The Paranormal Database

The Stag Inn in Brighton.

Albert

Location: Brighton - The Stag Inn, Upper Bedford Street, Kemp Town
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The locals named him Albert; this tall man once made frequent appearances wearing a large apron, though it would now appear he has disappeared for good.

Theatre Royal, Brighton.

Sarah Bernhardt

Location: Brighton - Theatre Royal
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: August 1982
Further Comments: This nineteenth century French actress has a habit of walking down corridors, pushing people out of the way if they step in front of her. The wall into which she disappears is reportedly a bricked up doorway where her dressing room once stood. The site is also reputed to be haunted by a doorman and the former owner Ellen Nye, who manifests as a grey lady.

Black Skull

Location: Brighton - Toronto Terrace
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A resident here reported waking at 3am to find a small skull levitating in front of her - it was so black that it stood out from the darkness of the unlit bedroom.

Unease

Location: Brighton - Unnamed flat in Kempton area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1999
Further Comments: A couple reported moving from their flat after a six month period, during which they experienced dread, anxiety and the presence of something evil.

Blind Beggar

Location: Brighton - Victoria Gardens
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1960s
Further Comments: The figure of a man in rags with empty eye sockets has been seen shuffling around this neighbourhood.

Volks Tavern in Brighton.

Blonde Woman

Location: Brighton - Volks Tavern, Madeira Drive
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Seen dancing within this tavern, the blonde woman was speculated to once have haunted the ruined West Pier.

Brighton's Black Lion Lane.

Sheet Removal

Location: Brighton - Private residence, Black Lion Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1995-1997
Further Comments: In what could be explained by sleep paralysis, it was reported that in one room of this property, bed sheets were whipped off one person's bed. A few months later and in the same room, another witness heard footsteps and felt someone climb into bed - the witness leapt out and turned on the light, but nothing was there. Author Robert Marks has recently written that the location is still haunted, and that an old sea captain sits in a living room chair.

Brighton's Devonshire Place.

Old Lady

Location: Brighton - Private residence, Devonshire Place
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1980s
Further Comments: It was reported that a child who would talk to an old lady in her bedroom found out many years later that the woman was not a friend of her mothers, like she had assumed, but was most likely the ghost of a previous occupant.

Footsteps

Location: Brighton - Private residence, Kemptown
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Early 1990s
Further Comments: While living at this property, the family experienced doors which opened and closed unaided, the sound of footsteps after dark, and pictures which inexplicably fell from walls.

Montpelier Road in Brighton.

Footsteps in the Attic

Location: Brighton - Private residence, Montpelier Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s
Further Comments: An occupant of this residence would hear footsteps moving around the empty attic room on this site. On one occasion, three people heard a strange voice with an asexual timbre call out to one of the witnesses by name.

Stone Street in Brighton.

Booted Footsteps

Location: Brighton - Private residence, Stone Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2008-2009
Further Comments: After moving into this property, the occupiers soon encountered a door which would bust open every night without reason. Booted footsteps would be heard ascending the staircase, the smell of cigarette smoke would fill the air and men's voices heard coming from the empty living room.

Face on the Wall

Location: Brighton - Private residence, Woodingdean
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Mid-1970s to early 1980s
Further Comments: Several happenings led the occupiers to believe their home was haunted, including the manifestation of a face on a wall, the sensation of someone sitting on a bed, items moving on a table, and a photograph which showed a strange bald head in the middle of the living room.

Woman in Green

Location: Brighton - Private residence, Wykeham Terrace, Dyke Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1980s onwards?
Further Comments: This phantom middle aged woman wearing a green dress is said to have been observed through a window. The figure appears to be reading, and she fades away after being seen.

Brighton's Pump House pub.

Woman in Black

Location: Brighton - Pump House public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century?
Further Comments: A barmaid spotted a woman in black standing at the bar and spoke to her - the figure faded away. When the building is closed, footsteps and voices have been heard by witnesses working in the cellar, although when investigated, no one is found.

Queens Road Rest Garden in Brighton.

Monk

Location: Brighton - Queens Road Rest Garden, Brighthelm
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1960s
Further Comments: A group of boys in the garden were left unnerved after encountering this cowled phantom.

Man in Long Cloak

Location: Brighton - Queens Road, former location of Clocktower Antiques
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: May 2002
Further Comments: This ghostly figure appeared quite frequently as the deadline neared to the demolition of Clocktower Antiques. Occupants of neighbouring buildings also reported hearing noises coming from rooms that were empty.

Brighton's Regency Tavern.

Tall, Thin Woman

Location: Brighton - Regency Tavern, Russell Square
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This figure, possibly a former landlady and seemingly made of misty material, drifted through a startled barman. The entity may have been responsible for the brief outbreak of poltergeist activity that occurred earlier in the twentieth century, or alternatively it could be attributed to the ghost of a young disabled girl who jumped from a window.

The Rottingdean Club in Brighton.

Cary Grant

Location: Brighton - Rottingdean Club
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1987 onwards
Further Comments: In life, Cary was said to have made several bids on this club, as he fell head over heels in love with it. However, it has been claimed that the story of Grant haunting of the site is little more than a publicity stunt.

Brighton's Royal Albion Hotel.

Man behind the Bed

Location: Brighton - Royal Albion Hotel, Old Steine (destroyed by fire, July 2023)
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: 2010
Further Comments: One witness staying in this flat watched a male figure pass behind the bed and cross the room. The hotel was said to be haunted by Sir Harry Preston.

Former Worker

Location: Brighton - Royal Mail Delivery Centre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: One pre 1988, other unknown
Further Comments: Two ghosts were said to haunt this site. One was said to be a postal worker and would appear in the basement, but he has not been seen since the site was renovated in 1988. The second was another worker which was said to manifest in the main building.

Brighton's Royal Pavilion, Sussex.

Martha Gunn

Location: Brighton - Royal Pavilion
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Between the two world wars (Gunn)
Further Comments: The ghost of an older-looking grey lady was seen in the Royal Pavilion flitting around examining banquet tables. The man who witnessed the spectre gave chase but was unable to catch the entity. After looking through some old documents, the witness identified the ghost as Martha Gunn, a celebrated 'dipper' (an eighteenth century person who operated a small, wooden hut on wheels to take people down to the sea). The Prince Regent who would later become King George IV, is also reported to walk inside his former home.

Snaking Lights

Location: Burgess Hill - London Road area
Type: UFO
Date / Time: September 1995, 08 July 2017
Further Comments: A married couple, along with other witnesses, observed five circular lights in the sky. The lights were different colours and 'snaked' for a few minutes before all turning white and shooting off in different directions. Twenty-two years later a witness heard a 'TV white noise' sound emerging from the sky which lasted around 20 minutes.

Boomerang

Location: Burgess Hill - Royal George Road
Type: UFO
Date / Time: 1994 or 1995
Further Comments: While outside, a male witness heard aircraft engines and looked to the sky. He watched a 737 appear briefly in the gap of the clouds, closely followed by another craft which was twice the size of the recognisable airplane. The latter craft was boomerang shaped with squared wing tips and dark grey or black in colour. After disappearing into the clouds, the witness did not see either craft again.

Last Home

Location: Burpham - Harrow Hill
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The last fairies in England are said to have resided here, until chased away in the 1900's by archaeologists.

Rudyard Kipling

Location: Burwash - Bateman's house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: The ghost of Kipling reportedly haunts his study. His fleeting shade was also seen standing by flowers in the garden.