The Paranormal Database

Dean Court Hotel, York.

Roman Soldier

Location: York - Dean Court Hotel, Duncombe Place
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Reported to walk around the hotel, this phantom may have also been spotted by a trio of guests in their bathroom mirror.

The old Debtors Prison in York.

Mary Bateman

Location: York - Debtors Prison
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The ghost of Mary Bateman would appear during the witching hour and could have been the entity that became well known for playing pranks on prisoners.

Lady

Location: York - Drake's Fish and Chip Restaurant
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: April 2021
Further Comments: A phantom woman was reported to haunt the third floor of this building. The local press reported that the ghost was consulted when redevelopment work was carried out on the site in 2021.

Human Shape

Location: York - Dun Cow public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 31 August 1977
Further Comments: While on honeymoon, a woman awoke to see the shape of a tall person by the window. The shape appeared to be made up of small pulsating balls of light. The figure suddenly disappeared.

Phantom Hand

Location: York - Earl Grey Tea Rooms, Shambles
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: July 2016
Further Comments: One visitor reported on Trip Advisor that they had felt a child's hand grab them while in the lady's toilet, although nothing was there. Another story says a phantom older man sits at a corner table.

The River Ouse running through York.

Pale Figure

Location: York - Edge of the River Ouse
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 01 May (reoccurring) (legend), ghost unknown
Further Comments: Thought to be the shade of a drowned person, this figure drifts around the banks of the river. Another piece of folklore says that a person drops five white pebbles into the river when the Minster clock chimes one in the morning during the first of May, they see their past, present and future.

First Hussar pub, York.

Caped Man

Location: York - First Hussar public house, North Street
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: A small team of men working through the night to complete a painting and decorating job all reported seeing a ghostly man dressed in a cape, who vanished through a wall.

Five Lions pub, York.

Green Jenny

Location: York - Five Lions public house (now Watergate Inn)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early twentieth century
Further Comments: This figure has not been seen for many years, and her history is all but forgotten.

Walking

Location: York - Fordington Lodge, outside of the city
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Haunted by an unknown entity, the sounds of footsteps were often heard crossing the living room floor. Doors sometimes opened themselves, and once a sofa moved itself away from the wall, before moving back a few seconds later.

Baker and Soldiers

Location: York - Former toy shop just inside Roman Gate
Type: Other
Date / Time: Circa 1978/79
Further Comments: Late at night, a woman approached the toy shop window to look at a teddy bear. At the window, the woman entered a dream-like state - she 'became' a large male baker covered in flour working within the shop and looking out she could see Roman soldiers walking past.

The Foss Bridge in York.

Shrouded Woman

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

Highwayman

Location: York - Four All's public house, A64
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 06 November 2006, 23:45h
Further Comments: A driver returning home from work reported passing a figure on horseback, dressed in highwayman's clothing, by the outside wall of the pub. When the witness looked in his rear view mirror, the figure had vanished. There is a local belief that the highwayman is Dick Turpin, and sightings of the highwayman are said to go back to the mid-twentieth century. A sandstone cave in the area is said to have been one of Turpin's hideouts.

Stuck in a Cupboard

Location: York - Grimston Lodge, road from City to Hull
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This entity can be heard tapping on cupboard doors throughout the building - when the doors are opened the noise halts.

Guido

Location: York - Guy Fawkes Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The birthplace of Guy 'Guido' Fawkes is perhaps unsurprisingly haunted by the man himself, although what form he takes is not really known. Two children who died of cholera are also reputed to lurk around the site.