The Paranormal Database

London Road in Ipswich.

Kangaroo

Location: Ipswich - London Road
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 12 September 2011, around 16:00h
Further Comments: A driver and passenger reported seeing a young kangaroo travelling along a busy Ipswich road.

Halberd Inn, Ipswich

Heartbeat

Location: Ipswich - McGinty's public house (now Halberd Inn)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Heart from twentieth century, girl in July 2004
Further Comments: If you place your ear on one of the walls of this Irish theme pub, one can hear the faint beating of a human heart. Maybe it was the same entity which once turned all the fuses off at a junction box, saving the landlord from electrocution. In 2004 a visitor staying at the pub awoke to see a little girl in the room, even though the only other person there was the publican. The faint outline of a bricked-up entrance to a tunnel can be seen in the cellar and is said to be part of an underground network of passageways which run beneath the town connecting various manor houses and the docks.

The home of an Ipswich poltergeist.

Plate Smasher

Location: Ipswich - Olde Tudor Cafe (no longer operating)
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Circa November 1950
Further Comments: Eleven members of staff witnessed the strange smashing of cups, plates and a teapot, thrown through the air by hands unseen. A C Henning, of Borley fame, was called in to investigate.

Spinning Lights

Location: Ipswich - Orwell Bridge and the A12 towards Felixstowe, and Nacton Road
Type: UFO
Date / Time: 26 August 2006, around 04:00h
Further Comments: Two dull, spinning lights followed a teenager driving across the bridge for several miles. The lights always remained in front of the car, turning at the same time as the driver. Several other witnesses reported seeing similar lights around the Nacton Road area at roughly the same time.

Teenager

Location: Ipswich - Pipers' Court
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s
Further Comments: This building is said to be haunted by the ghost of a teenager who died within. He appears on CCTV cameras but is not visible in the real world.

Pipers Vale, Ipswich.

Pale Figure

Location: Ipswich - Pipers Vale, aka The Lairs
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s, 2000s
Further Comments: This pallid person spotted standing around the area could be the phantom of one of many suicides which have occurred on the nearby Orwell Bridge. At least one witness has heard an invisible horse.

Small Child in Nightdress

Location: Ipswich - Private building along Waterford Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1960s
Further Comments: The appearance of a small child in a nightdress over this decade was also accompanied by strange noises and footsteps heard moving in the upper parts of the house. A mist with unidentifiable smell was also reported moving from room to room.

Young Boy

Location: Ipswich - Private residence along Felixstowe Road
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Winter 1989
Further Comments: A former occupier at this site recalled seeing a white, semi- transparent shape of a young boy with white or blonde hair. Though the clothing was hard to distinguish, the witness could clearly see the smiling face of the figure.

Old Man on Stairs

Location: Ipswich - Private residence along Skylark Lane
Type: Post-Mortem Manifestation
Date / Time: 1998 or 1999
Further Comments: A female witness alone in a house looked down from the landing to see a slim old man dressed in a 1930's suit and hat standing halfway up the stairs holding the banister while looking up at her. The man appeared 'real', but the witness knew he was not. He seemed to stare right through her as if looking at something else. The witness stared at him for what 'seemed like an eternity', trying to work out who or indeed what he was. Finally, the witness became unnerved and turned around to escape the scene - when she glanced back the man had vanished.

Lady in White

Location: Ipswich - Private residence, Lattice Avenue
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1978
Further Comments: Over a period of several months, different people spotted a former owner who took the form of a lady in white standing at the top of the staircase. Visitors would also say that they had seen someone peer into the lounge, even though no one had done so.

Videoed Orbs

Location: Ipswich - Private residence, Mottram Close
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: January 2012
Further Comments: The Evening Star newspaper reported that Lee and Michelle Markwell had experienced several strange occurrences in their home, including footsteps, electrical items turning themselves on, and feeling something brush past. The couple videoed 'orbs' in their home, mostly likely dust particles close to the lens. A paranormal team, Suffolk Paranormal Research, which investigated the site said the haunting was caused by an elderly farmer named William and Rachel, his sister.

Footsteps

Location: Ipswich - Private residence, Rosebery Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2002 onwards
Further Comments: Doors opened and footsteps could be heard climbing the stairs in this home. After a female form was spotted in one of the bedrooms, the house was exorcised by a church pastor.

