The Paranormal Database

Wailing Man

Location: Belfast (County Antrim) - Cave Hill (aka Cavehill)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1913 onwards
Further Comments: The wails and cries of a man could be heard on multiple occasions during 1913, although the noises ceased when investigators grew close. Two years later, a hovering figure caused a witness to panic and flee. The remains of a skeleton found in 1922 were later identified as a man who had vanished around the time the first wails were heard.

Historical

Location: Croxley Green (Herefordshire) - York House School
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A local news outlet referred to the 'history room ghost', located within a former manor house bedroom now used as a small annex. No other details were forthcoming.

Victorians

Location: Cooling (Kent) - St James' churchyard
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Phantom women in Victorian clothing are said to walk amongst the headstones.

John Reeve

Location: Bury St Edmunds (Suffolk) - Dog and Partridge public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time:
Further Comments: Reeve, the thirty-second and final Abbot of Bury St Edmunds, died in a house which once stood where the pub now stands. Reeve's phantom, dressed in his vestments, appears in the pub.

Mayor

Location: Bury St Edmunds (Suffolk) - Guildhall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Local stories say this site is haunted by a former mayor.

Force

Location: Deddington (Oxfordshire) - Road heading towards Hempton
Type: Other
Date / Time: Early twentieth century?
Further Comments: An invisible force would prevent cyclists and walkers from passing along a road in this village.

Lady in Red

Location: Bardwell (Suffolk) - Bardwell Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This building is reputed to house a ghostly woman in red. A phantom dog haunts the surrounding area.

Bottle Throwing

Location: Huddersfield (West Yorkshire) - Friendly and Trades Club
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 30 March - 02 April 1977
Further Comments: A brief poltergeist outbreak was reported, with an empty bottle from the bar hitting a customer, tops flying off beer bottles, and pumps turning themselves on.

Footsteps

Location: Bury St Edmunds (Suffolk) - Angel Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Disembodied footsteps are reportedly heard in the underground bar after dark.

Tall Grey Man in Long Coat

Location: Hopton (Suffolk) - A12 near Hopton, heading towards Great Yarmouth
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 02 November 1981
Further Comments: While driving towards Yarmouth, Andrew Cutajar lost control of his car after passing straight through the figure of a grey man in a long coat who appeared in the road ahead of him. The figure is said to have been spotted several times since the 1950s and is considered to be the ghost of a postman who died in 1899.

Vanishing Hound

Location: Walberswick (Suffolk) - Unknown hut (may no longer exist), marshes
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: 1940s
Further Comments: An American airman and his wife staying in a property by the marsh found the site under attack from a large black dog. As a storm raged, the hound continued to throw itself against the building for several hours. As the day broke and the storm ceased, the occupants ventured out but found no evidence of the dog, not even a paw print in the mud.

Walberswick Common, Suffolk.

Equine Entities

Location: Walberswick (Suffolk) - Walberswick Common
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Daytime
Further Comments: Said to be heard only during the day, phantom horses gallop across the common. In addition, reports of a phantom man have been frequent since the 1940s, appearing both on the common and in the church ruins, while the Black Shuck is also said to occasionally make an appearance.

Pig

Location: Lostock Gralam (Cheshire) - Hollows Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This phantom pig was illuminated by burning candles upon its back.

Mrs Ruberry

Location: Porthleven (Cornwall) - Ship Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A former landlady, Mrs Ruberry is said to remain in the building, as is a French prisoner of war who took his life on the site. Another local story says the inn is connected to several other notable local locations via secret tunnels, although they remain undiscovered.

Misty Shape

Location: Carmarthen (Dyfed) - Book shop, Trinity College
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: November 1994
Further Comments: A staff member who spotted a humanlike mist at the bookshop at opening time had to be calmed by a chaplain.

Descending Light

Location: Gruinard Bay (Highland) - Skies in the air
Type: UFO
Date / Time: Early twentieth century
Further Comments: A strange light would be observed falling from the sky and head towards a large rock where it would vanish. A witness near the light said it made a strange noise.

