The Paranormal Database

Auditory Warning

Location: Llantwit Major (South Glamorgan) - General area, and church
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: Before a death in the neighbourhood
Further Comments: The ringing of this phantom bell can be heard over the house or building where the death shall occur. Before the funeral of the person, strange noises can be heard in the church - if anyone is brave enough to peep into the building, they can see the forms of everyone who is due to die during the year.

Jester

Location: Macclesfield (Cheshire) - Maggoty's Wood
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A figure has been reported dancing about the woods, their clothing adjourned with bells. The grave of the last 'real' jester in England is housed in this wooded area, and it is believed that the shade is he.

Singing

Location: Marden (Hereford & Worcester) - Marden Pool
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Both the sounds of bells and singing can be heard coming from this small body of water.

A mermaid combing her hair, engraving circa 1757.

Thieving Mermaid

Location: Marden (Hereford & Worcester) - River Lugg
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: An accident sent a church bell into the waters of the local river - a passing mermaid took the opportunity to steal the bell and can sometimes be heard ringing it. As a sidenote, a bell was recovered from the water in 1848.

Hunters

Location: Mellor (Lancashire) - Moorland in the area
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: The fairies that frequent this remote area dress in green and often carry hunting weapons - the last one seen possessed a whip. It was once said that under the site was a lost city which sunk for some unnamed reason - church bells could be heard on still nights.

Dog Hater

Location: Meonstoke (Hampshire) - Meonstoke House
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1975-1976
Further Comments: The family troubled by a noisy spirit in this house first reported their dog becoming extraordinarily excited, to such an extent their pet had to be rehoused. Soon after a certain door in the building would never remain closed, and the doorbell would ring on its own accord.

Summoning Servants

Location: N6 (Greater London) - Private House along Archway House
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Unknown - early twentieth century?
Further Comments: This presence would vigorously ring a set of disused servant bells located in the kitchen.

Former Owner

Location: Nantwich (Cheshire) - Lamb Hotel (now closed)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: A former owner of the hotel killed himself with a shotgun after discovering his wife was having an affair. His ghost was blamed for ringing bells in the kitchen after it had been closed for the night.

Old postcard showing Netley Abbey in Hampshire.

Blind Peter

Location: Netley (Hampshire) - Netley Abbey ruins
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 31 October (reoccurring) Grey Ladies seen
Further Comments: On Halloween three misty women appear and walk along the ruin's walls. The sounds of bells can also be heard on this night. Another presence is Blind Peter. He is less choosey on the date on which he appears and just wanders around the ruins of the abbey. Finally, there is a legend that a secret underground passage was sealed after the last man to enter it emerged shortly after, screaming 'block it up!' before dropping dead - the passage may be connected to the tales of treasure buried on site.

Drinking Rocks

Location: New Radnor (Powys) - Standing Stones east of village
Type: Legend
Date / Time: When the church bells ring
Further Comments: Upon hearing the ringing of the local church bells, these standing stones move to a nearby pool and start drinking.

Devil's Hoof

Location: Newington (Kent) - Church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A hoof print is visible in a stone by the gate. The Devil was once so upset by the sound of the church bells, he climbed the steeple with the intent of stealing them; he slipped and fell, leaving the single piece of evidence behind.

Ringing Bell

Location: Newquay (Cornwall) - Headland Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-twenty-first century, at 02:00h every Sunday
Further Comments: Workers in the basement at the hotel would hear a servant's bell ring at the same time early Sunday morning, even though the bells were disconnected. Other workers would hear a little girl calling out their names, and a child would occasionally be seen running around. It is also claimed that phantom nurses haunt the site, from the time during the Second World War when the RAF used the building as a hospital.

Peals

Location: Nigg (Highland) - Nigg Bay
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The gentle peals of a bell are said to emerge from under the bay's waters.

Ringing

Location: Northwold (Norfolk) - Church
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: 14 November 1956
Further Comments: A policeman cycling through the village was surprised to hear the church bell ringing. The bell rang a total of twenty five times and stopped as the officer approached the church. The door was locked, and there was no one inside, but the bell rope was gently swinging.

Ringing Vicar

Location: Oare (Devon) - Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The bells are said to be rung occasionally by the ghost of a former vicar, who has also been seen on site.

Coach and Horses

Location: Paulstown (County Kilkenny) - Shankill castle (aka Shankill Castle)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Several entities were said to have taken up residence around the castle, including a phantom coach which would arrive outside the front door, an older man seen on the first floor, ringing bells and a phantom monk. A gate on the site would open itself; even after concreate had been used, the following day the gate was found open and bent.

Anne West

Location: Pembury (Kent) - Great Bayhall Manor house, and churchyard (no longer standing)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1803
Further Comments: Anne feared being buried alive, so she requested a bell be placed in her crypt when her time came. When she was buried, the bell rang for several nights, and her corpse was seen walking down the road towards her former home. She continued to haunt the area for many years afterwards.

Captain Martin

Location: Penryn (Cornwall) - Church of St Gluvias
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Drowned at sea, the former bell ringer of St Gluvias who became a captain returned from his watery grave and now silently stands in the church. On occasion, he has been heard ringing the bells in the early hours of the morning.

An old postcard of Penzance in Cornwall.

Post Mortem Marriage

Location: Penzance (Cornwall) - Beach and sea, Mount's Bay
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A married woman fell in love with a young sailor. Rather than undergo lengthy and unfavourable divorce proceedings, the woman murdered her husband. Not long after, she was arrested, and while awaiting trial, the woman and the sailor promised to marry regardless of the outcome. The woman's court appearance was brief; she was found guilty and quickly hanged. The sailor returned to work on his fishing boat and one night shortly after her death, the crew watched him jump into the sea. Even though his body was never found, the sailor's voice would be occasionally heard in the area whispering, 'I will...'. There are also reports of phantom bells that still peal under the sea.

Buzzing

Location: Penzance (Cornwall) - Castle Acton
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A priest staying in the castle reported hearing the buzzing of a bell that woke him up several times during the night - he was told that a former mistress had an electric buzzer connected to her maid's room should she require assistance, though this was removed when she had died. The priest had spent the night in the former maid's room.

Watch the Timing

Location: Peterborough (Cambridgeshire) - St John's Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: Concerning the bells of the church and the cathedral, an old rhyme says, 'when the church and the abbey they strike together, they'll either be a death or change in the weather'.

Poole Harbour.

Ringing Bells

Location: Poole (Dorset) - Harbour waters
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown, but said to occur at night
Further Comments: Eight bells were lost, as were the entire crew, when a storm sunk the ship carrying them. The bells are still said to peal at night, together with the wails of the drowned sailors. The harbour is also named as one of many places where Arthur threw Excalibur.

Ringing Bells

Location: Preston (Lancashire) - Site of old monastery (estimated to be A59 / Friargate area)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 24 December (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Local legend says that a church which once stood here sunk into the earth and its bells can be heard to ring on Christmas Eve.

Priscilla Rawdon

Location: Rawdon (West Yorkshire) - Rawdon Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Last heard mid twentieth century
Further Comments: The seventeenth century Priscilla is now said to manifest as a grey lady, though she is more likely to be heard walking around with a rustling of her dress and gentle ringing of small bells. Her voice, speaking in little more than a whisper, is also heard coming from the priest hole.

Bell Ringing

Location: Redbridge (Essex) - Woodford Bridge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Midnight marks the start of the ghostly bell ringer's duties in the area, though the building in which he worked has not stood for many years.