The Paranormal Database

Torso

Location: Ollerton - Private residence, Cinder Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1993
Further Comments: One building along this lane is said to be haunted by the floating, blue, upper torso of a man.

Faceless Monk

Location: Ollerton - Rufford Abbey
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This giant figure is said to have had a skull for a head, a result of black magic rituals carried out in days gone by. He has made at least one witness drop dead of shock (although the death was also said to have been caused by a phantom old lady in black). The grounds are also haunted by a white lady, gliding effortlessly along.

Mrs Jones

Location: Ollerton - Snooty Fox public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early 1990s
Further Comments: This pub was said to be haunted by a woman nicknamed 'Mrs Jones', though nothing has been seen or heard of the entity since 1993.

Vanishing Car

Location: Orston - A52
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 23 January 2014, 21:00h
Further Comments: An unlit car heading towards a driver and his passenger after dusk vanished just before collision. The driver said that he first thought it was his imagination, but the passenger had also witnessed the other vehicle.

Servant

Location: Ossington - Ossington Hall (demolished 1962)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1939-1945
Further Comments: Sergeants billeted in the former servants' quarters during the Second World War would encounter a ghostly servant.

Robin Hood standing over Sir Guy.

Hood's Pot

Location: Oxton - Oxton (or Oldox) Camp, Robin Hood's Hill
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: A barrow on this hill is named Robin Hood's Pot. Local legend says that Robin concealed his stolen loot here. Roman coinage has been found in the barrow.

Alan A' Dale's Marriage

Location: Papplewick - St James' Church
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Alan A' Dale, one of Hood's loyal men, is said to have been married in this church.

Footsteps

Location: Pleasley - Rectory
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1951, 23:00h each night
Further Comments: At the same time every night, footsteps could be heard traversing the first floor corridor. When investigated, nothing would be found.

A Man and his Dog

Location: Plumtree - Outside Perkins' Bar & Bistro (formally Plumtree railway station)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: The ghosts of a man and his dog haunt the site of former railway tracks just outside this bistro, where it is believed they were killed by a steam engine.

Woman in Dress

Location: Radcliffe on Trent - Grounds of Holme Pierrepont Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 1970s
Further Comments: This lady wearing a white flowing dress has been reported quietly drifting around the grounds.

Folder

Location: Radcliffe on Trent - Manvers Arms public house
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Rumoured to have been used as a temporary mortuary by the church, this pub is home to a poltergeist that moves beer barrels, folds clothing. and smashes glasses.

Pedestrian

Location: Ravenshead - A60, close to a stone commemorating Bessie Shepherds
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Winter 1984/1985
Further Comments: A distressed anonymous lady phoned the police report having hit a pedestrian but when she climbed out of her car there was no one there. Two police officers who went to the scene found fresh skid marks, and footsteps leading from and to the location where the driver's door would have been, but no evidence of a victim.

Lion

Location: Retford - Hallcroft Road
Type: ABC
Date / Time: 26 January 2008, 19:30h
Further Comments: A bus driver contacted police after witnessing a lion cross the road ahead of his vehicle.

Cats

Location: Retford - Just outside the town
Type: ABC
Date / Time: 2018, late 1990s
Further Comments: A woman driving her car at night spotted a large black cat the size of a Labrador as it ran out in front of her car. The creature disappeared into nearby fields. Later another woman came forward saying she had seen the exact same thing in the same area in the late 1990s.

Man in Black

Location: Retford - Little Theatre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Wearing a smart suit, this ghostly gentleman may also be the cause of the disembodied footsteps or the sudden cold drafts felt around the building.

The Repressed

Location: Retford - Masonic Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2002
Further Comments: Investigated by the Bassetlaw Ghost Research Group, the team reported a heavy repressive feeling as well as other spirits not at rest.

A phantom Georgian woman.

Georgian Woman

Location: Retford - Sutton Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1880s
Further Comments: An older woman dressed in Georgian attire was observed by two Reverends out for a walk. They said a prayer and the figure vanished.

Elderly Lady

Location: Retford - The Elms (currently a hotel)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1940s (onwards?)
Further Comments: A soldier on guard duty at the building, which had been taken over as a hospital) spotted an elderly woman in a Victorian-type dress as she glided across the land before vanishing. The ghost may have been seen since this encounter.

Edwardian Barrister

Location: Retford - Town Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This lanky figure wearing a grey wig is believed to be an Edwardian legal representative. His black gowned form is said to lurk near the main staircase.

An Unfaithful Wife

Location: Retford - West Retford Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 1910s onwards
Further Comments: The ghost here is thought to be a woman who had an affair with the stable boy (who later committed suicide because of the scandal). What became of the woman is unknown, but her shade now walks the corridors, heading out across the courtyard towards where the stables once stood.

Young Girl

Location: Retford - White Hart Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Said to have been killed in a coach accident at the rear of the building, some believe that the ghost of the girl lingers on at the hotel. She may have been heard walking down the corridors by visitors to the building. A bust of the girl is contained within a display case, and bad luck is said to befall anyone who touches it.

Lorry Driver

Location: Rolleston - Rolleston station
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s
Further Comments: Several entities have been reported at this station and around the track. A lorry driver killed at the junction is said to stand around the site where his death occurred, and another phantom man with a newspaper waits on a platform. At least one crossing keeper has reported the sounds and smell of a ghostly locomotive passing through, though nothing could be seen.

Man in Black Coat

Location: Ruddington - Horspools Bakery
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: This shop is haunted by a man wearing a black coat that looks completely normal, until he disappears.

Arbella Stuart

Location: Rufford - Rufford Abbey
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Photograph in media during December 2013
Further Comments: Some believe the phantom white lady said to haunt the abbey is the ghost of Arbella Stuart, although her connection to the site is a little unclear. A photograph hit the press in 2013 showing a 'white misty figure', although the image is open to interpretation.

Spencer

Location: Scrooby - Great North Road
Type: Environmental Manifestation
Date / Time: 1952
Further Comments: A man walking home witnessed a figure entering a small cottage. A few seconds, a couple of screams followed, and two figures ran from the cottage, one with a head injury. The witness panicked, convinced he had watched a robbery and ran off. Lost in the dark, he ran in a circle, returning to the scene of the crime, only there was no cottage... It is speculated he witnessed the murder of a gatekeeper and his wife, killed by John Spencer in 1779. The ghost of Spencer, or maybe the gatekeeper, has also been seen standing on the roadside.