The Paranormal Database

Mer-creature

Location: Unknown - Off coast
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: November 1750
Further Comments: A five foot (1.5 metre) long creature found in the sea was described as having a head like a dog, beard like a lion, tail of a fawn, and four hand-like fins. A contemporary account of the encounter stated the creature was most likely a bearded seal.

Anchor Inn, Walberswick.

Poltergeist

Location: Walberswick - Anchor Inn
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The Anchor Inn was once home to a noisy spirit. What happened to the entity is unclear.

Bell Inn, Walberswick.

Fisherman

Location: Walberswick - Bell Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1980s
Further Comments: The fisherman has been seen sitting in the smoking room of the public house, though it has not been recognised as a ghost until it has disappeared.

The coastal village of Walberswick, Suffolk.

The Walberswick Whistle

Location: Walberswick - General area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The strange high pitched sound known as the Walberswick Whistle is believed to emerge from a nearby group of holes, scaring animals and unnerving people. Different stories attribute the source of the noise to varying legends; the most likely candidate is the wind whipping around underground caverns, though some still believe the whistling are the screams of a woman who became lost in the caves deep below the village.

The river running through Walberswick.

Old Man and Boy waiting for Ferry

Location: Walberswick - Landing stage of river
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1950s
Further Comments: Observed by a woman in the 1950's, the young boy and an old man have been watched as they crossed the river on a ferry, disappearing as they entered an unnatural fog bank. They are supposed to have drowned a couple of hundred years ago, while crossing in similar circumstances.

Road running through Walberswick.

Phantom Dog, Calf Size

Location: Walberswick - Road between the Bell Hotel and the Vicarage, and the beach leading to Dunwich
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: 1500s onwards
Further Comments: For four hundred years, a black shuck has been reported in the area, local legend stating that it is the Devil incarnate. The creature has most been recently witnessed by two women during the 1980s; they reported seeing a large phantom dog, black in colour and the size of a calf.

The site of the old railway station, Walberswick.

Something Invisible

Location: Walberswick - Site of old railway line (aka Dead Man's Gully)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The area's history is unknown, but animals are known to become quite upset if forced to pass through the locality.

Vanishing Hound

Location: Walberswick - Unknown hut (may no longer exist), marshes
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: 1940s
Further Comments: An American airman and his wife staying in a property by the marsh found the site under attack from a large black dog. As a storm raged, the hound continued to throw itself against the building for several hours. As the day broke and the storm ceased, the occupants ventured out but found no evidence of the dog, not even a paw print in the mud.

Walberswick Church, Suffolk.

Victorian Church Warden

Location: Walberswick - Walberswick Church
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: 1930s, 1970s
Further Comments: Witnessed by George Orwell, a small and stooping figure dressed like a workman was seen silently crossing the churchyard, before disappearing from view. Orwell investigated further and realised that the figure had vanished. Others who have seen the figure have described him as dressed like a gentleman.

Walberswick Common, Suffolk.

Equine Entities

Location: Walberswick - Walberswick Common
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Daytime
Further Comments: Said to be heard only during the day, phantom horses gallop across the common. In addition, reports of a phantom man have been frequent since the 1940s, appearing both on the common and in the church ruins, while the Black Shuck is also said to occasionally make an appearance.

No Touching

Location: Walsham Le Willows - Gypsy's Grave, under oak tree along Hundred Lane
Type: Curse
Date / Time: Still present?
Further Comments: The rumoured curse on this grave prevented it from being disturbed by workers in the area.

White Figure

Location: Walsham Le Willows - The Avenue
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A white figure is said to flit along the avenue trees. As an aside, a secret tunnel is supposed to connect St Mary's Church to a local house.

Chainsaw Accident

Location: Walsham Le Willows - Tree (no longer standing), exact location not known
Type: Curse
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Warnings concerning a cursed tree were not taken seriously by one farmer, who took a chainsaw to it and died in the process.

Phantom Coach

Location: Wangford - SW of Thetford - Raydon Hall, Quay Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A coach pulled by a headless horse runs down Quay Lane on dark nights, believed to be driven by a former owner of Raydon Hall.

Lady in Long Silver Dress

Location: Wenhaston - Ruins of Westwood Lodge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Rumoured to be a site where witchcraft is still practised, the woman in a long silver dress is said to be one of many ghosts that haunt the area.

Monk

Location: Westerfield - Tree visible from public footpath between Westerfield and Ipswich
Type: Other
Date / Time: 1980s
Further Comments: A section of dead tree on a footpath running along a farmer's field resembled a monk; young people playing in the area would scare each other with stories about how a monk was hanged there.

Mary Rose Tudor

Location: Westhorpe - Westhorpe Lodge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: This building may contain the ghost of Henry VIII's sister.

Fairy Loaves

Location: Westleton - Common
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Circa nineteenth century
Further Comments: It was once believed that fossilised sea urchins that were found in a gravel pit here were loaves of bread made by fairies.

Witch's Stone

Location: Westleton - St Peter's Church
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: Standing by the chancel door, this stone is said to be used to summon the ghost of a witch. Any object placed in a hole in the wall above the stone would vanish after the owner ran around the church seven times, and the chinking of chains would echo around the area. Legend has it that grass will not grow in the area.

Clanking

Location: Westleton - Unnamed cottage next to churchyard
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Pre-1924
Further Comments: A couple living in the cottage would hear sounds coming from their garden that resembled a donkey with a clanking chain. When investigated, they could never find anything.

Walker

Location: Westleton - Westleton Walks
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Quite possibly a story invented by smugglers in bygone days, a phantom is said to aimlessly traverse the area.

Crop Curse

Location: Wetherden - Field between Wetherden and Woolpit
Type: Curse
Date / Time: Still present?
Further Comments: Robert Rosier was burnt to death in this field in 1556 by a former friend; since that day, no one has been able to raise a successful harvest in that pasture.

Yellow Frog Fall

Location: Wetheringsett - General area
Type: Other
Date / Time: 1900
Further Comments: Described as either yellow or dull green, these frogs rained down upon the town.

Four Sisters

Location: Wherstead - Four Sisters (A14/A137 junction)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s?
Further Comments: Local folklore claims that four sisters committed suicide here and have remained ever since.

White Shadow

Location: Wickham Market - Deben Court
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: A tale states that children were buried in the walls of the building, and that their shades remain. A taller figure has been seen on the site also.