The Paranormal Database

Large Cat

Location: Ipswich - A12 bypass near Ipswich
Type: ABC
Date / Time: 1996
Further Comments: Part of a rash of sightings of ABCs in and around the Ipswich area during 1996, and that have continued well into the 2000s.

Smoky Man

Location: Ipswich - A12 heading towards Orwell Bridge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: November 2013
Further Comments: A driver watched a pillar of smoke rise and form the shape of a young man. The driver believed that the figure was someone who had died nearby.

Nocturnal Light

Location: Ipswich - A12 towards Woodbridge, after Orwell Bridge
Type: UFO
Date / Time: 1990s
Further Comments: A family driving home one night watched as a bright light manoeuvred around the sky, before disappearing vertically into the clouds at a fantastic speed.

Man in Grey

Location: Ipswich - Belvedere Road / Cemetery Lane junction
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 18 December 2012, 08:50h
Further Comments: A driver braked as a man in dark grey clothing and a trilby-like hat stepped out in front of their car. The driver then realised the man had vanished, with no means of passing without the driver seeing. The figure may have also been spotted by a dog walker, who reported a man in old fashioned clothing who tipped his hat before disappearing.

Birkfield Drive, Ipswich.

Large Cat

Location: Ipswich - Birkfield Drive
Type: ABC
Date / Time: Mid 2010s
Further Comments: A man walking home late had encountered a handful of police searching the edge of a small, wooded area. He asked the closest police officer if everything was okay, only to be told that they had had a report of a large black cat in this location and were searching for it.

The Black Horse.

Glass Pusher

Location: Ipswich - Black Horse Pub
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: February 2023
Further Comments: CCTV caught a glass moving across the table before falling to the floor. The pub is reputedly haunted, and local stories say a smuggling tunnel once ran from the cellar to a nearby church.

Christchurch Mansion, Ipswich.

Sweeping Female Figure

Location: Ipswich - Christchurch Mansion
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Summer 1995, and prior
Further Comments: Pictures on the walls have been seen turning themselves, while a female witness with her daughter watched a Victorian woman walk by them, passing through a closed glass door. A much older report stated that the mansion was haunted by a maid with two children, who laughed and danced around the building. Prior to the Second World War, a witness spotted a grey lady wandering around the park close to the mansion.

Teapot Smasher

Location: Ipswich - Coffee shop along St Margaret's Street (no longer operational)
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: November 1950
Further Comments: Over the period of a week, eleven members of staff witnessed cups, plates, and a teapot smashed by an unseen hand. On one occasion, a police officer watched a cup roll down the staircase. A C Henning, famed for his involvement in the Borley Rectory case, came to investigate (his conclusion is not known).

Princes Street, Ipswich.

Walking

Location: Ipswich - Community building (no longer operating), Princes Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2010s
Further Comments: Staff working late at night in the building would occasionally hear footsteps and whistling from empty parts of the building.

Staring Woman

Location: Ipswich - Crown Hotel, 346 Felixstowe Road (no longer operating)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2010
Further Comments: The face of a woman looks down from the window in bedroom 2, even though the room is empty. Mild poltergeist activities have also been reported, the piano has been heard playing itself, and a crashing sound, as of a wardrobe falling over, also reported.

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.