The Paranormal Database

Lights

Location: Thaxted (Essex) - Churchyard, Almshouse Cottages
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Corpse lights have been seen floating around an empty set of cottages which sit in the churchyard.

Banishing the Dog

Location: Thorne St Margaret (Somerset) - Church
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The ancient custom of 'clipping the church' once preceded the chasing of the black dog, which was thought to be Satan, out of the village's boundary.

Who Woke the Vicar's Wife?

Location: Thornton (Leicestershire) - St Peter's Church, and vicarage
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A vicar here was once forced to exorcise his own home after his wife complained she was being woken during the night by a ghost.

Moved Again

Location: Thriplow (Cambridgeshire) - Church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Church still present
Further Comments: The village folk wanted their church in a hollow by their homes, but the Devil had other plans, and moved it to the hill.

Romans

Location: Thundridge (Hertfordshire) - Area around Cold Christmas Church (aka Church of St Mary and All Saints)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1940s (soldiers), 2009 (growling)
Further Comments: Phantom Roman soldiers were spotted near the church by a female witness during the 1940s. More recently, there are local stories about phantom children, though no witnesses appear to exist. Another myth perpetuates the belief that the church is so called as most of the children buried here died around Christmas - it is more likely that the church is named after a cold Christmas that delayed its construction by several weeks. A local legend says the church brought ill-fortune to the area, as it was constructed facing the wrong direction. More recently, strange growling has been recorded in the empty church, though the sounds are most likely from a feral cat.

Black Monk

Location: Thurgarton (Nottinghamshire) - St Peter's Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This phantom has been observed walking towards the church before suddenly vanishing from sight.

Blonde Woman

Location: Tideswell (Derbyshire) - Churchyard
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This phantom fair-haired lass rises from her grave and travels towards Wheston Hall, where she concealed her husband's body after murdering him.

Fist

Location: Tillicoultry (Clackmannanshire) - Old Churchyard
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: An evil laird died a few days after punching a monk. The laird was buried but a day later the fist which he raised against the monk was protruding from the ground. The limb was reburied, but the following day it was raised again. The cycle of burial and emergence occurred for seven days until the locals could take no more and placed a massive stone on top of the grave, preventing the hand from returning.

Tom holding a cart wheel and axel.

Giant

Location: Tilney All Saints (Norfolk) - Churchyard
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Eleventh century?
Further Comments: Tom Hickathrift, the Cambridge giant and hero, is said to have been buried here; his grave marked by a stone eight-foot long.

Figure in a Top Hat

Location: Tilshead (Wiltshire) - St Thomas a Becket Church
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: 26 March 2012, morning
Further Comments: A ten year old girl became upset and left this church after she spotted a semi-transparent figure with grey hair and a top hat sitting in the box pews. When she started to turn back inside the church, she saw the figure once again, sitting closer to the door.

Take it Down

Location: Tilton on the Hill (Leicestershire) - Church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The Devil became upset at the building of this church, so during the night would undo the construction work. It is unclear who or what motivated the Devil to cease his actions. Another story says a visitor to the site watched a monk dressed in black walk through the church and vanish at the pulpit.

Strange Light

Location: Timogue (County Laois) - Churchyard
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This churchyard would be illuminated by unearthly light and night, and the locals whispered that fleeting white shapes could be seen darting between tombstones.

Figure in White

Location: Toft Hill (Durham) - Churchyard (and general area)
Type: Other
Date / Time: 1880
Further Comments: For a period of 'some months' a figure in a white sheet upset and scared locals until encountering a policeman who gave chase. The phantom was caught and revealed to be a drunken miner in a nightshirt, who had to pay a fine of 7s 6d (around a day's wages).

White Rabbit

Location: Tollesbury (Essex) - Tollesbury Churchyard
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The white rabbit is said to appear at different times of the year, running about the churchyard.

Henry Ditton-Newman

Location: Torbay (Devon) - St John's Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1959
Further Comments: Henry died in 1883, though he returned to play the church organ up until 1959. The phantom was also heard to walk around the empty building.

Reverend Hitchcock

Location: Torquay (Devon) - St John's church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1950s
Further Comments: The Reverend Hitchcock died whilst working on a composition - he was heard playing the unfinished piece on the church organ during the 1950s. After a blessing on his grave in 1959, Hitchcock appears to have not returned. Prior to this, the church had a reputation as being haunted by another organist by the name of Henry Ditton-Newman. Henry could be heard walking around and playing the organ. After a service to move on Henry, a third organ playing phantom (Francis Crute) would also be named as haunting the site; he would be swiftly moved on after a blessing over his grave.

Stopping Force

Location: Tostock (Suffolk) - Path on hill leading to the church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Summer, late 1990s
Further Comments: Two people walking towards the church suddenly found themselves unable to walk any further. The sensation lasted for around ten seconds before lifting. A short time later, along a lane past the church, they spotted a bright white light which then illuminated the area around them. Both witnesses ran back to the village.

Stone Thief

Location: Towednack (Cornwall) - Church tower
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The tower's shortness is explained away by the story that Old Nick turned up each night during construction and knocked down the day's work. The builders finally grew tired of the conflict and put the roof on at the height it is now.

The Devil making a deal.

Daffyd Ddu

Location: Tremeirchion (Clwyd) - Churchyard Wall
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Former vicar and black magician, Daffyd made a pact with the Devil to take his soul 'whether buried in the churchyard or out'. Needless to say, the wizard cheated Old Nick by ensuring his body was buried under the boundary wall.

Sometimes Headless

Location: Tretire with Michaelchurch (Herefordshire) - St Michael's Church
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The shuck which haunted this churchyard sometimes appeared headless.

Marshy Bells

Location: Tunstall (Norfolk) - Church, and marsh known as Bell Hole (and Hell Hole)
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The Devil once appeared in the village, stealing the church bells and sinking them into the nearby marsh. Bubbles in the marsh were said to be the result of the bells continuing to sink into the bottomless pit.

Gregorian Chant

Location: Tutbury (Staffordshire) - Former priory (only the church remains)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: February 2012, 22:00h (singing), 1970s (monk)
Further Comments: While at this site, two witnesses heard chanting coming from the church. The singing faded after a couple of minutes. A ghostly monk was seen by members of the church choir and bell ringers in the 1970s, standing on the crossing above the main doors.

Non Sinking Church

Location: Vigeans (Angus) - Church of St Vigeans
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Circa 1736
Further Comments: Legend said that building materials for the church were carried into position by a water kelpie. The creature said if anyone working for the church ever took their own life, the church would sink into a great lake which lay deep under the building. In the eighteenth century the minister of the parish committed suicide and some stories say many people gathered near the church to watch it being consumed into the ground. Needless to say, many people were also left disappointed when their expectations were not met.

Kneeling Priest

Location: W1 (Greater London) - St Thomas's Church (no longer standing), Tenison Court
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1921
Further Comments: This phantom was observed praying before the altar, before silently moving off and vanishing.

Body in the Basement

Location: W1D (Greater London) - Building (may longer stand) by St Anne's Churchyard
Type: Other
Date / Time: Early nineteenth century
Further Comments: A man staying at a guesthouse here had a dream that he wandered down to the basement and discovered a body. Awaking in terror he quickly dressed, left the house, and called on a friend. They returned to the house and, venturing into the basement, discovered a dead man. The landlady had, in the meantime, fled and was said never to have been caught.