.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2022-11-26   Last updated: 2022-11-26   ID: #14700

Lady in Red

Location: Westhoughton (Greater Manchester) - Ex-Serviceman's club
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The history of this rose-tinted shade is unknown.

Source: Needs Review
First added: 2003-05-31   Last updated: 2003-05-31   ID: #4276

Strange Noises

Location: Westhoughton (Greater Manchester) - Market Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 02 April 2022
Further Comments: A video from the market that featured in the local press purported to contain unnatural sounds. Although in this instance the source of the noise was more likely to be vehicular than supernatural, some market traders believe the site to be haunted.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2022-04-07   Last updated: 2022-04-07   ID: #14448

Left Over Shadow

Location: Westhoughton (Greater Manchester) - Wheatsheaf public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: The ghost that haunts this pub would vanish suddenly, leaving only a shadow which persisted for several seconds after the disappearance. A former landlord of the pub stated his dog would sit and bark at one room but would not dare enter.

Source: Needs Review
First added: 2003-05-31   Last updated: 2003-05-31   ID: #4277

Little Man

Location: Westhoughton (Greater Manchester) - Wingates Grove
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s
Further Comments: A ghost that drove a family from their house in the early 1990s returned a few years later to haunt another building a little further down the same road. Both sets of occupiers reported items disappearing, windows opening, strange oil that dripped from the ceiling, and a ghostly figure that showed itself to the children of the household. In 2022 a local news outlet reported all activity had ceased.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2003-01-18   Last updated: 2022-11-05   ID: #3641

Hand of Glory.

Father Arrowsmith's Hand of Glory

Location: Wigan (Greater Manchester) - Bryn Hall (also known as Brynne Hall), but no longer standing)
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Created some point after 26 August 1628, was still being used 1736
Further Comments: Hanged for either his religious beliefs or rape, depending on the source, Father Arrowsmith requested that his right hand be removed. Many believed that the hand, which was stored at the hall for many years, had the power to heal, and in 1736 it was used on a twelve year old boy who could no longer use his limbs. After the hand was applied to the boy's back, he was once again able to walk. The hand was finally moved to Garswood, and then on to Ashton-in-Makerfield, though its current location is not known.

Source: Historical Record, Published Media
First added: 2008-02-26   Last updated: 2008-02-26   ID: #8244

Tall Figure

Location: Wigan (Greater Manchester) - Fire Station (old building)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: April 2015
Further Comments: A tall grey figure was reportedly seen by several people at different times, moving down the corridor by the watch office. Disembodied footsteps were also heard in the kit room.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2017-02-05   Last updated: 2017-02-05   ID: #12334

David

Location: Wigan (Greater Manchester) - Haigh Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: The Spirit Seekers group, spending a night at the hall raising money for the Anthony Nolan Trust, reported picking up a voice on recording equipment that said, 'Stop laughing, I don't want you here'. The group's medium felt the presence of a man named David, described as short with a moustache.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2007-05-28   Last updated: 2007-05-28   ID: #7475

The phantom of Ince Hall.

Young Woman

Location: Wigan (Greater Manchester) - Ince Hall (no longer standing), on road between town and Bolton
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Killed by her uncle who wanted her inheritance, the girl's ghost returned and slowly drove the murderer mad - he spent the remaining years of his life in a sanatorium.

Source: Historical Record, Published Media
First added: 2003-10-04   Last updated: 2003-10-04   ID: #4632

Beer Puller

Location: Wigan (Greater Manchester) - Minorca public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1960s
Further Comments: This alcoholic phantom would pull pints of beer, though was never seen to drink it.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2003-10-26   Last updated: 2003-10-26   ID: #4720