The Paranormal Database

An old postcard of Hindhead.

Sailor

Location: Hindhead - Close to gibbet at the Devil's Punchbowl
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 24 September 1971
Further Comments: While driving through the area, one man spotted a figure in tattered clothing stagger across the beam of the car's headlights and disappear into the punchbowl. The witness later returned to the area and found a memorial stone to the unknown sailor, murdered in the area in September 1786.

Impact Crater

Location: Hindhead - Devil's Punchbowl
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: One legend says that the punchbowl was created after the Devil leapt into Surrey to avoid sunrise. Another story says Old Nick accidently created the punchbowl while throwing clods of earth at Thor, while a third tale states that the Isle of Wight was created after a giant scooped out the punchbowl and threw the earth at a rival (who he missed).

Marching Man

Location: Horley - A23, near the Cambridge Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: March 2007, around 21:00h
Further Comments: A driver braked hard to avoid hitting an elderly man who stepped out in front of him. The man was in his seventies, was slim and walked very upright, as if marching. He wore a flat cap, tweed jacket and petrol blue trousers. The driver thought he had left the braking too late and expected to hit the figure, but when the car stopped, the old man was nowhere to be seen.

Marching Troops

Location: Horley - Thunderfield Castle and Haroldslea Drive area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 11 November (reoccurring)
Further Comments: A phantom bell begins to toll as the sun sets here, slowly growing louder until midnight comes and a small army of men pass through the area. The castle is said to have been a resting place for King Harold's men as they marched to Hastings.

Man with Rucksack

Location: Horsell Woods - Path leading to a pond
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: July 1994
Further Comments: A witness reported seeing this entity walking in front of her, its legs cut off below the knee.

Former Captain

Location: Isleworth - Unnamed house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: January 1963
Further Comments: A phantom older man in a naval uniform and sporting a beard took up residence here and drove the residents out. When they later returned, the haunting appeared to have ceased and they were never troubled again.

Nun

Location: Kenley - Abbots Lane & Hayes Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: This religious figure has been observed several times over the years. It may be the same entity that some have reported as a woman holding a young child. This latter shade is said to be looking for the village of Watendone, which no longer exists.

Man in 1930's Clothing

Location: Kenley - Road bridge that crosses the railway line near the station
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: October 1994, evening
Further Comments: While walking home, a witness spotted this phantom gentleman walking towards the railway station. The entity appeared to be deep in thought, and as it reached the station, suddenly stopped before dissolving away.

Eric Toombe

Location: Kenley - The Welcomes farmhouse, Hayes Lane
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: 1923
Further Comments: Eric's mother dreamed that she saw her son's body hidden down a well. The vision was so vivid that word was sent to the police, who were investigating Eric's old friend and business partner for fraud. The police discovered a well on farmland and a body was pulled from the site; the body was identified as Eric, murdered by his former friend.

Bad Word

Location: Kingston - Unidentified shop, Market Place
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: September 1875
Further Comments: Over the course of a week, mops, buckets, and other items were disturbed within the shop. Windows were also broken by stones, and the word 'bad' written on the staircase. The shop had been partly built on an old graveyard, so the haunting was suspected to have some connection to its locale, although stones were thrown at other properties in the area.

Alfred Batten

Location: Kingston upon Thames - Portland Avenue and surrounding area
Type: Other
Date / Time: Circa January 1899
Further Comments: After several ghost sightings were reported in this area, police set up a watch and caught a man by the name of Alfred Batten who wore 'ghostly garments'. Batten was fined ten shillings.

Breathing

Location: Kingston upon Thames - The Liverpool Arms public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1979
Further Comments: The ghost here has been heard breathing in several places around the building.

Woman in Black

Location: Kingswood - Old Vicarage
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The vicarage and the surrounding land are said to be the haunt of a ghostly woman wearing black.

Cloaked Figure

Location: Laleham - Park
Type: Other
Date / Time: October 1982, between 00:00h and 01:15h
Further Comments: Attracted out of a car by a bright light which no other occupant could see, one witness stepped behind a tree only for the light to vanish. The car he had arrived in drove off. Left in the dark, the witness spotted what he a first thought was a large dog with its head in a bush. The 'dog' then backed out of the bush and stood up - the witness realising it was a figure standing over six foot (180 centimetres) tall. The figure wore a cloak, tall boots, and hat. The witness did not move as the figure walked towards him and passed through the witness before disappearing. The witness fled the scene and returned to the car containing his friends, although the car had driven past him several times before stopping. The driver and other occupants later claimed they initially driven away after watching a nun-like figure walk through a wall, and that were unable to see their friend in the park, even though he should have been illuminated in the car's lights.

Former Monk

Location: Leatherhead - St Mary and St Nicholas parish church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early 1950s
Further Comments: An older church worker told the sexton that a monk-like figure had passed through the church and disappeared through a bricked up doorway in the north wall. The sexton claimed that footsteps would follow him while walking up the aisle, ceased upon reaching the chancel. Another story claimed a Victorian woman would occasionally appear in the organ loft, looking for the organist who died too bashful to declare his love for her.

Tall Woman

Location: Leatherhead - Swan Corner
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1930-1931
Further Comments: A tall phantom woman was seen by several drivers as she stood in the middle of the road. She would vanish a few seconds later. One speeding truck driver was convinced he had hit and killed a real woman, until he stopped and searched the area for a body - there was none. A few months later, this woman was replaced by a ghostly nurse who lay sprawled out in the road. As with the previous phantom, she would disappear a few seconds after being seen.

Widow

Location: Leigh - Leigh Place (private house)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This woman remarried after her husband's death, only to discover that her new partner had murdered him.

Danes

Location: Leith Hill - Area around Anstiebury hillfort
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The site of a battle where the Saxons engaged the Danes is said to be haunted by matching soldiers from both camps.

Red Adder

Location: Leith Hill - Chalk hills in the area
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Nineteenth century
Further Comments: The snake known as the Red Adder was said to be the colour of burning coals and anyone bitten would die.

Grey Shape

Location: Limpsfield - Private flat along St Andrews Way
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: July 2006
Further Comments: A grey shape creating a whooshing sound was spotted by one man - it moved away and vanished into the wall leading to the kitchen. It was speculated that it was related to the old mill that once stood on the site.

Homeless Girl

Location: Limpsfield - The Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The story goes that the phantom girl once haunted the New Hall, but when it was demolished in the eighteenth century, the spirit moved out and now drifts around the area near the church.

Shadowy Man

Location: Lingfield - Colboys (private house), Hare Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s
Further Comments: A shadowy man and a less shy female form have both been reported in and around the property, though both are described as non-threatening.

Young Boy

Location: Lingfield - Greyhound Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1976
Further Comments: A visiting medium reported seeing a boy of about eight years of age, dressed in grey. The inn had previous problems with items which would vanish and people reporting being touched by invisible hands.

Female Figure

Location: Lingfield - Puttenden Manor
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The master bedroom here is home to a ghost of a female figure who smells strongly of perfume. There are also reports of heavy footsteps and the slight whiff of pipe tobacco.

Motorbike

Location: Milford - A3, Milford Junction
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 6 November 2010, around 20:00h
Further Comments: An off duty police officer driving home was forced to brake and swerve to avoid an oncoming motorcycle on the wrong side of the road. Seconds after stopping the driver looked into his mirrors but there was nothing to be seen. The driver also remembered looking to the right as he swerved, seeing the headlight from the side but the rest of the bike was not visible.