Jack

Location: St Margaret's at Cliffe (Kent) - Unidentified fields in the area
Type: Other
Date / Time: November 1904
Further Comments: A group of men looking for a ghost which had taken up haunting the area claimed something like 'Spring Heeled Jack' escaped them by running into the mist. Several other ghosthunters mistook a nurse walking home for the ghost, while another team startled a horse and trap which narrowly avoided injuring the driver.

Cigar and Balls

Location: Barnoldswick (Lancashire) - Sky above area
Type: UFO
Date / Time: 1977, 1978, and 20 April 1996
Further Comments: Sightings of UFOs emerged from this area in 1977, including a silent, silver-coloured cigar seen in daylight hours and a circular shape with three lights which made no sound. A year later a family watched a cigar-shaped object with portholes pass by his house, and in 1996 a woman calling for her cats to come home watched two orange balls with 'shimmering' wings hovering in the sky; after five minutes the objects vanished.

Child in Red

Location: Norwich (Norfolk) - Former site of Jenny Lind Children's Hospital and Priscilla Bacon Lodge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 2023
Further Comments: While newspapers claimed the hospital had summoned an exorcist to remove paranormal presences, including a child wearing red, a member of staff denounced the stories as sensationalist and stated the building received a blessing to 'mark the end of its use as a hospice'.

Wallaby

Location: Illkestshall St Lawrence (Suffolk) - Field, and roads near primary school
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: August 2025
Further Comments: Caught on video hopping across a field, this wallaby would also be spotted near a local school. The creature left the area after residents were asked to call the police or RSPCA if the macropod materialised.

Leaf Man

Location: Aylesham (Kent) - Spinney Wood
Type: Other
Date / Time: 1940s onwards?
Further Comments: This woodland is reportedly guarded by the Leaf Man, a story possibly created by local parents during the Second World War to keep children from playing in the bomb craters. Another story says a phantom older man also haunts the woodland.

Shadow

Location: Chelwood (Somerset) - Glebe House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Between 1939 and 1945
Further Comments: A woman who encountered a solid shadow in the building reluctantly mentioned the encounter to her husband, fearing he would be dismissive. The husband confessed that, a few nights previous, he had felt a hand on his shoulder while walking downstairs.

Priest

Location: Syleham (Suffolk) - Monks House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1953
Further Comments: The family believed the phantom priest who appeared in the drawing room to be the last person who knew the location of King Edmund's body.

Descending Donkey

Location: Whitley Bay (Tyne and Wear) - Ilfracombe Gardens
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: February 1977
Further Comments: This poltergeist initially made its presence known after making a toy donkey glide down the stairs. Clothes would be removed from drawers and furniture pushed against doors. Activity ceased after a priest blessed the property.

Grey Ball

Location: Port Talbot (West Glamorgan) - Council house, Sandfields
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: August 1976 - March 1977
Further Comments: Initially restricting itself to creating footsteps and flicking lights on and off, this entity would go on to push wardrobes over and set fire to furniture. Some family members reported seeing a grey, hazy football-sized object float across rooms that would suddenly vanish.

Accident

Location: E1W (Greater London) - Wapping Wall / Garnett Street junction
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1960s onwards
Further Comments: The site of a collision caused by a drunk driver who died of his injuries is now haunted by the sounds of screeching tires and a loud crash. When people rush to investigate, nothing can be found, although the area is unnaturally still.

Minister

Location: Stirling (Stirling) - Nicky-Tam's Bar and Bothy
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1999
Further Comments: The discovery of a portrait of a minister during renovations appeared to trigger an outbreak of paranormal activity, which included a shadowy figure observed in the bar area, electrical interference, and voices emerging from a cupboard. A plumber who spotted the phantom figure refused to continue to work alone.

