The Paranormal Database

Shipman's Pub, Northampton.

Harry Franklin

Location: Northampton - Shipman's Public House
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: A former landlord who took his own life in a 'horrific manner', Harry can be heard walking above the heads of the locals as they sip their pints.

Foggy Figure

Location: Northampton - St Giles' Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1965
Further Comments: A schoolboy and his friends spotted the upper half of a 'foggy grey' figure in front of the alter, moving towards the windows of the church. The witnesses all fled.

Strafford

Location: Northampton - Wheatsheaf Hotel
Type: Post-Mortem Manifestation
Date / Time: 1645
Further Comments: Appearing to King Charles I twice before the Battle of Naseby while he stayed in this hotel, Strafford tried to give the King advice concerning the upcoming battle. Charles I ignored it, and lost the fight. A public house in Daventry also lays claim to this event.

Wig & Pen pub, Northampton.

Cellar Dweller

Location: Northampton - Wig & Pen public house, Saint Giles Street
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: The entity in the basement rarely manifests on the upper levels and is happy to scare any dogs that try to enter its domain.

Wolf Killer

Location: Orlingbury - No exact location given
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Fourteenth century
Further Comments: Jack of Badsaddle is said to have killed the last wolf in the county in an intense hand-to-paw battle in the village. Jack won but died of shock after the fight by drinking icy water.

Lord Wolfage

Location: Orlingbury - Roads in the village
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Recklessly driving his coach around the country roads, Lord Wolfage vanishes once he reaches the bridge.

Shuffling

Location: Oundle - Drapery shop (no longer operating). And neighbouring shop, West Street
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: February 1956
Further Comments: The Seamark family, who lived above the shop, shared their home with an entity that rapped, tapped and shuffled, particularly between two and four in the morning. The family also heard noises from the shop next door, including the sound of a window breaking (although nothing could be found damaged the following day).

Pounding

Location: Oundle - Drumming Well, Drumming Well Lane
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Prior to historical event
Further Comments: This mysterious loud drumming sound has been heard emanating from the well, a prelude to days that shall go down in history - it is documented the beating was heard during the Great Fire of London, the death of Charles II, and the death of Cromwell. The well is currently covered.

Black Haired Girl

Location: Oundle - Nene Cottage
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Wearing a nightdress, this entity has been observed just outside the cottage. Occupants have been disturbed at night by a presence that rattles doorknobs and have also reported a little lad dressed in Edwardian clothing.

Former Landlord

Location: Oundle - Ship Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: Faced with too much stress, this one time owner took his own life by jumping from an upper window, and now haunts the building.

Mary Queen of Scots.

Mary Queen of Scots

Location: Oundle - The Talbot Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: February (reoccurring)
Further Comments: This hotel contains the staircase from Fotheringay Castle, Mary's place of execution. Her ghost is rumoured to have come with the staircase; pictures move on their own accord, one guest was awoken by 'something' sitting on their bed, and the gaunt face of a woman can be seen staring from out the hotel's windows.

Bobby Bannister the Bastard Landlord

Location: Passenham - Churchyard, & Millstream
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Being dragged by a ghostly horse, this tragic figure bounces around the roads, his neck broken whilst hunting. One report says that the ghost was laid by a team of holy men who banished it to the bottom of the millstream. Screaming sometimes comes from the millstream, the sounds belonging to a girl who fell and was crushed by the wheel.

Housekeeper

Location: Passenham - Passenham Manor
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early twentieth century
Further Comments: The ghost of a former housekeeper with a flowing hair and wearing a nightdress appeared in the garden one dark and stormy night. The sound of horse and carriage would also occasionally be heard, but when servants investigated, nothing could be seen.

Large Black Shape

Location: Passenham - Road alongside the church
Type: Other
Date / Time: Mid - late twentieth century
Further Comments: Three men spotted a large black shadowy shape, some seven foot (2.1 metres) tall, emerge from the churchyard. As they drove off, the entity appeared to shoot beams of light from white, diamond-shaped eyes. Later in their journey, the steering of the car failed and the men narrowly avoided crashing.

Boudica's Defeat?

Location: Paulerspury - Cuttle Mill area
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Site still present
Further Comments: This area is another claiming to be the final battle site of Boudica after topographic analysis based on the writings of Tacitus, a historian of the Roman Empire.

Little People

Location: Puxley - General area
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: It is thought the village is named after a type of fairy that once frequented the area.

Wedding Night Disruption

Location: Raunds - Flat, exact location unknown
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: November 1978
Further Comments: Together for the first time on their wedding night, this couple felt they were not alone in the flat bedroom - this was proven when an invisible entity tried to strangle the new husband. The couple fled.

An orchard haunting.

Lydia Atley

Location: Ringstead - Old orchard & near the churchyard
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1850 onwards
Further Comments: Rumoured to have been murdered by the village butcher (though it was never proven), the restless spirit of Lydia was seen around the area her body was discovered. The spirit would also sometimes be seen moving towards the churchyard but would always turn around just prior to reaching it.

The Hunt

Location: Rockingham - Forest in the area
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A wild hunt, complete with hell hounds, was once believed to be at home in this woodland.

A illustration of an English Roundhead by Wayne Lowden.

Roundhead

Location: Rockingham - Rockingham Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late nineteenth century
Further Comments: Charles Dickens is said to have watched a ghostly figure move towards and disappear at the iron gate while staying at this castle. Jack Gould, in his Gothick Northamptonshire, speculates that it could have been the ghost of a Roundhead as this was the path they took when storming the castle.

Monk

Location: Rushton - Between the 'Mount' burial hill and Barford Bridge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1980s
Further Comments: A ghostly monk has been seen drifting along carrying an unknown item in the area, sometimes crossing the road and disrupting traffic. Some drivers have reported looking into their rear view mirror and seeing a man's face looking at them from the back seat.

Rushton Hall, from Country Seats by Francis Orpen Morris.

Hunting Party

Location: Rushton - Rushton Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Rider unknown, knocking around 1584
Further Comments: A rider on horseback and his hunting dog are reported to haunt the area around the hall, where their bodies were once discovered while the house was extended. Thomas Tresham, who constructed the building, wrote circa 1584 that he and two servants had heard three loud knocks (as if made from a hammer) emerge from a table.

Fiddler

Location: Rushton - Rushton Triangular Lodge
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Still heard fiddling beneath the structure, this man was once sent down to investigate a secret passage. The fiddler had only travelled a dozen metres when the tunnel collapsed and trapped him for the rest of eternity.

Two White Ladies

Location: Ruston - Site of St Peter's church (demolished 1799)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa early twentieth century
Further Comments: One of these phantoms was said to be a jilted Italian princess, and the other Lady Cullen, cursed by the former woman while they both lived. There were also stories of the site being haunted by a coach and horses, which once a year tore through the area and would vanish at Lady Cullen's grave.

Hooded Figure

Location: Salcey Forest - General area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This figure, covered so no flesh is visible, is sometimes seen darting between the trees. It could be a lover of Nell Gwynn, who the king had murdered.