The Paranormal Database

Man

Location: Oldham - Private residence, Netherhey Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1991-1992
Further Comments: A former resident reported that after a certain amount of time spent in the kitchen, out of the corner of an eye a male figure could be seen entering the room and sitting by the work bench - the first time it happened, the witness thought it was their father).

Smoking Man

Location: Oldham - Radclyffe Arms public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Thought to be a man who took his life in the cellar, this lonely chap has been seen sitting in the bar, milking a glass of beer.

Bus Sized UFO

Location: Oldham - Saddleworth Moor, near Dovestones Reservoir
Type: UFO
Date / Time: December 2006
Further Comments: Saddleworth Moor has been home to many strange and curious sightings of UFOs over the years, the largest of which was the size of a British double decker bus seen in 1975. More recently, six lights spread out in a hexagon pattern which vanished after several seconds were seen in the sky, quickly followed by a sighting of a strange van which also vanished.

Figure in Short Sleeved Shirt

Location: Oldham - Star Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late 1991
Further Comments: Called out to investigate the intruder alarm, the owner of the Star Inn could find no reason why the alarm had been activated. When the security video footage was checked, a ghostly man in a short sleeved shirt, dark trousers and hat could be seen drifting down a corridor and entering the room where the alarm had been tripped.

Middle Aged Man

Location: Oldham - Temperance Hall, next to the Colosseum Theatre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 25 December (reoccurring)
Further Comments: This grey figure has been seen standing in doorways always around the Christmas period, and is believed to be the ghost of a suicide.

Foggy Column

Location: Radcliffe - Commercial Hotel (no longer standing)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1972
Further Comments: Several workers in the building reported a strange pillar of white mist that would grow from the floor, disappearing after a couple of minutes. The apparition would be accompanied by a sharp drop in temperature.

Hanging Man

Location: Radcliffe - Radcliffe Infirmary Nurses Accommodation
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: June 2005
Further Comments: A resident reported spotting the ghostly figure of a man hanging by a rope in the corner of their room. The sighting was accompanied by a banging noise and a flashing light bulb.

Manchester's hell hound.

Dark Hound

Location: Radcliffe - Radcliffe Tower
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A hound of hell was once said to lurk around the tower after dark. Some say it was the reincarnation of a murdered girl fed to her unsuspecting family by her stepmother.

Silver Suit

Location: Reddish - Exact area not unknown
Type: Other
Date / Time: 1976
Further Comments: Several children encountered an entity wearing a silver suit. The figure had long blonde hair, a short grey beard, and hovered fifteen centimetres above the ground.

Pennies from Heaven

Location: Reddish - St Elizabeth's Churchyard
Type: Other
Date / Time: May 1981
Further Comments: Witnesses heard dozens of coins rain down in the churchyard, falling from an empty sky, though some were quite deeply embedded in the earth.

John Ellis

Location: Rochdale - April Cotton Florists, 413 Oldham Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: January 2008
Further Comments: Even though Rochdale's last public executioner John Ellis committed suicide in 1932, his former barbershop is still thought to contain his shade. An invisible entity pushed one man while he was working alone in the shop, and later slapped the same man's rear.

Green Teeth

Location: Rochdale - Bodies of water around Heywood
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Early nineteenth century?
Further Comments: The water entity which drowned children and the unwary in this area, named as Green Teeth, Jenny Long Arms, or Grindylow, was described as having 'skinny claws' and 'secret dart'.

Internal Rain

Location: Rochdale - Bungalow along Hill Top Close
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1986
Further Comments: A family living here were plagued by regular flooding from an unknown source - investigations could not find from where the water came. Sounds of phantom coughing and the smell of smoke also filled the rooms.

Two Children

Location: Rochdale - Clegg Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2002
Further Comments: Though murdered by their uncle who wanted their inheritance, the ghosts of the two children have managed to survive at least one exorcism. The shades are thought to have finally driven their murderer mad. A visitor to the ruin in 2002 felt something take her hand as she walked through the door, and another presence catch her as she slipped in the mud outside.

Hammering

Location: Rochdale - Council house, Kirkholt
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: October 1958
Further Comments: Over a three week period, hammering would start in this house at 8pm. If any family member or visitor made a knock, the entity would repeat the noise. The family moved out after Hallowe'en.

The little people of Fairy Dell.

Flame Farewell

Location: Rochdale - Fairy Dell
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Pre-1838
Further Comments: A miller named Ralph was said to have encountered a group of fairies at this waterfall. When the fairies vanished, they left a brief burning light in their wake. Unfortunately, the dell was destroyed during a flood in 1838.

Horses

Location: Rochdale - Gristlehurst Lane, Heywood
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This lane is reputed to be haunted by the phantom sounds of horses.

Green Eyed Cat

Location: Rochdale - Healey Dell Nature Reserve
Type: ABC
Date / Time: 2011, 2018
Further Comments: In 2011, one witness spotted what they thought was an Alsatian-sized dog, but it ran off and jumped over a wall like a cat. Seven years later, the witness's neighbour had a similar sighting and reportedly observed a black panther with big green eyes.

Male Figure

Location: Rochdale - Norden Riviera Open Air Swimming Pool (no longer standing)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1940s-1960s
Further Comments: A phantom male figure was said to have been seen standing outside this open air pool. It is not known if the figure remained after the pool was demolished in the mid-1960s.

Betty

Location: Rochdale - Owd Betts public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Betty, or 'Owd Betts, was the landlady at the pub during the mid-nineteenth century. After her death it was believed that she remained on the site, occasionally heard walking around the site while looking out for bar staff.

Scraping

Location: Rochdale - Private residence, Cavendish Road
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 20 October 1971
Further Comments: Police were summoned to a property after the owner fled having heard strange scraping and footsteps. Officers on the scene reportedly also heard the sounds but were unable to trace the source.

Relocated

Location: Rochdale - St Chads church
Type: Other
Date / Time: Twelfth century
Further Comments: Construction of the church was originally planned on the other side of the river, but supernatural forces (possibly taking the form of 'strange-looking men') had other ideas and the materials were moved to the site the building now stands.

The Baum Rabbit.

Baum Rabbit

Location: Rochdale - St Mary's Churchyard (no longer present)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-twentieth century?
Further Comments: A ghostly bunny haunted this area for many years and was reportedly shot at least once - the buckshot passing straight through its body. The ghostly figure of a man was also reported at the churchyard, drifting slowly above the ground.

Cavalier

Location: Rochdale - The Rake Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Grinning merrily, mostly likely through copious amounts of beer, this soldier has been mistaken for a real person.

Thin Outline

Location: Rochdale - Toad Lane, and area around St Mary's Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s
Further Comments: The shady outline of an unknown man is said to have appeared here several times during the 1970s.