Norfolk Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana
White Woman
Location: Dickleburgh - Wooded area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A hanging white woman was said to haunt this piece of woodland, her dress always blowing in the wind to her left.
Twenty Five Clangs
Location: Didlington - Church
Type: Post-Mortem Manifestation
Date / Time: 14 November 1956
Further Comments: A local policeman reported the bells of the locked church rang 25 times, marking the anniversary of the death of a landowner. The officer entered the church to investigate, finding the bell rope swinging, but no one there.
Missing Church
Location: Dilham - Depression in the ground known as 'Seager-ma-hole'.
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Two churches were said to have been built in the village, although one sunk into the earth.
Hazy Woman
Location: Diss - King's Head public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1976
Further Comments: The young daughter of the landlord was said to be in constant conversation with this phantom woman. The parents believed her to be an imaginary friend, until the landlord saw a green, hazy image of the ghost, who said 'I will not harm you'. Bumps and bangs would also be heard, but only when the child was offsite.
Footsteps
Location: Diss - Private residence
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early 2000s
Further Comments: An occupant was terrified one night by heavy footsteps walking the upper part of the property while they were downstairs. The footsteps were heard descending the staircase before stopping, only to restart walking in another room upstairs. Once the sun came up the occupant dared to go upstairs and found nothing disturbed.
Dog with Long Shaggy Coat
Location: Ditchingham - Halfway between Ditchingham and the Maltings
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: 1938
Further Comments: While returning home late one night, a male witness saw a large black dog walking along the same path towards him. He stepped into the middle of the road to let it pass, only to see it disappear once close to him.
Man in Red Coat and Woman Stroking Hair
Location: Ditchingham - Waveney Valley Area, Ditchingham Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 01.30h (Reoccurring)
Further Comments: Appearing at early in the morning, the history of the red man is unknown, though at least one witness said that they felt as if he had killed someone. A ghostly woman has also been seen in the building, waking a guest by playing with her hair.
Glowing Saucer
Location: Docking - Outskirts of the village
Type: UFO
Date / Time: 1969, around midnight
Further Comments: Driving home from his shop, as Robin Peck approached the village his van's engine cut out. He climbed out of the vehicle and as he lifted the car's bonnet, Robin realised that this hair was standing up. It was then Robin realised that a glowing, saucer shaped object was hovering around ninety metres away. After a short while, the object darted away, and the van started working again.
Battlefield Noises
Location: Downham Market - Moat Farm
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late 1800s
Further Comments: Reports at the end of the nineteenth century claimed that screams and shouting echoed across the fields around moat farm, and that a spooky mist often shrouded the area.
Opening Drawers
Location: Downham Market - Private residence, Barroway Drove area
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: October - November 1982
Further Comments: This property featured in the local media after a rector was summoned to bless the home. The family moved out after a child had watched his bedroom drawers open and close unaided, while other family members had seen furniture and crockery animate. The blessing would appear to have been successful as the family moved back soon after.
Eight
Location: Downham West - Bridge Stores
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1977
Further Comments: A ghost hunter claimed to have detected eight ghosts at the shop and attached house (although only tracked down five or six of them).
Stalking Hound
Location: East Dereham - Between village and (former) RAF Swanton Morley
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: November 1945
Further Comments: Cycling from his home towards the RAF base, John Harries was stalked by a black dog. The hound stopped when Harries stopped, although it vanished when Harries reached the base.
Figure in Black
Location: East Dereham - Cinema at the Corn Exchange
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1977
Further Comments: While converting the basement into a bar, builders spotted a figure in black which mysteriously vanished behind a column. It was said that some workers refused to work on the site alone.
St Withburga's Well
Location: East Dereham - St Nicholas's Church
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: This holy well formed after the saint's body was stolen by monks acting on the orders of the Abbot of Ely.
Golden Cradle
Location: East Harling - Pilgrim's Meadow
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: With its location now covered now covered by trees, this mythical treasure is unlikely to be found any time soon.
Brown Lady (Dorothy Walpole)
Location: East Rayham - Raynham Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: November 1926, photographed 1936
Further Comments: Said to have starved to death after her children were taken away, Dorothy Walpole is now reported to walk the corridors of the house. Her spirit is reported to wear a brown silk dress and have empty eye sockets. Photographed by Country Life magazine, this ghost has since become world famous. The Brown Lady is also said to warn of the approaching death of the owner of the building.
Two Children, a Spaniel, and the Duke of Monmouth
Location: East Rayham - Raynham Hall - Stone Parlour
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1930s
Further Comments: Never seen and only 'felt', the spaniel's footfalls can be heard moving about the corridors. The Stone Parlour is haunted by a little girl in a frock (nothing is known about her origins), while the Duke of Monmouth haunts one of the bedrooms.
Doppelganger of Vicar
Location: East Rudham - Vicarage lawn
Type: Manifestation of the Living
Date / Time: December 1912
Further Comments: Observed by several witnesses, the vicar was seen returning home after a period abroad. As it turned out, however, the vicar did not return home until several weeks later.
Big Cat
Location: East Runton - Railway Embankment
Type: ABC
Date / Time: 19 February 1964
Further Comments: Following up reports of a large cat, the area was combed by police with dogs; nothing was ever found.
Headless Shuck
Location: East Runton - Runton Heath, between East Runton and Aylmerton
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Manifesting on dark stormy nights, this shuck brings death to those who see him within a year.
Flying Glasses
Location: East Ruston - Butchers Arms public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: April 2008
Further Comments: Customers have reported seeing a figure standing by a wine cabinet, while items have thrown themselves off shelves and an unseen hand has poured glasses of wine in the kitchen.
Witch's Leg
Location: East Somerton - Church of St Mary (ruins) and tree known as the Witch's Finger
Type: Curse
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: Perhaps a recently created piece of folklore, one story says that a witch with a wooden leg was buried alive in the church; from the leg grew a tree and the church fell to ruins soon after.
Large Wormlike Creature
Location: Eccles-on-Sea - Coastline off Eccles
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 05 August 1936, evening
Further Comments: Observed by the Mayor, a MP and four other people, a creature twelve metres long moved like a worm on the surface of the water. One witness estimated the speed to be up to ninety miles per hour.
Headless Horseman
Location: Elsing - Belaugh Wall, between Elsing and Bawdswell
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Midnight, though date(s) not known
Further Comments: This decapitated phantom on his steed is said to ride along the wall before leaping over the stonework on the stroke of midnight.
Poltergeist
Location: Emneth - Lonely Cottage
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1960s
Further Comments: For a period of several years, the building was plagued by the standard poltergeist activities; doors and windows opened, household appliances were mysteriously turned on, and ornaments moved and were often found broken.
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