The Paranormal Database

Churchill Square Shopping Centre, Brighton.

Black Belly

Location: Brighton (Sussex) - Area surrounding Churchill Square Shopping Centre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1911 onwards
Further Comments: The area surrounding this shopping centre is reputedly home to Black Belly, an apparition which is normally observed from the corner of the eye. The figure is said to resemble a large bald man, wearing a shirt which does not quite cover his stomach, revealing a bloated and bruised stomach. The figure is also said to hover a few centimetres from the ground. One of the last witnesses to see Black Belly is reported to be a telecoms engineer who reported the sighting to the police.

St John the Baptist church, Brighton.

Woman in a Bonnet

Location: Brighton (Sussex) - St John the Baptist church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s
Further Comments: The church is said to be the haunt of a woman wearing a white bonnet.

St Nicholas' Church in Brighton.

Knight in Armour

Location: Brighton (Sussex) - St Nicholas' Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Moonlit Nights (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Appearing on horseback, this knight clad in armour appears around the church neighbourhood.

Medieval Girl

Location: Brighton (Sussex) - St Peter's Church, Preston Park
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Winter 2001
Further Comments: This figure was first (?) observed by two people walking through the churchyard in the 1970s - she was so lifelike they tried to talk to her, but she faded from view. The same entity was seen by a female photographer early in the twenty first century.

Footprint

Location: Brindle (Lancashire) - Church of St James
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present, now wall mounted
Further Comments: The footprint in a slab of stone is now on display within the church. It is said to belong to a Catholic who, after arguing with a Protestant, declared 'if my doctrine be untrue, may my foot sink in stone' - upon which it did. Another version of the story says it was the Devil who left his footprint in the stone.

Saint George (detail from painting by Cornelis Schut).

George and the Dragon

Location: Brinsop (Herefordshire) - Lower Stanks and Duck's Pool Meadow near the church
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The village of Brinsop claims to be the location where St George had his famous battle with a dragon. The creature lived in Duck's Pool Meadow but was finally slain at Lower Stanks meadow. An old stone carving in the church depicts the final battle.

Black Monk

Location: Bristol (Somerset) - All Saint's Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Last seen 1948?
Further Comments: Many believe that this ghostly monk in black has returned to watch over a pile of treasure which was hidden during his lifetime. The figure has been spotted several times over the last two hundred years, most recently around Christmas 1948 when he was seen walking down the church aisle.

Stomping

Location: Bristol (Somerset) - House (no longer standing) which was constructed on the site of St Philip's churchyard
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This phantom was said to be a heavy footed man who would occasionally stomp around the site. Some of the building materials used on the house comprised of gravestones, and this was touted as a reason for the haunting.

Hibbetson

Location: Brockley (Somerset) - Area around the church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This evil parson murdered the local squire for his money and must walk the lands for his sin. The ghost of an old woman dressed in brown has also been seen in the church.

Brown Lady

Location: Brockley (Somerset) - Brockley Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This hardworking phantom is said to clean the pews in the church.

Two Old Ladies

Location: Brodsworth (South Yorkshire) - St Michael and All Angel's church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Summer 1980
Further Comments: A young couple walking through the churchyard spotted two elderly ladies in clothing from a bygone era walking towards them along the same path. The younger pair stepped into the church porch, listening to the old women's approaching footsteps which suddenly stopped in mid-stride. They stepped out of the church pouch and looked for the women, who had just vanished.

Sir Lewis Dyve

Location: Bromham (Bedfordshire) - St Owen church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Sir Lewis Dyve is said to walk within the church, ensuring his boots and sword remain inside. The churchyard is also home to the phantom laughter of children.

Woman with a Candle

Location: Broseley (Shropshire) - Ruined churchyard (restoration work to begin in 2022)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: This white figure, seen wearing a poke bonnet and carrying a candle, appeared in front of three witnesses before quickly disappearing. A photographer claims to have captured her on film, though this author has yet to see the image.

