The Paranormal Database

Unknown Sounds

Location: Bristol - Stanley Farm, Filton Abbey Wood, Filton
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s onwards
Further Comments: The farm stands in the corner of the site nicknamed the 'UK Pentagon' and is reputedly home to strange figures and sounds. As a side note, it has been claimed that the MoD's Filton Abbey has crocodile infested waters.

Pale Lady

Location: Bristol - Stapleton Manor House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1854
Further Comments: Wearing a nightdress and cap, this shade was seen for several nights, moving silently through bolted doors.

Roundhead

Location: Bristol - Stapleton Woods
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This phantom figure approaches unsuspecting witnesses as if trying to say something - he then proceeds to walk straight through them.

Lost Labourer

Location: Bristol - The Severn Tunnel, between Bristol and Newport
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Killed during the construction of the tunnel, the worker's body was accidentally buried underneath tons of brick and concrete, and never found. The ghost is said to seek assistance in recovering his body.

Stooped Figure

Location: Bristol - Unidentified factory
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: July 1906
Further Comments: A night-watchman reported seeing a dark figure walking with a stoop, with a stump where his head should have been. The watchman, together with five others tried to engage the figure - one tried to hit it with a blade and others attempted a grapple, but nothing stopped the entity from passing on by.

Headless Horseman

Location: Bristol - University of Bristol and Tyndall, Avenue area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Students have reported seeing a headless horseman patrolling this area late at night.

Headless Nun

Location: Bristol - Black Castle public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century?
Further Comments: This pub is reputedly haunted by one or more headless nuns. Mild poltergeist phenomenon has also been reported in the building, as has the sighting of a ghostly little girl.

Disappearing Islands

Location: Bristol - Bristol Channel
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The islands which appear and disappear without warning are reported to be home to a race of immortals. The area has also been home to sea serpent reports.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel

Location: Bristol - British Empire and Commonwealth Museum (no longer open)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Brunel once had his office in the area which was dedicated to temporary exhibitions. The smell of his tobacco smoke and the steady pacing footsteps has unnerved several members of staff.

Grey Monk

Location: Bristol - Cathedral
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This figure is said to move between the cathedral and the nearby library.

Lady in Black

Location: Bristol - Clack Mill (demolished in 1937)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-1937
Further Comments: This dark clothed phantom appeared to a young boy living at the mill - the ghost left through a wall after attempting to have the lad follow it. The mill was also haunted by the shade of a man who hanged himself behind the building.

Old postcard of the Clifton Suspension Bridge.

Jumpers

Location: Bristol - Clifton Suspension Bridge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: The shades seen drifting around on the bridge are thought to belong to those who have jumped off, taking their own lives.

Executed Soldier

Location: Bristol - College Green
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Condemned to death and promptly executed for deserting an England/Scotland conflict, the trooper now drifts around the green in the early morning hours.

Roman

Location: Bristol - Coombe Dingle bridge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early twentieth century
Further Comments: One lady claimed to have seen the ghost of a Roman soldier several times in this area.

Morphing Shuck

Location: Bristol - Dead end lane in Hallen Bristol, next to the M49 bridge
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: 1908 and December 2004
Further Comments: The large black dog seen here in 1908 was seen to climb out from a hedge, before transforming into a donkey and standing on its hind legs. A very similar creature was seen in 2004, as it passed through a car, shaking the occupant.

Hudd

Location: Bristol - Deep Pit (colliery), Kingswood
Type: Post-Mortem Manifestation
Date / Time: 1880
Further Comments: At an inquest held after a miner named Hudd died in the pit, one witness stated that he had seen Hudd's ghost moments after his death, as it headed up an incline towards the bottom of the shaft.

Knight Templar

Location: Bristol - Fire Brigade Headquarters, Temple Back
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1975
Further Comments: This apparition appeared nine times during 1975. While one witness thought it looked like a man wearing waterproof clothing, others thought that the ghost's dress looked more medieval and speculated it may have been a Knight Templar, the organisation of which once owned lands around the city.

Woman in Brown

Location: Bristol - Former council flat, Horsefair
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Mid-twentieth century
Further Comments: Seen only once (but heard often), this phantom woman in brown was said to have an 'evil' face. Ghostly footsteps and strange tapping plagued the family here, with much of the activity centred around their baby's cot. The family were moved out after sound recordings picked up a constant metallic vibrating sound, which the council believed to be a health hazard.

Bearded Man

Location: Bristol - Former Vicarage next to All Saint's Church, Corn Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1840s
Further Comments: This figure dressed in ancient clothing was seen stalking the building at night, scaring the occupants, to such an extend on jumped out of a window to avoid the ghost. It is unclear whether this is the same entity as the black monk that also haunts the area.

Fairground Organ

Location: Bristol - Gardiner Haskins store (former soap factory)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2018
Further Comments: A few spooky events were documented in the local press, including the music from a fairground organ, a disembodied male voice, and the fleeting sighting of a Victorian woman dressed in white. A poltergeist was blamed for moving pots of paint around the site.

Charlie

Location: Bristol - Greyhound Hotel (no longer standing - replaced by the Galleries Shopping Centre)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The hotel which once stood here was said to be haunted by a ghost named Charlie. It is not known whether the spook now frequents the new building on site, the Galleries Shopping Centre.

PR Stunt

Location: Bristol - Harbour
Type: Other
Date / Time: December 2013
Further Comments: A luminescent 'creature', thought by some to be a squid or a deep sea animal, filmed in Bristol harbour was later revealed to be a man-made device to promote a television show.

Child's Footsteps

Location: Bristol - Hatchett Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This inn, possibly the oldest in Bristol, is supposed to be haunted by fifteen ghosts, including a ghostly child who can be heard walking around. Local folklore says the front door of the inn has a layer of human skin beneath the paint.

Luftwaffe Officer

Location: Bristol - Hengrove Park
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Left over from a Second World War aircraft crash, this airman still wanders around the park trying to figure out where he is.

Stomping

Location: Bristol - House (no longer standing) which was constructed on the site of St Philip's churchyard
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This phantom was said to be a heavy footed man who would occasionally stomp around the site. Some of the building materials used on the house consisted of gravestones, and this was touted as a reason for the haunting.