Dark Figure

Location: Leeds (West Yorkshire) - Devonshire Hall, University of Leeds
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: 09 March 2025, around 04:30h
Further Comments: This witness awoke to see a shadowy man standing by the doorway who then started to approach. As the figure reached the foot of the bed, the witness kicked out, the figure vanishing just before the kick made contact. The witness later asked around the hall to see if anyone else had seen a ghost, but no one had.

Candlestick

Location: Shelfanger (Norfolk) - Bumbler's Farm (no longer standing)
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Nineteenth century
Further Comments: Connected to a supposed suicide of a previous resident in the pond, a candlestick pulled out of the water triggered a poltergeist outbreak in the farm. A phantom woman also started to appear. Once the candlestick had been returned to the pond, the activity lessened but did not completely cease.

Sailor

Location: Strumpshaw (Norfolk) - The Goat Inn (currently the Huntsman)
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1960s?
Further Comments: A supposed haunting caused by the spirit of a drowned sailor from the Second World War, at least one previous landlord has reported seeing ghostly figures and hearing the piano playing by itself. One story connects the phantom sailor to a goat's head once kept in the pub, considered cursed after ill-fortune befell owners and anyone who touched the object. The location of the goat's head is currently unknown.

Ianto Ffranc

Location: St Hilary (Cornwall) - Bush Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Highwayman (or pirate) Ianto Ffranc was discovered hiding in a cave close to the inn - he was caught and executed. Ffranc's ghost now haunts the bar.

Things

Location: Wick (Highland) - Black Brig, somewhere between Noss Lighthouse and Inkerman Farm (may no longer exist)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The bridge had a 'sinister reputation', where people could visit at midnight and see 'things'.

Hooded Figures

Location: Rhondda (Mid Glamorgan) - Penrhys area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s?
Further Comments: Phantom monks or hooded figures were reported around the estate. A priest blessed or exorcised the area.

Phantom Woman

Location: Dalcrue (Perth and Kinross) - Dry Arch bridge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This bridge is believed to have been built so a landowner did not have to use the same road as commoners. The structure is haunted by a phantom woman, either green or white in colour.

Benedict y Fiffoddwr

Location: Barry (South Glamorgan) - Shoreline of Barry Island
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Known for taking on a ship of Spanish pirates and winning, Benedict y Fiffoddwr would later drown during a storm. His ghost patrols the shoreline, keeping vigil for more invaders.

Man on Horseback

Location: SE4 (Greater London) - Brockley Road, near the Brockley Jack pub
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa March 1894
Further Comments: Walking along the road heading to Wickham Terrace, this witness spotted the motionless figure of a man sitting upon a horse. They were described as 'shadowy forms', not real, but with enough detail for the witness to discern the man's leather pistol pouches and the sweat on the horse. The apparitions vanished while the witness watched.

Green Dorothy

Location: Manchester (Greater Manchester) - Worsley Old Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The lime-coloured ghost of this woman is said to re-enact her last moments - falling down the staircase, breaking her neck on the final step. Another story says Sir Richard Brereton once haunted the site; his ghost was banished, but he returns once a year in the form of a swallow.

The Devil's Bridge

Location: Hebdon (North Yorkshire) - Dibble's Bridge, Yorkshire Dales National Park
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Bridge still present
Further Comments: In a rare moment of generosity, the Devil built the bridge for a local shoemaker who had shared a drink with him. Another version says the Devil lost a wrestling match with the shoemaker.

Monk

Location: Ingleborough (North Yorkshire) - Gaping Gill
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Mid twentieth century
Further Comments: A potholer exploring the cave system saw a glowing light behind him - as he went to investigate, the light faded away, although using his own lamp was able to see the ghostly form of a monk that disappeared in front of him. The mountain had a reputation for containing 'voices', likely the wind whipping around the cave systems.