Moaning

Location: Broughton (Northamptonshire) - Church of St John
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 25 December (reoccurring)
Further Comments: A criminal once held here has returned as an indistinct shadow, softly moaning in pain and regret, always around the Christmas period.

Undone Work

Location: Broughton (Shropshire) - Old church (no longer stands)
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The old church here had to be constructed away from the planned site after the workmen constantly found all their previous day's work undone. The Devil was blamed and after moving the building site, no more delays were experienced.

Squire Cabell

Location: Buckfastleigh (Devon) - Church, the Cabell Tomb
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Weather Dependent: Dark, stormy nights
Further Comments: When the weather is right, the squire emerges from his tomb and, together with a pack of hounds, sets off across the nearby moor. Many believe that it is this legend that Hound of the Baskervilles is based upon. A local legend says if one runs around the tomb thirteen times before sticking a finger in the keyhole, the ghost can be felt licking the tip.

St Mary's church, Bungay.

Lightning Dog

Location: Bungay (Suffolk) - St Mary's church
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: 04 August 1577
Further Comments: Appearing on 4 August 1577, the same date as the Blythburgh report, a black dog entered the church during a storm and killed several people. Some believe the dog still patrols the area.

The Druid's Stone, Bungay.

The Druid's Stone

Location: Bungay (Suffolk) - St Mary's Priory, churchyard
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Believed to be at least a couple of thousand years old, the large, rounded stone is rumoured to have been used by druids. Local legend states you can summon the Devil by dancing around it twelve times.

Dealing with the Devil.

Old Nick in Waiting

Location: Burgh St Peter (Norfolk) - Church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: 02 May reoccurring (skeleton appears)
Further Comments: The builder of this church is said to have sold his soul to finish the construction. The Devil is said to still wait for the soul due to him, while the old man's shade lurks protected within the church grounds. There is one report that says the builder now takes the form of a clothed skeletal figure and appears once per year.

One of the waterways which runs through Burnley.

Trash

Location: Burnley (Lancashire) - General area, though near the church a favourite haunt
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A local name for their version of the shuck, Trash was said to be very hairy, with feet that created splashing noises no matter what surface it stepped on. Death would follow a sighting.

St Peters Church, Burnley.

Moving Bricks

Location: Burnley (Lancashire) - St Peters Church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown / traditional
Further Comments: The church was going to be built on another location, but night after night the Devil appeared and moved the building materials, until the construction finally relocated to where the church now stands. Another version of the story allocates the Devil a pig to perform the task.

Future Dead

Location: Burton (Lincolnshire) - Church
Type: Manifestation of the Living
Date / Time: 24 April (St Mark's Eve) (reoccurring), 1634
Further Comments: This church is another site where two men are said to have stayed awake until midnight on St Mark's Eve to see if the legend about the manifestation of apparitions of those due to die over the forthcoming twelve months was true. It was.

Five to Die

Location: Burton (Unknown) - Burton Church
Type: Other
Date / Time: 24 April, 1634
Further Comments: A group of local people waiting at the church watched five shades enter the building - three of the phantom group they recognised, and these were to die over the following year. The other two ghosts, an older man and a baby, came to the village soon after and also died within twelve months.

St Mary's Churchyard, Bury St Edmunds.

Maude Carew

Location: Bury St Edmunds (Suffolk) - St Mary's Churchyard
Type: Curse
Date / Time: 24 February, 23:00h (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Cursed by a monk after Maude murdered the Duke of Gloucester in 1447, her shade is now said to appear once a year. The alleged ghost often brings dozens of people to the area in the hope of seeing her.

Patting the Fading Dog

Location: Buxton (Norfolk) - Churchyard
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: 1930
Further Comments: While passing the church, a man saw a large black dog. He reached out to pat the hound's head, but the creature disappeared into thin air. The man later learnt that his brother had died at the exact moment he saw the dog.