The Paranormal Database

Locked In

Location: Beeston (Bedfordshire) - The Cross public house
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Customers have reported being trapped in the toilets after an unseen hand locks them in. Bottles of spirits have been known to fall off the shelves for no reason, and the taps on beer barrels are turned off.

Cloaked Man

Location: Belper (Derbyshire) - Car park by the Mill House public house
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: 09 March 2014, around 17:30h
Further Comments: A man in black old fashioned clothing with a cloak and hat was spotted standing by the fence of this car park. The bottom half of his face was covered by a scarf.

Laughing

Location: Bickleigh (Devon) - Fisherman's Cot public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: The soft laughter of an invisible female has been heard around the bar, which is unrelated to the headless horseman who lurks outside.

Turpin in Green Velvet

Location: Bickley (Kent) - The Chequers public house, Southborough Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2013
Further Comments: Local legend says Dick Turpin's ghost was seen in an upstairs room sitting at a desk, 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.

Singer

Location: Biggleswade (Bedfordshire) - Golden Pheasant public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Singing has been reported coming from an empty bar, and footsteps have been heard in other vacant areas.

Beer Barrel Mover

Location: Billingham (Durham) - Black Horse public house
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1998
Further Comments: This spirit is heard moving things around in the cellar. It is thought to be a murder victim from the early 1990s, who has become lost trying to find 'the other side'.

Woman in White

Location: Bilston (Staffordshire) - Greyhound and Punchbowl public house, was once Stow Heath Manor House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Prior to becoming a public house, the staircase of the manor house was haunted by a woman in a white gown. While it is not clear whether the ghostly woman remains, more recently a baby has been heard crying and mild poltergeist activity reported.

Petty Officer

Location: Binsey (Oxfordshire) - Perch public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twenty-first century
Further Comments: A Royal Navy petty officer is said to haunt this pub having drowned himself a short distance away.

Wine Smashing

Location: Birmingham (West Midlands) - Court Oak public house, Harborne
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 31 October (Reoccurring)
Further Comments: Nicknamed Corky by visitors to the Court Oak, this phantom is said to smash bottles of cheap wine in the cellar. Corky is also said to manifest behind the counter, appearing in the form of a male in his sixties.

Misty

Location: Birmingham (West Midlands) - Old Crown public house, Deritend
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 21 August 1999
Further Comments: A couple staying here reported a strange white mist in their room. One witness felt compelled to move towards the window. Two ghosts are said to haunt the inn, though who or what form the second one takes is unknown.

Grasper

Location: Birmingham (West Midlands) - Queen's Arms public house, Charlotte Street
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 2012
Further Comments: Staff at this public house named their resident spook Grasper after a series of incidents where their bums were pinched by an unseen hand. Other activity is said to include chairs moving and footsteps heard in empty parts of the building.

Young Girl

Location: Birmingham (West Midlands) - Sheldon Hall public house, Gressel Lane, Tile Cross
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: Caught on film by a group of party goers, this shade is one of the two ghosts that haunt the property, the other taking the form of an old woman. In 1993, when the pub was known as 'Baldie's Mansion', a masked white apparition was spotted, accompanied by nearby trees and bushes violently shaking.

Crawling Cordial

Location: Birmingham (West Midlands) - The Old Crown public house, Digbeth
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early 2015
Further Comments: This pub appeared in the national press after a video was released showing a bottle of blackcurrant cordial moving unaided across the bar. The ghost has also been blamed for pinching female staff's bottoms and forcing one member of staff to quit after he spotted a female entity walk through a door.

Henry Skinner

Location: Birmingham (West Midlands) - Trocadero public house
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 2012
Further Comments: Murdered in the late nineteenth century, former landlord Henry Skinner is held accountable for throwing around small change and beer mats. A former landlord claimed to have encountered Henry. Two other phantoms, girls who fell to their deaths on a staircase are also reputed to haunt the site.

John Wentworth

Location: Birmingham (West Midlands) - White Swan public house, Harborne
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: John went mad with grief when he found out his secret love had died in a coach accident - he shot his dog before turning the gun on himself. He has been heard moving around the building and has been known to tap people on their shoulder.

Grey Lady

Location: Bishop's Stortford (Hertfordshire) - Boar's Head public house, Water Lane and St Michael's Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1922
Further Comments: Locals say that this shade travels through the town, stopping at a couple of watering holes, before continuing to the church. The phantom drifted silently passed a mother and child along Water Lane in 1922, heading towards the church. Both witnesses fled.

Black Dog

Location: Blackawton (Devon) - Normandy Arms public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This pub may be haunted by a black dog observed near the bar.

Tina Turner Fan

Location: Blackburn (Lancashire) - Fox and Hounds public house, Ewood
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1993
Further Comments: A poltergeist at work within this pub enjoyed playing Tina Turner's Be Tender with Me Baby on the juke box, as well as throwing items around and moving ornaments.

Murph

Location: Blackpool (Lancashire) - Eagle and Child public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A former highwayman, Murph can sometimes be heard mumbling and moaning at the bar late at night.

Priest

Location: Blackpool (Lancashire) - Foxhall public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Several figures are thought to haunt this building, and although details are fleeting, they are thought to include priests and smugglers.

Drowned Nun

Location: Blackpool (Lancashire) - Raikes Hall (currently a public house)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Once a convent, one of its former inhabitants who drowned herself nearby would once come back to visit from beyond the grave.

Pincher

Location: Blackpool (Lancashire) - The Lobster Pot public house, Market Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: This phantom is said to grab female members of staff so hard it leaves red blemishes on the skin.

Dorothy Forster

Location: Blanchland (Northumberland) - Old Hexham Road, and Lord Crewe Arms public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The phantom Dorothy is still reported to drift down the road, heading towards the pub where she also haunts.

Observing

Location: Bluntisham (Cambridgeshire) - Former public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2007 onwards
Further Comments: An occupier of this property has reported the feeling of being watched and of doors closing themselves, although the presence is non-threatening.

Shaking Bottles

Location: Blyth (Northumberland) - Croft Arms public house
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 20 August 1962
Further Comments: Having broken a lamp in the nearby Railway Hotel, an unseen entity moved to this pub and violently shook the bar, rattling bottles and sending a couple of glasses smashing to the floor. Discussing the incident in the local press, the owner also claimed that an unearthly tune occasionally emerged from the cocktail cabinet in the upstairs flat.