Ipswich Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana
Large Cat
Location: Ipswich - A12 bypass near Ipswich
Type: ABC
Date / Time: 1996
Further Comments: Part of a rash of sightings of ABCs in and around the Ipswich area during 1996, and that have continued well into the 2000s.
Smoky Man
Location: Ipswich - A12 heading towards Orwell Bridge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: November 2013
Further Comments: A driver watched a pillar of smoke rise and form the shape of a young man. The driver believed that the figure was someone who had died nearby.
Nocturnal Light
Location: Ipswich - A12 towards Woodbridge, after Orwell Bridge
Type: UFO
Date / Time: 1990s
Further Comments: A family driving home one night watched as a bright light manoeuvred around the sky, before disappearing vertically into the clouds at a fantastic speed.
Man in Grey
Location: Ipswich - Belvedere Road / Cemetery Lane junction
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 18 December 2012, 08:50h
Further Comments: A driver braked as a man in dark grey clothing and a trilby-like hat stepped out in front of their car. The driver then realised the man had vanished, with no means of passing without the driver seeing. The figure may have also been spotted by a dog walker, who reported a man in old fashioned clothing who tipped his hat before disappearing.
Large Cat
Location: Ipswich - Birkfield Drive
Type: ABC
Date / Time: Mid 2010s
Further Comments: A man walking home late had encountered a handful of police searching the edge of a small, wooded area. He asked the closest police officer if everything was okay, only to be told that they had had a report of a large black cat in this location and were searching for it.
Sweeping Female Figure
Location: Ipswich - Christchurch Mansion
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Summer 1995, and prior
Further Comments: Pictures on the walls have been seen turning themselves, while a female witness with her daughter watched a Victorian woman walk by them, passing through a closed glass door. A much older report stated that the mansion was haunted by a maid with two children, who laughed and danced around the building.
Walking
Location: Ipswich - Community building (no longer operating), Princes Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2010s
Further Comments: Staff working late at night in the building would occasionally hear footsteps and whistling from empty parts of the building.
Staring Woman
Location: Ipswich - Crown Hotel, 346 Felixstowe Road (no longer operating)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2010
Further Comments: A face of a woman looks down from the window in bedroom 2, even though the room is empty. Mild poltergeist activities have also been reported, the piano has been heard playing itself, and a crashing sound, as of a wardrobe falling over, also reported.
Powder Sprinkling
Location: Ipswich - Eagle Street - undisclosed house
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Mid Twentieth Century
Further Comments: A local vicar was called in to exorcise this entity which threw items through the air and scattered an unknown powder around rooms.
A Very Black Cat
Location: Ipswich - East Ipswich (Felix Road, Foxhall Road areas)
Type: ABC
Date / Time: 21 August 2006
Further Comments: The local paper reported that two people had seen a large cat, 'very black' in colour, in separate incidents. The first was along Felix Road at around 03:30h, followed by the Foxhall Road sighting two hours later. One witness said that the cat was not as big as a panther but was much larger than a normal cat.
Crying Baby
Location: Ipswich - Flat along Foxhall Road
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: February 2003-July 2004
Further Comments: A medium who came to cleanse the flat failed to do so and the tenants finally moved out. They had reported poltergeist-like activity, loud bangs and footsteps, the muffled sounds of a baby crying, and black and grey shadowy figures.
White Lady
Location: Ipswich - Gippeswyk Hall (currently occupied by Red Rose Chain)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Nights of the full moon (reoccurring)
Further Comments: This ghostly white lady has been seen by several witnesses in the upper part of the hall. One person reported a strange mist emerging from the chimney, though no fires were burning within.
Grey Lady
Location: Ipswich - Great White Horse Hotel (no longer operational)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This ghostly woman who has been observed walking through a wall is said to have died in a fire on the site.
Figure
Location: Ipswich - Ipswich Film Theatre (Cinema), Town Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: Several staff at this building reported a shadowy figure walking around the rear corridors near the protection booths.
Footsteps
Location: Ipswich - Isaacs public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 31 December 2017
Further Comments: While alone in the gents' toilets, one man heard the door open and close and heavy booted footsteps approach. Then, after hearing a loud sigh in his ear, the witness turned but to see who had come in, but realised he was alone.
Paws
Location: Ipswich - Kelly Road
Type: ABC
Date / Time: 1996
Further Comments: Part of a rash of sightings of ABCs in and around the Ipswich area during 1996. The cat was nicknamed 'Paws' by the local press and a reward was posted for evidence. In the 2000s a witness came forwards to say that the 'cat' was a black Labrador which would run freely around the area, and most locals were aware of this at the time.
Poltergeist
Location: Ipswich - Lakeland Plastics
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1997
Further Comments: Believed to be the ghost of Mother Lakeland, a wise woman/witch who once lived in the area, this entity has been blamed for moving displays around the shop. As a side note, contained within the shop is a fifteenth century chapel that remained undiscovered for many years. It is now open to the public.
Kangaroo
Location: Ipswich - London Road
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 12 September 2011, around 16:00h
Further Comments: A driver and passenger reported seeing a young kangaroo travelling along a busy Ipswich road.
Heartbeat
Location: Ipswich - McGinty's public house (currently Halberd Inn)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Heart from twentieth century, girl in July 2004
Further Comments: If you place your ear on one of the walls of this Irish theme pub, one can hear the faint beating of a human heart. Maybe it was the same entity which once turned the all the fuses off at a junction box, saving the landlord from electrocution. In 2004 a visitor staying at the pub awoke to see a little girl in the room, even though the only other person there was the publican.
Spinning Lights
Location: Ipswich - Orwell Bridge and the A12 towards Felixstowe, and Nacton Road
Type: UFO
Date / Time: 26 August 2006, around 04:00h
Further Comments: Two dull, spinning lights followed a teenager driving across the bridge for several miles. The lights always remained in front of the car, turning at the same time as the driver. Several other witnesses reported seeing similar lights around the Nacton Road area at roughly the same time.
Pale Figure
Location: Ipswich - Pipers Vale, aka The Lairs
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s, 2000s
Further Comments: This pallid person spotted standing around the area could be the phantom of one of many suicides which have occurred on the nearby Orwell Bridge. At least one witness has heard an invisible horse.
Teenager
Location: Ipswich - Pipers' Court
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s
Further Comments: This building is said to be haunted by the ghost of a teenager who died within. He appears on CCTV cameras but is not visible in the real world.
Small Child in Nightdress
Location: Ipswich - Private building along Waterford Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1960s
Further Comments: The appearance of small child in a nightdress over this decade was also accompanied by strange noises and footsteps heard moving in the upper parts of the house. A mist with unidentifiable smell was also reported moving from room to room.
Young Boy
Location: Ipswich - Private residence along Felixstowe Road
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Winter 1989
Further Comments: A former occupier at this site recalled seeing a white, semi- transparent shape of a young boy with white or blonde hair. Though the clothing was hard to distinguish, the witness could clearly see the smiling face of the figure.
Old Man on Stairs
Location: Ipswich - Private residence along Skylark Lane
Type: Post-Mortem Manifestation
Date / Time: 1998 or 1999
Further Comments: A female witness alone in a house looked down from the landing to see a slim old man dressed in a 1930's suit and hat standing halfway up the stairs holding the banister while looking up at her. The man appeared 'real', but the witness knew he was not. He seemed to stare right through her as if looking at something else. The witness stared at him for what 'seemed like an eternity', trying to work out who or indeed what he was. Finally, the witness became unnerved and turned around to escape the scene - when she glanced back the man had vanished.
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