The Paranormal Database

Banging

Location: Dudley (West Midlands) - Spare Room Cafe (was the Crown Hotel), corner of Wolverhampton Street and Priory Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth / early twenty-first century
Further Comments: An icy cold chill and mysterious bangs and crashes from empty rooms are all blamed on an unknown entity which has found home in the cafe. A fish and chip shop based in the building also reported strange events and a string of bad luck.

Creaking

Location: Dundee (Angus) - Wellgate Shopping Centre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: The strange sounds which echo around the shopping centre at night are said by some to be created by a female ghost who haunts the area. Sceptics argue that the sounds are the natural process of the building settling.

George Street, Edinburgh

Jane

Location: Edinburgh (Lothian) - George Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early twentieth century
Further Comments: Jane once owned a shop along this street, which she sold on the recommendation of her friends. She regretted it almost immediately, though, and died soon after. She was seen several times post-mortem, heading along the street to her former property.

Shadows in Monks Gowns

Location: Ely (Cambridgeshire) - Multiple Locations, including the High Street, 'Jumpers' clothing shop, Firmary Lane and the cathedral lawn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century, multiple times
Further Comments: Many parts of the town are reportedly haunted by monks, sometimes accompanied by poltergeist activity, sometimes leaving footprints in the snow, sometimes staring out of windows...

Suicide

Location: Eton (Berkshire) - Thomas's Hairdressers
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The ghost of a young man who committed suicide is said to haunt part of this hairdressers.

Colin

Location: Evesham (Hereford & Worcester) - Spiritus, 85 High Street
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: Named Colin, this shop phantom is said to move furniture and throws items around.

Heavy Breathing

Location: Exeter (Devon) - Marks & Spencer store
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: Said to be built on an old Roman burial ground, phantom heavy breathing has been reported from staff, as have light poltergeist-like behaviour.

Delays

Location: Falkirk (Falkirk) - Callendar shopping centre
Type: Other
Date / Time: 1992
Further Comments: The Sunday Mail reported that after a series of incidents delayed the construction of the shopping centre, a local psychic claimed the building was being erected on a ley line, resulting in negative energy being released.

Friend Peel

Location: Farsley (Yorkshire) - Box of Cards shop
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: May 2013
Further Comments: A photograph taken of the front of this card shop revealed a figure reflected in the window which shopkeeper Alison Lambert was convinced was deceased First World War soldier Friend Peel. Alison had previously seen John and Samuel Hollings, former owners of the shop during the eighteenth century.

Third Floor Ghost

Location: Galway (County Galway) - Subway sandwich shop
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: May 2017
Further Comments: This shop enjoyed a brief surge in online publicity when some news outlets showed a poster on display which stated, 'Ouija boards and seances are not allowed to be performed in this shop'. It was reported that the manager believed the third floor to be haunted and did not want anyone attracting more ghosts.

Woman in Black

Location: Glasgow (Lanarkshire) - Silverburn shopping centre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: May - June 2016
Further Comments: Covered by international media, it was reported that a phantom woman in black had been reported four times over a four week period.

Child with Blonde Hair

Location: Glossop (Derbyshire) - Co-Op food store, town centre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1997
Further Comments: After this young girl was seen by staff in the building, she quickly faded away. The figure may be the same entity spotted in the Norfolk Arms public house. Another ghost, a more shadowy figure, is also reported to haunt the food store.

Robed Figure

Location: Gloucester (Gloucestershire) - Anglian Windows, Westgate Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1988
Further Comments: A robed man and poltergeist activity have been reported in this showroom - in one instance, a roll of carpet was seen to levitate.

Sewing Fairies

Location: Gloucester (Gloucestershire) - Exact location unknown, old tailor's shop
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The tailor who owned this shop left the mayor's clothing unfinished on Saturday and found it completed on the Monday morning. He used this event to advertise the shop, claiming that the little folk had done the work, though it soon transpired that an assistant had worked on the Sunday to avoid going to church.

Rose

Location: Godshill (Isle of Wight) - The Bat's Wing Tea Shop
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This shop is said to be haunted by a woman in black, named as Rose, who sits in a rocking chair with a ginger cat in her lap.

Disappearing Shop

Location: Great Yarmouth (Norfolk) - Exact location not known
Type: Environmental Manifestation
Date / Time: 1973
Further Comments: A coin collector in Yarmouth reported visiting a shop to buy envelopes for his collection. He thought the shop looked old fashioned, as did the lady who served him, but thought no more of it until he returned a week later - and found the place had gone.

Victorian Woman

Location: Greenfield (Clwyd) - Sun Dawn Interiors, Coast Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2008
Further Comments: A picture taken just after Dawn Thompson took the building lease is said to contain the image of a woman in Victorian attire. The shop is also reported to be haunted by a young child who died on the site. Both entities are reported to be friendly.

Rupert Trousers

Location: Grimsby (Lincolnshire) - Shoe Factory Shop, Wellowgate
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1980s
Further Comments: Mary Frost, the manager of the shoe shop, watched a white haired old man wearing yellow tweed 'Rupert the Bear' trousers walk through a wall. Other staff reported doors that opened and closed on their own accord and rows of shoes that fell with no explanation.

Shop Keeper

Location: Hadleigh (Essex) - The Village Stores along the High Street, and the route between the shop and the churchyard
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: The little old lady who once ran this shop around a hundred years ago has been seen both in the shop after hours and walking from the churchyard where she is buried to the building.

Purple Cloaked Woman

Location: Herstmonceux (Sussex) - Windmill Hill Stores
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: November 1995
Further Comments: The owners of this shop were convinced they had seen this mysterious apparition walking about the first floor.

Fred

Location: Ilford (Essex) - Aldborough Hall Farm Shop (no longer operational)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Last seen 2002
Further Comments: Seen wearing a dark fleece, and about 1.65 metres in height, this phantom was mistaken for the shop worker's mother, until he realised there was no one else in the shop. The ghost was seen several times and is thought to be a totally benevolent entity of a previous customer.

Eastgate Mall, Inverness

Foundry Worker

Location: Inverness (Highland) - Eastgate Mall, Laura Ashley shop and Pizza Express restaurant
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2003
Further Comments: Blown light bulbs and fuses are all blamed on the shade of a former worker on the site, as are the movements of the doors when they open and close unaided.

Poltergeist

Location: Ipswich (Suffolk) - Former Lakeland Plastics building
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1997
Further Comments: Believed to be the ghost of Mother Lakeland, a wise woman/witch who once lived in the area, this entity has been blamed for moving displays around the shop. As a side note, contained within the shop is a fifteenth century chapel that remained undiscovered for many years. It is now open to the public.

Little Girl

Location: Ipswich (Suffolk) - Shop in Tower Ramparts (now known as Sailmakers)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2008
Further Comments: A member of staff reported several spooky occurrences in this shop, including spotting a little girl peering through the bars of a staircase, the image of a man in grey who would walk around (being mistaken for a customer), and boxes which fall off shelves without reason.,

Smokey Figure

Location: Leeds (Yorkshire) - Old Lewis's building, The Headrow
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: February 2008
Further Comments: A labourer working in the building with a colleague photographed a misty 'figure' with his camera phone. Another worker on site claimed to have seen something from the corner of his eye, though when he quickly turned, it had vanished.