The Paranormal Database

Thomas Hardy's Grandfather?

Location: Stinsford (Dorset) - Churchyard
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 24 December 1919
Further Comments: After Hardy placed a sprig of holly on his grandfather's grave, a figure in eighteenth century clothing appeared and said, 'A green Christmas'. Hardy replied, 'I like a green Christmas', and watched the figure enter the church. Hardy followed but found the church to be empty.

Richard Jorden

Location: Stodon Massey (Essex) - Church and churchyard
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Eighteenth century onwards
Further Comments: After Richard Jorden died, his body was found outside his coffin so often that his friends decided to wrap the casket in chains, to prevent Jorden from climbing out again. His ghost walks the church grounds in protest.

Monk

Location: Stoke (Devon) - Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1973
Further Comments: A phantom monk which haunts the churchyard was last seen by a vicar. Several monks walking in a line are said to walk from the church towards Hartland Abbey, though no witnesses exist for this event.

Headless Nectan

Location: Stoke (Devon) - Church
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The church is built on the location where St Nectan had his head chopped off - he bent down and stuck it back on his neck before walking off!

Hungry Witch

Location: Stoke Dry (Rutland) - Area around the church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This woman haunts the place where she was held against her will; denied food and water, it was not too long before she died.

Stoned Man

Location: Stoke on Trent (Staffordshire) - Shelton Churchyard
Type: Other
Date / Time: 1886
Further Comments: A crowd gathered to see a ghostly figure in white moving amongst the gravestones. A couple of braver members in the crowd lobbed stones at the ghost before grabbing the figure, who turned out to be a corporal in the Hanley Volunteers. The man was handed over to the police and issued a caution.

Relocation

Location: Stoke upon Tern (Shropshire) - Church
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The church was supposed to be built on top of a hill, but every night the stones were moved to the bottom by an unknown force. The church was constructed at that place instead.

Soft Ringing

Location: Stourpaine (Dorset) - Church
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The little people ring the church bells after covering them with dew, ensuring the soft ringing is seldom heard by mortals.

Construction Devil

Location: Stowe Nine Churches (Northamptonshire) - Church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The foundation stones of the church were moved around the village by Old Nick nine times before the rest of the building could be constructed. Another version of the story blames fairies.

Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon.

Shakespeare's Grave

Location: Stratford-upon-Avon (Warwickshire) - Holy Trinity Church
Type: Curse
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: The tomb of Shakespeare has the following curse written upon it: Good frend for Jesus sake forebeare, To digg the dust encloased heare; Bleste be the man that spares thes stones, And curst be he that moves my bones.

Nun

Location: Stratton St Margaret (Wiltshire) - Church and general area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Dressed in white, the ghostly nun is said to haunt not only the church, but the entire village.

Ettie

Location: Strelley (Nottinghamshire) - Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Ettie has been named as the ghost that walks around the churchyard.

More Monks

Location: Stubbington (Hampshire) - Church of the Holy Rood, Crofton
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: A phantom monk is said to walk around this area. He may be connected to the sighting at the nearby Manor Hotel - an underground passageway is said to connect the two buildings.

St. Gregory's Church, Sudbury.

Simon

Location: Sudbury (Suffolk) - St. Gregory's Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1381 onwards?
Further Comments: After Simon was murdered in 1381, the former archbishop of Canterbury's head was removed and buried here after being displayed in the Tower of London. He has reportedly been seen in the church. Simon's shade could also be to blame for the disembodied footsteps that also haunt the church.

John Chapman

Location: Swaffham (Norfolk) - Church
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Fifteenth century
Further Comments: John Chapman was a Swaffham pedlar who dreamt that if he stood on London Bridge, he would hear good news. He travelled to London where he waited on the bridge for three days before telling a shopkeeper about the dream, but avoiding sharing any personal details. The shopkeeper laughed at Chapman and said that he himself had a dream of digging up treasure under a tree belonging to a pedlar in Swaffham but was too wise to pursue 'silly dreams'. The pedlar returned home, dug under his tree, and found great wealth that he used to rebuild the church.

Swaffham Churchyard.

Seeker

Location: Swaffham (Norfolk) - Churchyard
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: One local man recalled how, as a boy, he was told about a ghostly woman who walked up and down the graves, as if looking for a particular headstone.

Whistle

Location: Swanton Morley (Norfolk) - Church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: An old belief from this area of Norfolk was that by running around the church at midnight and whistling through the keyhole, the Devil would be seen.

Moving Stones

Location: Talland (Cornwall) - Church
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: It is reported that construction on the church began further inland, but each night the foundation stones were moved by unseen hands - hence the church now stands here.

Those that will Die

Location: Tavistock (Devon) - Church
Type: Legend
Date / Time: 23 June (or Midsummer Eve) (reoccurring)
Further Comments: The spirits of those who will die during the following year come to the church on Midsummer's Eve - they were last seen by a pair of brothers who saw themselves in the crowd.

Presence

Location: Templemichael (County Waterford) - Templemichael Castle and Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Several unconfirmed stories speak of this location being haunted, but no one can say for sure by whom or what.

Colman's Ducks

Location: Templeshanbo (County Wexford) - Church of Templeshanbo
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A pond which could once be found here contained indestructible ducks. Animals which tried to hunt the ducks would be found dead, and one man who accidentally took one of the birds home and put it in a cooking pot found his fires burnt cold until he released the duck.

Man in Black

Location: Tenby (Dyfed) - Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Thought to be a former parish priest, this ghostly figure in a cassock walks down the aisle before fading away.

Marge in a Bridal Gown

Location: Terrington St Clement (Norfolk) - Parish Church, the 'Lovell' pew
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Every Sunday before Christmas (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Legend says that the chest next to the west door once contained the remains of a bride trapped inside after a game of hide and seek went wrong. She is reported to emerge once a year to join in with the church choir.

Lady Anne's Cracked Grave

Location: Tewin (Hertfordshire) - St Peter's Church
Type: Legend
Date / Time: 1780 to present
Further Comments: Not believing in an afterlife, during her earthly days Lady Anne Grimston scoffed that trees would ruin her tomb if she were wrong. Sure enough, her tomb is now ruined by a large tree that has split the stone open. One legend has the Devil appear near her grave every New Year's Eve, on the stroke of midnight.

Lady in White

Location: Thames Ditton (Surrey) - Home of Compassion church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Appearing quite real and substantial, the room that this sad shade haunts remained locked up for many years. She could be one of the nuns who once worked in the building.