The Paranormal Database

An illustration of a man holding a harp.

Harpist

Location: Llandysul (Dyfed) - River Teifi
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The sound of a harp that can be heard at the stretch of the river known as 'Pool of the Harper' is thought to belong to a performer who drowned there. The banks of the river, which stretches for some 75 miles, are said to be home to a couple of phantom women. A woman in green wearing emeralds is said to protect a hidden treasure (details of which are sadly lacking), while a woman dressed from head to toe in black drifts around looking for something (or someone).

Dancing Fairies

Location: Llanhilleth (Gwent) - Barn named Ysgubor y Llan (likely no longer standing)
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Pre-twentieth century
Further Comments: While lying in this barn, John Rosser heard music and watched a company of fairies enter and dance around. The fairies danced until morning and then vanished.

Cursed Stairwell

Location: Loch Nell (Argyll and Bute) - Loch Nell Castle
Type: Curse
Date / Time: Still present?
Further Comments: The staircase was made from a tree considered holy, and a series of disasters befell all those who were involved in cutting it down and moving to the building. The castle is also home to phantom music.

Dog Killer

Location: Loch Tuath (Argyll and Bute) - Area between Loch Tuath and Loch Cuan
Type: Other
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A misty female form once seen here had long blonde hair. The entity picked up the witness's dog and ran off with it behind a nearby rock formation; the owner gave chase and, turning the rocky corner, found the dog with its windpipe crushed and large pieces of fur torn away. The strange woman had vanished. Another version of the tale says the witness heard strange music and lost sight of his dog; the witness ran home, and his dog later returned stripped of its hair, dying after laying by its master's feet.

Bagpipes

Location: Lochailort (Highland) - Lochailort Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-1994
Further Comments: The sound of bagpipes could occasionally be heard in the inn, and a woman in a blue dress was also said to haunt the site. The inn was rebuilt after a fire in 1994, after which the hauntings fell away.

Bagpipes

Location: Lochranza, Island Of Arran (Ayrshire) - General area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1700s onwards, calm summer evenings (reoccurring)
Further Comments: A bagpiper who died in the nearby hills now walks into village on calm summer evenings, the only indication of his presence the sound of his pipes. It is said that one tourist followed the sound of the pipes, only for the piping to suddenly cease when the holiday maker approached from where they thought the music emerged.

Dancing Fairies

Location: Lough Derg (County Donegal) - Exact location not known
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Mid nineteenth century
Further Comments: A group of children encountered between eight and ten fairies dancing to music. One of the little people charged towards the children, striking one girl with a plant - the children ran home, and the girl who was hit later collapsed, only waking when a priest visited her.

Rowing Boat

Location: Lough Derg (County Donegal) - Waters of the lough
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late nineteenth century
Further Comments: A phantom rowing boat was said to haunt this body of water, although no crew could ever be seen within. It would be accompanied with music and voices.

Partying

Location: Loughrea (County Galway) - Castle Daly
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The echo of a party, complete with music and laughter, can be heard from the building, though some reports say the celebrations end with screams and cries for help.

Teenage Girl Dressed in White

Location: Loughton (Essex) - Alderton Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Mid twentieth century
Further Comments: This woman was a maid but removed from service after she gave birth to the master's bastard child. She drowned the child in a nearby pond before taking her own life, though she haunts the upper parts of the building. A blonde chap in a red cloak has also been recorded on the driveway, and a piano plays itself downstairs.

Cowled Figure

Location: Lydiard Tregoze (Wiltshire) - St Mary's Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The grey spook wearing a cowl was spotted in the corner of the church when the building should have been empty. Unworldly organ music and singing has also been reported after the building has been locked at night.

Coachman

Location: Lymington (Hampshire) - The Angel public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: The kitchen of the pub is reportedly haunted by this former coach driver, but it is unsure whether the same entity is responsible for playing a phantom piano in other parts of the building. A ghostly sailor has also been spotted, and a phantom blonde woman haunts the second floor.

