The Paranormal Database

Frances

Location: Knowle - Grimshaw Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1960s?
Further Comments: Murdered in a bedroom within the hall, Frances was killed by an over jealous boyfriend. Her pale shade still haunts that room.

George

Location: Leamington - Brookhurst (demolished 1960), on site of Leamington Golf Club
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-1960
Further Comments: Workmen demolishing this old house reported that 'something' was trying to stop them. Brookhurst had a history of hauntings, from the sounds of a large bird-like creature flying around to phantom footsteps and doors which unlocked themselves.

Gaveston

Location: Leek Wootton - Blacklow Hill and area around Gaveston's Cross
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Nineteenth century?
Further Comments: Piers Gaveston was murdered on this site in 1312. A local legend claimed strange sounds filled the air after dark, and that at midnight, bells would be heard moments before a ghostly man riding a horse manifested.

Woman in Black

Location: Lighthorne - Bridge in the village
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 29 December 1996
Further Comments: Said to be a potent of ill omen, this semi-transparent woman wearing a flowing black dress was seen pointing at the rectory.

Tall Man in Black

Location: Lighthorne Heath - B4100, near Harwoods House roundabout
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000
Further Comments: A motorcyclist watched a tall, thin man in a black robe cross the road ahead of him. The figure carried a stick over his shoulder with a bundle tied to the end.

Long Black Cat

Location: Lighthorne Heath - Leam Road area
Type: ABC
Date / Time: May 2006
Further Comments: One man watched a long black cat walk from the basketball court, some one hundred metres away, towards him. The creature stopped its approach around fifteen metres distant and watched the witness for a few minutes before walking off towards the lower village of Lighthorne across National Trust land.

Landlord

Location: Lillington - Jack and Jill Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s
Further Comments: A former owner of the inn was said to haunt the cellar.

One Handed Boughton

Location: Little Lawford - Little Lawford Hall (no longer standing)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This pesky spook, thought to be a member of the Boughton family who had lost his hand, had to be trapped in a bottle by a team of exorcists after the newer landowners found him too much to tolerate. The bottle was thrown into a water filled claypit, although was later recovered and taken to nearby Brownsover Hall for safe keeping. One Handed Boughton has been named as responsible for the high number of phantom coach sightings which occur in Warwickshire.

Stone Witch

Location: Long Compton - Church
Type: Other
Date / Time: Tomb still present
Further Comments: A tombstone in the church is said to be either a petrified witch, or someone a witch turned to stone. Visitors are supposed to be able to feel the stone staring at them as they circumambulate the church.

Headless Horses

Location: Long Compton - Long Compton Hill
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Weather dependent: After a storm
Further Comments: A coach pulled by six headless horses is said to travel up the hill. There are also vague reports of a shuck-like dog that runs in the same area. Another ghost, that of a scary old woman with matted black hair, was also reported here in 1973.

Partying

Location: Long Lawford - Lawford Arms public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A guest staying at the pub was awoken by the sounds of partying in the bar - he decided to go and join the festivities, but upon opening the bar door found the area empty and once again silent.

Murder and Witchcraft

Location: Lower Quinton - General area of village
Type: Other
Date / Time: See main text
Further Comments: Charles Walton was murdered on 14 February 1945, a cross slashed across his chest and a pitchfork through his neck that pinned him to the ground. Many believe the crime related to witchcraft - Charles has regarded as a local 'wise man' who spoke to animals. The police investigation failed to find his killer(s), and their investigation further hampered when the officer leading the case reported seeing a black dog; the locals took this to be a sign of bad luck and said no more.

Hill Creation

Location: Lower Quinton - Meon Hill
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Seventh century?
Further Comments: Upset by the building of the Evesham Abbey, Old Nick threw a lump of dirt at it, but the prayers of Saint Egwin deflected the missile. The projectile ended up many miles away, becoming Meon Hill.

Footsteps

Location: Lower Quinton - Military residence, Bastyan Avenue (may no longer stand)
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: September - October 1971
Further Comments: One occupant heard footsteps walking up the stairs and into her children's bedroom. When the bedroom light was turned on, the footsteps ceased. A presence continued to be felt on the staircase, electrical items switched themselves on, and a handprint which appeared on a bedroom wall could not be removed, even when scrubbed.

Cave Dwellers

Location: Lulsley - Osebury Rock (aka Oseberrow Rock, aka Rosebury Rock)
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The fairy folk here would hide in a cave close by. They were a helpful sort and rewarded any mortal who assisted them in repairs or tracking down lost items.

An AI's version of Boudica.

Boudica's Last Stand

Location: Mancetter - General area
Type: Legend
Date / Time: First century AD
Further Comments: The village of Mancetter is one of the likely places where Boudicca fought her last battle against the Romans, a fight that cost the Iceni 80,000 men, women, and children.

Grey Ladies

Location: Napton on the Hill - Church
Type: Post-Mortem Manifestation
Date / Time: 1960s
Further Comments: While two ghostly Elizabethan ladies traditionally haunt the area, the 1960s sighting of an older lady relates to a woman thought to have died locally about twenty years previous.

Dick Turpin reputedly haunts several sites across the UK

Highwayman

Location: Nuneaton - A5 between town and Hinckley (Watling Street)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1926 (wearing jacket), February 1927 (riding horseback), 1979 (shimmering shape)
Further Comments: One version of this tale says that, wearing a jacket with sleeves of bright crimson, a phantom highwayman lurks along the roadside with a tricorn hat hiding the face. Another version names him as Dick Turpin and when last seen, the phantom rode his horse across common land. It may have been the same entity seen in 1979, reduced to a shimmering shape which swirled like water. The witness to this event had an accident close to the spot later in the day.

Bloody Handprints

Location: Nuneaton - Attleborough Hall (demolished 1932)
Type: Other
Date / Time: Pre 1932
Further Comments: A pair of bloodied handprints could be seen imprinted on the front step of the hall. The stone step was removed and replaced, but the prints soon returned.

Older Woman

Location: Nuneaton - Bull's Head public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A former landlord watched an older woman in Victorian clothing walk through a wall.

Dave

Location: Nuneaton - Coniston Tavern
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: April 2023
Further Comments: A ghost named Dave found himself blamed when a pint of lager exploded on a table, covering the customers with liquid. A few months previous on the same table, another pint glass had slid on to the floor unaided by human hand.

Lord Hop trapped in a bottle.

Lord Hop

Location: Nuneaton - Dun Cow Inn (demolished 1957)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1800s
Further Comments: The ghost of Lord Hop found itself exorcised and banished into a bottle, which in turn was thrown into a clay pit. Unfortunately, when the pit dried out, curious locals opened the bottle; Lord Hop returned and took up residence in the Dun Cow Inn.

Grey Man

Location: Nuneaton - Field along Ashley Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 18 October 2015, 07:30h
Further Comments: While walking the dog, a witness spotted the dark grey outline of a man walking behind a hedge. When the witness approached, the man vanished.

Mail Coach

Location: Nuneaton - Oaston Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown (but said to appear at midnight)
Further Comments: An old, pre mid-twentieth century story says a ghostly mail coach rattled along this road at midnight.

Moved Items

Location: Nuneaton - Private residence, Camp Hill Estate
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1972
Further Comments: Poltergeist activity which involved items being relocated drove this family out of their home, despite a visit from a clergyman. The family moved to Stockingford.