The Paranormal Database

Turpin in Green Velvet

Location: Outer London: Bromley (Greater London) - The Chequers public house, Southborough Lane, Bickley
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2013
Further Comments: Local legend says Dick Turpin's ghost was seen sitting at a desk in an upstairs room, writing with a quill. Another story says a woman in eighteenth century garb also haunts the upper part of the building. The pub hit headlines in September 2013 after it was reported a phantom French Soldier called Barnard scared away two bar staff who were staying overnight.

Source: Historical Record, Published Media
First added: 2002-06-17   Last updated: 2026-09-05   ID: #1294

Highwayman

Location: Outer London: Croydon (Greater London) - Farthing Down
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: April 2017
Further Comments: A highwayman was spotted on the downs at dusk.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2017-05-11   Last updated: 2017-05-11   ID: #12464

Turpin and Bess

Location: Outer London: Enfield (Greater London) - Rose & Crown public house, Clay Hill
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Reportedly once owned by Dick Turpin's grandfather, the highwayman would visit the family when he needed to hide out. His ghostly form has been seen both inside and out, sometimes accompanied by his horse.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2002-08-25   Last updated: 2002-08-25   ID: #2302

Heavy Breathing

Location: Outer London: Hillingdon (Greater London) - Heathrow Airport, general area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1980s
Further Comments: This ghost was heard several times, breathing heavily around female members of staff, but never being seen. A second entity wears a bowler hat and has been known to ask about the whereabouts of his briefcase - both case and man were in an aircraft that crashed in the late 1940s, killing all on board. A phantom Dick Turpin rides a brown horse across the runways (or cargo sheds), while cleaning staff during the 1970s reported a presence which held them down, applying pressure around their throats. Finally, prior to the airport being built, a phantom Saxon prince reputedly haunted the area close to a pond where he drowned.

Source: Historical Record, Published Media
First added: 2002-06-25   Last updated: 2026-09-03   ID: #1488

Water Spirit

Location: Outer London: Hounslow (Greater London) - Bell Inn
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This destructive entity, named as a highwayman hanged just across the road, is blamed for turning on taps and smashing barrels of beer.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2002-11-12   Last updated: 2002-11-12   ID: #3157

An old woodcut of Hounslow Heath.

Dick

Location: Outer London: Hounslow (Greater London) - Hounslow Heath
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The highwayman Dick Turpin, who is just as busy in death as he was in life, is reported to haunt this area of urban heathland.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2003-05-03   Last updated: 2003-05-03   ID: #4211

Highwayman

Location: Outer London: Hounslow (Greater London) - Hussars public house
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This figure, complete with dark clothing and cape, has been observed loitering around the cellar doors.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2002-11-12   Last updated: 2002-11-12   ID: #3161

Highwayman

Location: Outer London: Waltham Forest (Greater London) - Area around Richmond Avenue and The Avenue in Highams Park
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: New Year's Eve, year unknown
Further Comments: A woman out walking in the area reported seeing a phantom highwayman who rode past her - the terrified witness ran back to her family.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2005-09-04   Last updated: 2026-09-05   ID: #6521

Highwayman

Location: Oxney Bottom (Kent) - Woodland in the area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Once the haunt of footpads and robbers, the woodland in the area is still said to be home to a ghostly highwayman prowling the area.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2019-12-04   Last updated: 2019-12-04   ID: #13429

Pluckley's 'Fright' Corner.

Dying Highwayman

Location: Pluckley (Kent) - Fright (aka Frith) Corner
Type: Environmental Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A large spectral tree has been seen here, together with a highwayman pinned to it by several swords.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2002-06-03   Last updated: 2026-05-12   ID: #1075

Hanging Highwayman

Location: Pocklington (East Riding of Yorkshire) - Feathers Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This unpleasant footpad murdered a serving girl in the pub and was hanged in the yard for the crime. His shade still ensures he is not forgotten.

Source: Historical Record, Published Media
First added: 2004-05-30   Last updated: 2004-05-30   ID: #5154

Tom King

Location: Rackenford (Devon) - The Stag Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: The sound of hooves heard several times from outside the public house are thought to belong to the horse of Tom King, a local highwayman who once frequented the bar.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2002-08-27   Last updated: 2002-08-27   ID: #2348

Highwayman

Location: Romney Marsh (Kent) - Site of Gibbet
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Buried under the gibbet that housed his body for many days, the highwayman is said not to have completely left this earth. . .

