The Paranormal Database

An old postcard showing Clifton Down.

Jenkins Protheroe?

Location: Clifton (Somerset) - Clifton Down, Lady's Mile
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1977, around 23:00h
Further Comments: A driver and passenger witnessed a dark figure standing in the middle of the road with long arms stretched out in a 'stand and deliver' stance. Several days later the driver found out about the ghost of Jenkins (or Jenkin) Protheroe, a former highwayman hanged in the area.

Rider

Location: Compton Abdale (Gloucestershire) - Puesdown Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2014
Further Comments: A man on horseback, considered to be a highwayman, reportedly haunts this building. It may have been this entity which created the loud heavy footsteps from above which followed one witness along the corridor to the back rooms; when asked, the owners said no one else was updates at the time.

Highwayman

Location: Dartmoor (Devon) - Beetor Cross
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: This cloaked figure has been known to stand by the cross, empty eye sockets watching the road ahead.

Clibbon

Location: Datchworth (Hertfordshire) - Area around the station
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Found guilty of highway robbery, Clibbon was tied to the back of a horse and dragged around the town until he was dead. His screams are sometimes heard. The same area is also home to a headless horse, though it may not be the same creature associated with the highwayman.

Highwayman

Location: Dewsbury (West Yorkshire) - Cow field, Thornhill Edge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 26 December 1982
Further Comments: Two friends out sledging spotted a figure on horseback, resembling a highwayman in tutor style clothing, staring at them. The friends were terrified and left the area. They returned the following day and although their sledge marks were visible in the snow, there was no sign of any horse tracks. The area is said to be haunted by Black Dick of the North (aka Sir Richard Beaumont).

Black Dick of the North

Location: Dewsbury (West Yorkshire) - The Temple, aka Black Dick's Tower
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 05 July (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Known locally as Black Dick's Tower, this building is said to be the home of a phantom highwayman once a year.

Highwayman

Location: Durham (Durham) - A1 heading towards Durham
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2015
Further Comments: A horse-mounted highwayman stood on the roadside, looking towards Durham. The legs of the horse vanished at the knee, and the ghost vanishes if approached.

Highwayman

Location: Evershot (Dorset) - Acorn Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This sixteenth century inn is said to be home to a phantom highwayman.

Jangling Highwayman

Location: Gillingham (Norfolk) - Road past the War Memorial
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The sound of chains that can be heard crossing the road as the church bells ring are attributed to a phantom highwayman. He prowled on people using the road between Beccles and Great Yarmouth, and when caught the man was chained and hanged.

Highwayman

Location: Godmanchester (Cambridgeshire) - Black Bull public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 1980s
Further Comments: A ghostly highwayman is said to haunt this site, which also contains occasional poltergeist activity.

Woman in a Crinoline Gown

Location: Great Holland (Essex) - Treasure Holt - farmhouse in marshes
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s?
Further Comments: The history of this building goes back to 1138, and several ghosts have attached themselves to it and the surrounding area. The woman dressed in a crinoline gown drifts silently through the house, while a woman with blonde hair sits in front of the fireplace. This may be the same ghost who rides a white horse down the lane outside. A cavalier has been observed in the lounge, and a phantom monk walks a foot above the ground outside in the garden. Finally, just around the corner of the building the spectre of a highwayman still hangs from a tree.

Highwayman

Location: Gussage All Saints (Dorset) - Drovers Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A phantom highwayman is said to haunt this pub's cellar.

Could be Dick

Location: Hastings (Sussex) - The Stag Inn, All Saints Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1988
Further Comments: Thought to be Dick Turpin by the witness, no real evidence exists to back this claim up.

Dancing Robert

Location: Hemel Hempstead (Hertfordshire) - Boxmoor Common
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Midnight
Further Comments: The site where the body of Robert Snooks lays, the last highwayman to be hanged in England. Anyone who dances around the grave twelve times will summon him to join the jig.

Headless Highwayman

Location: Hickleton (South Yorkshire) - Area near the church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: This ghostly figure still rides his horse, still seeking his head that was taken from him as punishment for his crimes.

Highwayman

Location: Horsford (Norfolk) - Holt Road, north of village
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: June / July over several years in 2000s
Further Comments: A phantom highwayman with his cloak thrown over one shoulder is reputed to haunt this road. The figure disappears as any witness approaches.

Robert the Wizard

Location: Hothfield (Kent) - Estate near Hothfield Common
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1974
Further Comments: A highwayman of local fame and folklore, the headless ghost of Robert appeared to a local woman who had recently moved to her new home.

Highwaymen

Location: How Hill (Suffolk) - London Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A popular place to display the corpses of highway robbers, their shades now walk where the bodies hung.

Ned King

Location: Hurst Green (Lancashire) - Punch Bowl Inn (demolished June 2021), and general area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A highwayman caught at the public house and hanged nearby, Mr King returned post-mortem for several years after the event, knocking on doors and windows late at night.

Headless Shape on Horseback

Location: Icklingham (Suffolk) - Icklingham Way, southern corner
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The Archbishop of Sudbury (or another senior religious figure) was decapitated near to this point by his enemies, the man now returns on dark nights to retrace the route of his death. Another story names the headless horseman as a highwayman, or one of three rebels executed nearby for the murder of the Archbishop.

Highwayman in Grey Coat

Location: Knipton (Leicestershire) - Belvoir Castle rally track
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: January 1967, & 1994
Further Comments: Mounted on horseback, this figure stands in the way of oncoming traffic, though by all accounts only the driver can see him. The last known witness to see the entity only saw the man and not the horse.

Highwayman

Location: Knockholt (Kent) - Harrow Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A highwayman hanged on gallows that once stood outside this building is still said to make his presence known in the area.

Phantom highwayman.

Cooper

Location: Lacey Green (Buckinghamshire) - Coopers Grave (area of road), two stones at the junction of a bridleway
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Cooper was a highwayman who, so successful at robbing the rich, died a wealthy man. Cooper was buried with his treasure along the road he committed many of his crimes, and the place post-mortem he continues to dwell.

Hoggett

Location: Langton (North Yorkshire) - Hoggett's Hole, River Swale
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A highwayman during his life, Hoggett drowned in this pool while running from the law. It is now said that his ghost ensures no one ever swims in it without drowning.

White Hart Hotel, Lincoln.

Suicide

Location: Lincoln (Lincolnshire) - White Hart Hotel, Bailgate
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Several spooky phenomena have been reported here, including a floating ball of light, a girl in a mop cap, the sound of a gunshot, a faceless highwayman, and food that would jump off a plate in the restaurant. A young man who took his life in the building is blamed for most of the occurrences.