Nottingham Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana
Matron
Location: Nottingham - Former Trent FM Radio studio, was once a former hospital, 29/31 Castle Gate
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s
Further Comments: The studios where Trent FM broadcast from until January 2007 were said to be haunted by a female apparition that resembled a matron. Another ghostly woman, elderly and dressed in black, has also been reported, as has a man in military uniform. Heavy soundproof doors developed a habit of opening and closing themselves.
Hanged Criminals
Location: Nottingham - Galleries of Justice (were known as Shire Hall and County Gaol)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2007 (Shiba), 2010 (young girl)
Further Comments: The courtrooms are reputedly haunted by criminals who were executed on the site. Actor David Shiba reported hearing footsteps and seeing a shadowy figure in the cave system who he took to be another actor, though he later discovered everyone else in the building were upstairs at the time of his sighting. A more recent sighting in 2010 involved the sighting of a happy young girl, around eight years old, who vanished while running towards the witness.
Terrier
Location: Nottingham - Gedling House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1940s-1960s
Further Comments: This small white dog was spotted by two witnesses in separate incidents, on one occasion the hound was accompanied by an elderly woman using a walking stick. Other witnesses have only heard the lady walking around, her stick tapping on the ground.
White Lady
Location: Nottingham - Gedling Woods
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s?
Further Comments: This piece of woodland is reputedly haunted by a white lady, a nun and disembodied screaming.
White Lady
Location: Nottingham - Grounds of Colwick Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Thought to be the same ghost encountered at the nearby church, this white woman is thought by some to be Mary Ann Chaworth-Musters reputedly Lord Byron's first love.
Older Man
Location: Nottingham - Hayward House, City Hospital
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: August 2012
Further Comments: Three members of nursing staff contacted security on the emergency line after they saw an unknown elderly male walking at the far end of a corridor at night. He was said to be wearing a flat cap. Upon arrival, security checked the building but could not find any sign of the male. The intruder alarm had also not been set off.
Cavaliers
Location: Nottingham - Hippo Club, Bridlesmith (no longer operational)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1971
Further Comments: Staff on late shifts claimed to see phantom Cavaliers and other dark figures moving around the club. Some people also reported the sensation of invisible hands touching them.
Footfalls
Location: Nottingham - Industrial estate near Silverdale
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: One of the buildings on this modern industrial estate is rumoured to be haunted. Footsteps have been heard above the ceiling, lights are flicked on and off, and unpowered machines start and stop.
Footsteps
Location: Nottingham - Jesse's Restaurant
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1988
Further Comments: This building is reputed to be haunted by the sound of footfalls heard moving around in empty rooms.
Sobbing Boy
Location: Nottingham - Lee Rosys tea shop (17 Broad Street)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2006
Further Comments: A local newspaper reported that staff and one customer had heard phantom sobbing from behind a wall. Puddles of water appeared without cause and cups would fall from tables without reason.
Pale Man
Location: Nottingham - Lenton Abbey, Classic Cinema
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s
Further Comments: Built on the site of a former priory, this cinema is haunted by a figure that could be a monk, though it appears to dress in 'normal' clothing.
Victorian Girl
Location: Nottingham - Loggerheads public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This little girl is said to enjoy playing along the corridors in the upper part of the building. The bar downstairs is home to a First World War officer, a Cavalier, and even possibly Dick Turpin who once stayed here en route to York.
Hello?
Location: Nottingham - Mapperley Hospital, Porchester Road (closed 1994)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: Since closing, the ghosts of this former asylum have found their voice. Workers on the site have heard their names being called by an unknown voice, and disembodied footsteps also heard. A woman has been observed walking down corridors, and a man has been heard to call out 'hello', though he can never be found.
Steam Engine
Location: Nottingham - Mapperley Tunnel, southern end
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970
Further Comments: Two school children playing in the tunnel heard a steam engine rapidly approaching them - terrified they ran out into the fresh air. A few seconds after their escape they realised that the train could not have existed, as the north end of the tunnel was barricaded.
Marshal Tallard
Location: Nottingham - Newdigate House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: More likely to be heard rather than seen, the phantom man reported here has been named as Marshal Tallard. Footsteps and voices have been heard, and people have reported the sensation of being watched by unseen eyes. Other entities reported here are thought to be friends of Tallard.
Spooky
Location: Nottingham - NHS Walk-In Centre, Derby Road
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1970s onwards
Further Comments: A former AA building, the poltergeist here has been nicknamed 'Spooky'. He upsets items in the kitchen and creates loud bangs and crashes. The polt may be connected to the ghost of a man who has been spotted standing around, staring at people before vanishing.
Man in Check Shirt
Location: Nottingham - North Wilford Power Station (no longer standing)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: November 1967
Further Comments: This power station was haunted by a blue-eyed man wearing a check shirt, blue overall and a cap. He smiled at one witness before disappearing through a closed door.
Lion
Location: Nottingham - Nottingham Airport area
Type: ABC
Date / Time: 29 July 1976
Further Comments: Two milkmen in the area reported seeing a large cat with a long tail which had a bushy end. Locals claimed that their pets had been quite restless during the night, though a large scale search by police using tracker dogs and helicopters found nothing.
Regent Mortimer
Location: Nottingham - Nottingham Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Heard pacing in his former cell, Mortimer appears not to understand that he was executed in 1330. Queen Isabella has been heard screaming, the way that she may have done when they dragged Mortimer off to his death. A phantom child is also said to haunt the site, and finally the gallery is reputedly haunted by the Countess of Nottingham, who only appears to people who will die within a year.
Blue Lady
Location: Nottingham - Nottingham City Council, Market Square
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The Ante Room is said to be haunted by this woman in blue, while the sound of disembodied footfalls can be heard emerging from Sheriff's Room.
Singer
Location: Nottingham - Old Angel Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Heard crooning when the pub is (or should be) empty, this female shade is also said to enjoy playing the fruit machines.
Bus Catcher
Location: Nottingham - Outside Redhill Cemetery, Mansfield Road, Arnold
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A slight retelling of the phantom hitchhiker myth, it is reported that a man waiting outside the cemetery caught a bus late one night. He walked past the conductor and climbed to the top deck. When the conductor followed him up, he was nowhere to be seen.
Shadows
Location: Nottingham - Pit & Pendulum Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: This horror inspired theme pub would not be complete without an accompanying ghost story or two. Shadowy figures have upset customers sitting downstairs, quiet voices whisper in the men's toilet, and staff have reported something invisible prodding them.
Woman in Grey
Location: Nottingham - Private flat, Redcliffe Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s
Further Comments: At least two flats along this road were said to be haunted by an aging woman wearing grey. After one of the flats was decorated, the figure was not seen again.
Secret Door
Location: Nottingham - Private house along Forest Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 1940s
Further Comments: Two decorators fled this house while working there shortly after the Second World War. They had found a concealed door with a lead seal; forcing it open, they were overwhelmed by cold air and by a presence forcing them to back away.
Quick Links
Contribute
West Midlands
Calendar
East of England
