The Paranormal Database

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

Horned Man

Location: Stretford - 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.

Howling Man

Location: Stretford - 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.

Mary on Piggyback

Location: Swinton - 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.

Attack in the Cellar

Location: Swinton - 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.

Victorian Woman

Location: Swinton - 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.

Bearded Older Man

Location: Swinton - 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.

Tall Gaunt Figure

Location: Westhoughton - 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.

Lady in Red

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

Strange Noises

Location: Westhoughton - 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.

Left Over Shadow

Location: Westhoughton - 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.

Little Man

Location: Westhoughton - 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.

Flying Plates

Location: Wigan - Private flat, Woodford Street, Pemberton (former police station)
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Late 2010 / early 2011
Further Comments: Wigan Today reported that poltergeist activity in this flat ceased after Dead Connections paranormal team exorcised the site. Occupier Holly Taylor had experienced plates flying around, disembodied footsteps and other strange activities. The site also had a reputation of being haunted when it was a police station, with a former officer claiming that bangs and footsteps were heard by staff.

Smart Man

Location: Wigan - The Mount and Premier Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: August 2008
Further Comments: One witness awoke to see a man dressed in a 1960s suit in the room. The man vanished when the witness cried out. A manager at the inn said that a few figures had been seen on the site, as the inn was built on the site of a nunnery.

Hand of Glory.

Father Arrowsmith's Hand of Glory

Location: Wigan - 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.

Tall Figure

Location: Wigan - 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.

David

Location: Wigan - 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.

The phantom of Ince Hall.

Young Woman

Location: Wigan - 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.

Beer Puller

Location: Wigan - 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.

John Dee, unknown artist.

John Dee

Location: Worsley - Kempnough Hall
Type: Other
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The court philosopher Dee only spent seven years in this building, but the oppressive atmosphere that is sometimes detected is often blamed on him.