Ipswich railway station.

Woman

Location: Ipswich - Railway station
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2013
Further Comments: Staff working in the early hours of the morning claim to have seen a woman in areas which should be empty. A feeling of unease is also present. The same female figure may have been seen in a mirror by cleaning staff. The sounds of children's laughter have also been reported. Nothing has been reported since the station was refurbished in 2016.

Little Girl

Location: Ipswich - 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 fell off shelves without reason.

Torso Reduced to Ash

Location: Ipswich - St Clement, Ipswich
Type: SHC
Date / Time: 1744
Further Comments: Grace Pett's burnt body was discovered in her house; other people living there were not aware of the fire that had killed her during the night.

Older Woman

Location: Ipswich - Street corner along Norwich Road
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Early 2010s
Further Comments: An upset child ran home and told his father that there was a ghostly, scary woman standing on a nearby street corner. The slightly sceptical father walked to the corner and was horrified to see the ghostly woman who looked at him before vanishing.

Roman

Location: Ipswich - The Dales, Dales Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1980s
Further Comments: Two children playing on this piece of parkland spotted a Roman soldier standing by a tree watching them. He vanished after a few seconds. A Roman burial site had been discovered nearby many years earlier.

Alfred

Location: Ipswich - The Rep public house (former theatre)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Frequently seen when this pub was still a theatre, a visit from Alfred was considered by the troupe to be a lucky omen. He would sit in the fourth or fifth row, silently watching performances.

The Woolpack, Ipswich.

Fred Speaking too Loudly

Location: Ipswich - The Woolpack Public house, Tuddenham Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: Once named Fred by locals, this shade was later identified as Admiral 'Grog' by a local medium. Local folklore says the pub was once an old smuggler's haunt with tunnels running to the dock and other nearby buildings.

Two Spinsters

Location: Ipswich - Tourist Information Centre (no longer operating), St Stephen's Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s onwards
Further Comments: Staff working at this building have reported two elderly sisters who once played the organ in the church before it closed and was reopened as a Tourist Information Centre. They are said to have died shortly after their beloved place of worship shut its doors permanently.

Area around Ipswich Pet Cemetery, which is no longer operational.

Big Black Cat

Location: Ipswich - Tuddenham Road (near pet cemetery (no longer present))
Type: ABC
Date / Time: June 1996
Further Comments: Seen by a car full of people as it crossed the road, the cat was as large as a tiger with a jet black coat. Locals were unconvinced and named a local dog as the likely explanation.

The Willis Building in Ipswich.

Walking

Location: Ipswich - Willis Buildings, Friars Street and Grey Friars Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s, 2010s
Further Comments: One former worker reported hearing footsteps in empty parts of the building and ascending the escalator when it was turned off for the night. The witness also reported hearing a disembodied scream, all during the 1990s. More recently it has been claimed that the building is haunted by a friar which appears after dark, although the person sharing the story admitted it may be just a tale to unnerve new employees.

The now closed Woolworths in Ipswich.

Stockroom Prankster

Location: Ipswich - Woolworths (no longer operating)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-2008
Further Comments: Staff would feel as if they were not alone in the stockroom and the door would occasionally slam shut and jam.

The Buttermarket Shopping Centre, Ipswich.

Monks

Location: Ipswich - WS Cowell's, now the site of the Buttermarket Centre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century (monk), 2016 (footsteps and keys)
Further Comments: While the Cowell's building stood here (a monastery was formally on the site), a few employees reported observing an old monk. Two women, on separate occasions, were supposed to have fainted after seeing the figure, and at least one man had fled during a night shift. Phantom footsteps were also heard in the factory, and perhaps more recently by a cleaner at work in the shopping centre, with the sound accompanied by jangling keys. A local legend says that hundreds of years ago, when the monastery was under attack, the occupants hid their treasure down a well on the site - it was never recovered and remains to this day.

Rector

Location: Ixworth - Ixworth Rectory
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1919 onwards
Further Comments: The Rector of the Parish during the First World War was said to have died of a broken heart after the mysterious disappearance of his wife. His spirit has been seen walking the rectory, usually by the latest Rector.