Richard Fitzgeorge

Location: Lyndhurst (Hampshire) - Glasshayes Mansion (demolition started in 2024)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 07 July (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Richard Fitzgeorge de Stacpoole, 1st Duc de Stacpoole, is said to throw a party for the dead in July, the music from which can be heard. At other times of the year, people have reported faces at the windows of empty parts of the building or experiencing the sensation of being watched.

Peter Street, Manchester.

Pipe Music

Location: Manchester (Greater Manchester) - Peter Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1960s
Further Comments: The sound of loud yet gentle pipe music was reported several times coming from an empty office along this street.

Glowing Lights

Location: Mary Tavy (Devon) - Private house
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Early 1970s
Further Comments: Sharing a bedroom with his brother, this witness awoke to see several small bright lights enter the room and dance around before landing on his brother's bed. The lights changed to small people who walked to the head of the bed. They were all dressed in very colourful clothes, singing and playing musical instruments. They finally disappeared the way they had entered.

An old postcard showing Culzean Castle.

Piper

Location: Maybole (Ayrshire) - Culzean Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Heard above the rising gale on windy nights, the musical notes of this long dead piper still haunt the castle. The cries of someone being tortured have also been recorded, while another witness reported talking to a raven haired lass who vanished as he moved too close.

Music and Chanting

Location: Messing (Essex) - Messing Church
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Heard coming from the empty church, the source of the music and chant can never be discovered.

Gentle Music

Location: Middleham (North Yorkshire) - Middleham Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: Three children reported hearing a battle coming from outside the castle and seeing a knight on horseback who charged at them. Inside the castle, muffled sixteenth century music has been heard, while there are persistent rumours of buried treasure somewhere in the grounds (which can only be found after running nonstop around the fort nine times and quickly entering the mysterious door which magically opens!).

Lost Child

Location: Middleton in Teeside (Durham) - Tower Hill
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: It was at the nearby river that a woman once found a fairy child that she took home. The little creature, with red eyes, cried constantly, and would not stop until returned to the place it was found. If your ear is placed by the ground, you can hear fairy music within the hill.

Organ Music

Location: Morecambe (Lancashire) - Royalty Theatre (no longer standing)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: During the demolition of this building some workers reported the ghostly sounds of an organ being played. The shopping centre that has replaced the theatre may have inherited the ghost, though no one can say for certain.

John Edward

Location: Nercwys (Clwyd) - Tower mansion
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: July 2009
Further Comments: Spirit Quest UK visited Tower and claimed to detect twenty spirits within the building, including Edwardian John Edwards, a nurse maid, a dog which sits on the staircase, and a freemason. The team's equipment recorded music, voices and the sounds of something being dragged.

Music

Location: Nether Haugh (South Yorkshire) - Private residence
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1980-2000
Further Comments: It was reported that the poltergeist at this location could be heard playing a piano and a xylophone. Footsteps would also be heard in empty parts of the building and electronic machines were watched as they stopped and started unaided.

Piano

Location: Newark (Nottinghamshire) - Spread Eagle public house (ceased operation in 1968)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-1968
Further Comments: The family running this venue were awoken by the sound of the piano playing downstairs. Fearing an intruder, they investigated - opening the locked door to the room where the piano stood, the music suddenly ceased, and no one could be found. The building was also home to disembodied footsteps.

Pied Piper of Newtown

Location: Newtown (Isle of Wight) - General area
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Fourteenth century
Further Comments: A legend says that a piper used a tune to clear the area of rats; when the musician was not paid his dues, he piped another tune and all the children followed him away from the town. None were ever seen again.

Music

Location: Northrepps (Norfolk) - Hungry Hill
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: 21 July 2010, August 2010, and March 2025
Further Comments: Two people driving along this lane in 2010 stopped to take a photograph. They both heard 1960s music coming from what sounded like a radio, although there was nothing or nobody from which the sound could have emerged. The music suddenly ceased. A month later, a group of three people walking from the village also reported hearing the music. In 2025, a witness heard music while walking in the area. When the witness stopped moving, the music ceased and only started again when the witness began to walk off.