Old Woman

Location: West Melton (South Yorkshire) - Private residences, Albert Road (buildings since redeveloped?)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: December 1976 - February 1977
Further Comments: One family moved away from their home after it was claimed a ghostly old woman knocked a five-year-old child out of their chair. Objects were also moved around or disappeared, and one occupant said they could smell decay and rot. The next-door neighbour had previously moved away; although they did not say what they had experienced, it was described as 'worse at night'.

George Gutsell

Location: Icklesham (Sussex) - Queen's Head public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Gutsell unknown, others 1976
Further Comments: A local hero, when Gutsell died his coffin was brought along to the wake in his pub. This may have been a mistake, as ever since then his ghost reportedly sits by the fireplace. Other figures were also said to walk around, and in 1976, the new landlady Pat Davies reported spotting a ghost dog in the main bar. Davies also reported having items disappear and reappear around the property.

Shadowy Figure

Location: Sunderland (Tyne and Wear) - Private residence
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: October / November 1976
Further Comments: Strange events in the flat started with two ashtrays shattering. The two occupants reported unexplained noises and items moving unaided, with one of the pair spotting a dark shadowy figure.

Reputation

Location: Leeds (West Yorkshire) - Devil's Bridge (aka Bogeyman's Bridge), Richmond Hill area
Type: Other
Date / Time: Late twentieth century?
Further Comments: It is unclear whether this bridge took the varying forms of its name from any real legends or if it just had a bad reputation.

Upturned Dustbin

Location: Camborne (Cornwall) - Between Troon and Camborne
Type: UFO
Date / Time: Autumn 2009, around 12:00h
Further Comments: Two witnesses spotted an object resembling an upturned large black dustbin moving silently across the sky, slowly rotating. They thought the object to be around six feet (1.8 metres) high and three feet (0.9 metres) wide, slowly rotating, and did not appear to be affected by the wind. The witnesses tried to give chase in a car, but the object had vanished.

Black Creature

Location: Mylor Bridge (Cornwall) - Between Penryn and Mylor Bridge
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 2008, night
Further Comments: Walking late at night, a witness encountered a black animal with very matted, long hair crossing the road ahead. Although the size of a medium dog, the creature moved like a graceless cheetah and made a sound resembling a pig with a chest infection.

Cassiopeia

Location: Plymouth (Devon) - Allendale Road
Type: UFO
Date / Time: 04 April 1996, 00:25h
Further Comments: While studying the lunar eclipse, a witness watched a bright red star-like object rise forty-five degrees from the horizon. The star then split into two, then divided into four, with a final split into either eight or ten evenly sized lights which took a form like Cassiopeia before swiftly crossing westward across the sky. The witness later read that similar objects had been seen over Dorset on the same night, about an hour before their sighting.

Glowing Seagull-Shape

Location: Plymouth (Devon) - Sky (east) viewed from Patna Place
Type: UFO
Date / Time: Winter 1992/1993
Further Comments: A witness spotted a very bright white 'star' which turned bright red. As it grew closer, the object's shape resembled a massive glowing seagull. The wings did not flap, and the object glided silently. The air around the object glowed red as though surrounded by fog, even though the sky was extremely clear. The witness found it difficult to gauge the actual size but thought it exceptionally large. After between ten and fifteen minutes, the object disappeared towards Cornwall.

Tap Turning

Location: Kingston upon Hull (East Riding of Yorkshire) - Whittington & Cat public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The ghost in the cellar turns the gas off, while the occasional vanishing figure is seen in other parts of the pub.

Railway Worker

Location: SE23 (Greater London) - Devonshire Road Nature Reserve
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A phantom railway worker from the nineteenth century reputedly haunts this nature reserve.

Blood Stains

Location: Grindleton (Lancashire) - Private residence, Back Lane
Type: Other
Date / Time: 1900s -1910s
Further Comments: This home had links to the Pendleton witches and had blood stains on the internal wooden floorboards. When the boards were sanded down, the stains would reappear a brief time later. The wood was eventually replaced but the stains reappeared on the new boards in the same place.