Source: Historical Record
First added: 2002-06-19   Last updated: 2002-06-19   ID: #1311

William Boulter

Location: Salisbury (Wiltshire) - A30
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A highwayman by trade, Boulter was hanged for his troubles. His phantom is said to run along various parts of the A30.

Source: Historical Record
First added: 2009-06-07   Last updated: 2009-06-07   ID: #9415

Highwayman's Girlfriend

Location: Scole (Norfolk) - The Scole Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This woman was murdered by a jealous partner after he discovered that she was having an affair with a highwayman; the ghostly lady in white now walks the staircase and the first floor.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2000-08-17   Last updated: 2000-08-17   ID: #41

Highwaymen

Location: Setley (Hampshire) - Filly Inn (formally Fillie Inne)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: This inn was built where a much older one once stood. The old building was demolished soon after three men were arrested for murder and highway robbery. It is said that one of the robbers tried to repent but was hanged regardless. The entity makes his presence known by throwing things around the room.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2008-04-01   Last updated: 2008-04-01   ID: #8388

Highwayman

Location: Sheffield (South Yorkshire) - Mail Coach public house, 149 West Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1984
Further Comments: Wearing the clothing of a robber, this figure was seen lurking in the shadows prior to mysteriously disappearing.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2002-12-04   Last updated: 2002-12-04   ID: #3237

Turpin

Location: Sibson (Leicestershire) - Road close to Cock Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A ghostly highwayman, wearing a tricorn hat with a red coat and identified as Dick Turpin as many phantom highwaymen are, would occasionally be seen at night.

Source: Historical Record
First added: 2025-01-26   Last updated: 2025-01-26   ID: #15798

Headless on Headless

Location: Skipsea (East Riding of Yorkshire) - Roads around town
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The headless highwayman seen around this area rides a headless horse. A road on a hill south of the town is haunted by a woman (who may also be headless) wearing black, who quickly vanishes just before reaching a hill.

Source: Historical Record
First added: 2002-10-13   Last updated: 2002-10-13   ID: #2611

Flagging Figure

Location: South Mimms (Hertfordshire) - Unnamed road in the area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Spring 1935
Further Comments: Several motorists (and a vicar on his bike) encountered a figure who stood on the roadside flagging down travellers, only to vanish seconds later. More generally, the roads in the area were once said to be haunted by the ghost of Dick Turpin.

Source: Historical Record
First added: 2007-04-11   Last updated: 2007-04-11   ID: #7282

Sobbing

Location: St Albans (Hertfordshire) - Wicked Lady public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The sound of a lady's gentle sobs has been heard diffusing through the fabric of the pub. The common outside the pub is home to a highway woman on horseback, after whom the building is named.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2002-11-12   Last updated: 2002-11-12   ID: #3135

Ianto Ffranc

Location: St Hilary (Cornwall) - Bush Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Highwayman (or pirate) Ianto Ffranc was discovered hiding in a cave close to the inn - he was caught and executed. Ffranc's ghost now haunts the bar.

Source: Published Media, User Submission
First added: 2026-01-17   Last updated: 2026-01-17   ID: #16290

Murdered Landlord

Location: Steeple Aston (Oxfordshire) - Hopcroft's Holt Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The shade seen here is thought to be a former landlord murdered on the site, along with his wife. Another story has the highwayman Claude Duval as haunting the site.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2002-11-12   Last updated: 2002-11-12   ID: #3165

Turpin

Location: Stilton (Cambridgeshire) - Bell Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1960s
Further Comments: It was once believed that the ghost of Dick Turpin passed by this inn on Wednesday nights - the thud of horse's hooves could be heard, and some people reported seeing a man on horseback just outside of the building.

Source: Historical Record, Published Media
First added: 2005-08-02   Last updated: 2005-08-02   ID: #6468

Highwayman

Location: Stratton Strawless (Norfolk) - Shortthorn Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: A ghostly highwayman was observed by one person at a site along this road.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2012-10-21   Last updated: 2012-10-21   ID: #11158