The Paranormal Database

Relocated Church

Location: Nursling (Hampshire) - St Boniface Church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The church once stood in Mary's Grove until the Devil appeared one night and moved the structure to its present location.

Fat Monk

Location: NW10 (Greater London) - St Mary's Church, Neasden
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: This jovial looking monk has been seen standing on the site of an old well in the garden of the vicarage. He sometimes pops across to the church, which is also haunted by a priest that plays with the doors.

Red Head

Location: NW3 (Greater London) - Church Row, Hampstead
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown, early morning
Further Comments: The shade of a servant girl carrying a carpet bag has been seen walking down this street, heading towards the church. Contained within the bag are the remains of a child's body, which the maid had killed, and she is en route to dispose of the pieces in the churchyard. The entity was also said to haunt an unnamed building along the road.

Sighing

Location: NW3 (Greater London) - Church Walk, Hampstead
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Loud sighing could be heard throughout the house, believed to be the site where a mother murdered a young child.

Girl

Location: NW3 (Greater London) - Priory, Church Row
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Nineteenth century
Further Comments: The builder of this property, Mr Thompson, was said to have bricked up one of his daughters within its walls, and her ghost haunted the site.

Dog sized Cat

Location: NW3 (Greater London) - West End Lane, area near the church
Type: ABC
Date / Time: April 1992
Further Comments: Deep within London, the report of this large golden cat surprised many locals.

Shuffling Sandals

Location: NW4 (Greater London) - St Mary's Church, Hendon
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Around religious festivals
Further Comments: The phantom monks which remain earthbound here are said to become more active during the lead up to Christian festivals - they can be heard walking and singing in and around the church.

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.

Lady

Location: Ockbrook (Derbyshire) - Churchyard and surrounding area
Type: Other
Date / Time: October / November 1889
Further Comments: A female figure would pop up on lonely spots, upsetting some of the locals. She appeared in the churchyard before running off; a villager and a policeman gave chase, catching up with the 'ghost' who was revealed to be a local woman who claimed she had been searching for her father's grave.

An old woodcut of a man and the Devil on horseback.

Sir Rowland

Location: Odell (Bedfordshire) - Church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Every hundred years (next expected 2044)
Further Comments: Sir Rowland Alston made a deal with the Devil, though when Old Nick came for Alston's soul, the man fled to the nearby church for help. It proved futile, and Alston was dragged to hell. Scratch marks can be seen in the church porch where Alston tried to hold on as the Devil dragged him away. The scene is re-enacted once a century.

Cursed Lock

Location: Odstock (Wiltshire) - Church
Type: Curse
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A young gypsy lad buried in the churchyard was hanged for stealing a horse - a crime his relatives claimed he did not commit. To stop their protests, the church door was locked to prevent them from visiting, but their leader cursed anyone who ever locked the door again. After several deaths occurring to people who performed this action, the key was thrown into the nearby river.

Horse

Location: Odstock (Wiltshire) - Lane adjoining St Marys Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 24 June 2017
Further Comments: A woman in the sitting in the passenger side of a car opened her window as the vehicle left the church. Suddenly both the woman and driver heard a horse trotting alongside the vehicle, even though no animal could be seen. As the vehicle reached the main road, the trotting ceased.

Grey Lady

Location: Old Glossop (Derbyshire) - All Saint's Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This tall, slim female figure is thought to be the wife of a former vicar based here.

Milkmaid does the Pulpit

Location: Onger (Essex) - Greensted Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1400 to present
Further Comments: The church dates back over a thousand years and is said to be the oldest wooden church in the world. Several entities haunt the site, including a man dressed in black clothing who stands by the church organ, a milkmaid who is on all fours near the pulpit, two other ghostly figures seen within the church, and a woman dressed in black who holds a black bound bible while walking the path outside.

John Coke

Location: Ottery St Mary (Devon) - Churchyard
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 26 March (reoccurring)
Further Comments: John Coke was murdered by his own brother on 26 March 1632. On the anniversary of his death, Coke briefly climbs from his tomb and has a quick look around the area to ensure his brother is not lurking in the shadows.

Michael Jackson

Location: Outer London: Bromley (Greater London) - Churchill Theatre
Type: Other
Date / Time: 10 May 2014
Further Comments: Several news outlets reported on the photograph of 'Michael Jackson' manifesting near an impersonator which was snapped by a fourteen year old boy, although the entity is more likely to be lens flare.

Church Goer

Location: Outer London: Greenford (Greater London) - Greenford Methodist Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1980s
Further Comments: A mysterious figure was seen several times sitting in the pews, vanishing if approached. Strange laughter was also reported in the church. The entity appears to have vacated the premises after an exorcism.

Young Woman

Location: Outer London: Harefield, Hillingdon (Greater London) - Private house off Church Hill
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Winter 2006
Further Comments: A witness spotted a faint, translucent young woman, between 20-24 years old, stood by the front of a bed. The blonde haired ghost appeared to be wearing a pleated lilac skirt and a pink tank top, and held a pink handbag and a lipstick. The woman turned and looked at the witness before disappearing.

Alexander Pope (detail), by Godfrey Kneller.

Alexander Pope

Location: Outer London: Twickenham (Greater London) - St Mary's Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1830 onwards
Further Comments: The ghost of Pope returned to earth once his skull was stolen from his grave in 1830 - his form has been observed limping around the churchyard, chatting and mumbling to himself.

Sir Walter Raleigh

Location: Outer London: Wallington (Greater London) - St Mary the Virgin churchyard
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Raleigh's headless body was returned to his wife's family in Beddington; his ghost said to walk along a path in the churchyard.

A photograph of a raven.

Raven

Location: Outer London: West Drayton (Greater London) - West Drayton church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1883 (another version says circa 1749)
Further Comments: For many years, this large black bird haunted the church and its grounds - it would tap and peck at coffins, sit on the pews, and generally create a nuisance.

Dropped by Old Nick

Location: Over (Cheshire) - Church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The church once stood in the middle of the village, but the Devil tried to run off with it. He dropped the building where it currently stands when he heard the ringing of the bells at a nearby abbey.

Hunchback

Location: Oxenden Magma (Leicestershire) - St Helen's Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A ghostly person with a hunch back has been reported around the church area.

An old postcard showing Christ Church College in Oxford.

Charles I

Location: Oxford (Oxfordshire) - Christ Church College
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The former king has been observed around the college grounds both with and without his head. A shade belonging to a former royalist commander also lurks here - he was shot for treason on the site.

Grey Lady

Location: Oxford (Oxfordshire) - St Giles' Churchyard
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This unnamed woman willed her money to charity, but her greedy family accessed her wealth first and hid it away.