The Paranormal Database

Large Man

Location: York - Judge's Court, off Coney Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: This unknown figure is heard jangling prior to appearing - his broken spur betraying his position.

Child Crying

Location: York - Lamb and Lion public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2010s
Further Comments: The sound of a child crying has been reported upstairs, even when no child has been present. Doors are also said to close unaided by human hand.

Mad Alice Lane, York.

Executed Alice

Location: York - Mad Alice Lane (now Lund's Court)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Hanged here in 1825, her crime apparently only guilty of being 'mad', Alice drifts along the lane that once held her name. Another version of the story says she killed her abusive husband along the lane and was executed at the castle.

The Micklegate Bar Museum, York.

Sarah

Location: York - Micklegate Bar Museum
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The museum is currently home to the ghostly Sarah, who as a young girl lost her father's keys to the city. She dedicated the rest of her life to finding them, and on completion of the task dropped dead of old age. It is reported that her shade wanders the corridors victoriously rattling the keys.

Lord Stafford

Location: York - Middlethorpe area (was a field, which may longer exist)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: After 1385, last encounter not known
Further Comments: Upon a field in this area, Lord Stafford lost his life in a duel. His form continued to haunt the area for many years after his death, clad in his old military uniform.

Lady Mary

Location: York - Middlethrope Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: Lady Mary was murdered by her son and her phantom is now said to generate the feeling of nervousness in certain parts of the building.

Young Person

Location: York - Milthorpe School
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 24 March 2003
Further Comments: At least one student at the school has heard soft whisperings and seen a shadowy young person move quickly away from them.

The National Railway Museum, York.

Odd Spots

Location: York - National Railway Museum
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A sleeping car housed here is said to contain a strange presence, while the darkroom is also reportedly home to a ghostly presence.

Rustling Woman

Location: York - Netherby Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A female clad in a silken dress was once said to move noisily around the hall.

Old White Swan Inn, York.

Laughing Figures

Location: York - Old White Swan Inn, Goodramgate
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The haunting is said to be centred around one of the fireplaces and is variously described as a presence or a group of shadowy figures who laugh amongst themselves. One theory is that the entities are a group of catholic priests planning to escape to France, although whether their escape plan was successful is not known. The pub also featured in the local press in November 2018 after an unconvincing ghost photograph came to light.

The Good Musician

Location: York - Passageway once known as Beedham's Court, off Skeldergate
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A small band of musicians were performing around the city when they found themselves joined by another unannounced member. He played the violin particularly well, and as the band completed a song standing by Beedham's Court, their new-found violinist vanished, leaving only the strong smell of brimstone.

Grey Lady

Location: York - Path towards Bootham Bar
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s, and 26 November 2016, 22:00h
Further Comments: While nicknamed the Grey Lady, all the stories associated with this phantom nun place her in a brown habit, although her hair was said to be grey. Seen in daylight hours during the 1970s, her more recent encounter occurred at night, where the witness and the nun locked eyes before she faded away.

Grey Nun

Location: York - Petergate Bar area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Bricked up alive for her sins, this ghostly nun has been seen in a few buildings in the area including the York Arms (where she appeared in the male toilets).

The Principal's House, York.

Lady in Green

Location: York - Principal's House and the King's Manor, Exhibition Square
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The female ghost which haunts the Principal's House is said to be either Anne Boleyn or Catherine Howard, dressed in a green dress and carrying roses. The ghost of a monk frequents the King's Manor. The sounds of wounded men can sometimes be heard here - the building was used as a makeshift hospital during the Civil War.

Priest

Location: York - Private residence along North Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1978-1986
Further Comments: If a lamp were placed in the corner of a particular room, it would switch itself off. A pet cat would stare into the corner also. A neighbour said that as the resident left the property, a man dressed like an old fashioned priest would appear and follow them as they left the site and walk down the lane.

Scratching

Location: York - Private residence, Long Close Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: March 2017
Further Comments: Several news outlets reported that a mother and her child were driven out of this property by something that scratched them and hid their belongings.

Punchbowl pub, York.

Burnt Landlord

Location: York - Punchbowl public house, Micklegate Bar
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A landlord who burnt to death in a fire haunts one of the bedrooms and the cellar, while the shade of a woman who died of a broken heart has also been observed on site.

Old Fashioned Cyclist

Location: York - Road outside York Minster
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Easter 2008
Further Comments: Three children witnessed two adults narrowly avoid being hit by a cyclist wearing old fashioned clothing on an old fashioned bicycle. However, the cyclist was not seen at all by the adults.

Roman Bath pub, York.

Splashing

Location: York - Roman Bath public house, St. Sampson's Square
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: From the old baths located below this pub, phantom splashing can sometimes be heard.

Footsteps

Location: York - Shop along High Ousegate
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 30 November 2015
Further Comments: While in the stockroom, a worker heard faint knocking and footsteps coming up the staircase. The door handle turned but the door did not open, as if someone behind the door was going to enter but had changed their mind. The worker immediately opened the door, ready to make the person on the other side jump, but no one was there.

The Shrine of Margaret Clitherow, York.

Unearthly Peace

Location: York - Shrine of Margaret Clitherow, The Shambles
Type: Other
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: Margaret Clitherow was a Catholic tortured to death for refusing to renounce her religious practices. This building, now a shrine, is said to be remarkably peaceful, even though it stands along a busy road. It is worth noting that this building is not Margaret's former home - her house is on the opposite side of the road.

The snickleways of York.

Barghest

Location: York - Side roads and snickleways in city
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This large black hound with red glowing eyes, known as Barghest, Barguist or Barguest, is said to prey on humans alone along the snickleways in the city. The creature has also been spotted in the old castle area.

The Calmness

Location: York - Small graveyard along alleyway by the Cock and Bottle Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: The imprints of the old walls of a demolished church can still be seen on the grass - many have said that they feel a sense of calmness when standing inside the imprints.

Snickleway Inn, York.

Little Girl

Location: York - Snickleway Inn, Goodramgate (was the Angler's Arms public house)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Seen as she waits on the staircase, this entity is said to radiate peace and love. She met her death when a horse and cart delivering beer ran her over just outside the pub. The ghostly presence reported down in the basement is much more sinister and has been called evil by previous landlords. Finally, a phantom cat may rub itself against the legs of visitors.

Woman in a Shroud

Location: York - Spen Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This figure is reputed to leave St Crux and head towards Spen Lane via Colliergate where she vanishes. This may be the same ghost which leaves the same church but disappears at Foss Bridge.