The Paranormal Database

Black Clad Figure

Location: Derby - Miss Selfridges clothing store
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: This entity, wearing a long black raincoat appears in this store before vanishing into a wall, only to reappear in MacDonald's.

A ghostly soldier walks through smoke.

Old Soldiers

Location: Derby - Normanton Barracks
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Squadies tell tales of seeing strange people in the newer buildings who vanish if approached, while outside a phantom horse and cart are occasionally seen.

Drink Obsessed

Location: Derby - O'lafferty's public house (once known as The George), Sadlergate
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: This entity, which enjoys switching the barrels off and causing general mischief, could be related to the thousand year old skull discovered in the basement.

Lady

Location: Derby - Old Vicarage, Wilmorton
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1950s
Further Comments: The owners of the house claimed to have seen a ghostly lady walking down the central corridor of this building.

Former Workers

Location: Derby - Pickford's House Museum
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A long dead gardener still walks along the lawns he once worked so hard on, while a woman haunts the kitchen. The child seen dancing in the house is thought to be a member of the Pickford family.

Slumped Man

Location: Derby - Private house along Derby Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1974
Further Comments: The haunting first came to light during a housewarming party, at which a visitor to the house spotted the body of a man slumped over a banister. The figure was seen again a bit later, reflected in the mirror in the bathroom. Doors would also unlock themselves.

Asian Man

Location: Derby - Private residence along Dexter Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1977
Further Comments: A family sold their house for less than market value to escape the haunting apparition of a young Asian man. An elderly woman was also seen, and crying heard from the attic.

Grey Lady

Location: Derby - Private residence, Canal Street (original residence since demolished)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 1951
Further Comments: A witness living in this house would hear the name 'Jack' be spoken as they lay in bed. On one occasion the witness awoke to see a woman in a grey laced dress standing in the room, laughing hysterically, her hands on her forehead. Muttered conversations and the sound of furniture being moved around could also be heard on the site.

Cloaked Figure

Location: Derby - Royal Hospital, built on site of Derby City Hospital
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: January 2009 (media reports), November 2011 (nurses)
Further Comments: Staff had reported seeing a figure wearing a black cloak in various parts of the new hospital, particularly around the morgue. While initially the media reported that an exorcism would take place, a later statement from the hospital denied this. Some believe the figure to be a Roman soldier who died nearby, as the old Derby City Hospital was constructed on an ancient Roman road. In November 2011, a witness reported seeing two nurses in old fashioned clothing, one male and the other female, standing by the foot of her bed. They watched the witness in a caring way.

Lady in Grey

Location: Derby - Seymour's Wine Bar
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Said to be a non-threatening presence, this elderly woman dressed in grey is accompanied by the smell of lavender. Mild poltergeist behaviour is also reported, with small items disappearing, only to reappear days or weeks later.

Tortured Woman

Location: Derby - Shire Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Interrogated by having heavy weights placed upon her chest, the 'questioning' proved too much for this woman who returned to haunt the holding cells.

Figure in Overalls

Location: Derby - Showroom, West Meadows Industrial Estate
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: November 1999, 02:00h
Further Comments: While working as a security guard, this witness and his dog observed a figure dressed in white overalls walk along the side of a building. The guard and dog followed the figure who disappeared around a corner. When the guard turned the corner, he was faced with a dead-end - a locked gate with barbed wire along the top. Two days later the guard spotted the same figure, once again at two in the morning. The guard chased the overall clad stranger, taking his eyes off the figure momentarily, only for him to vanish.

Crying Infant

Location: Derby - Silkmill, Bell Tower
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Pushed to his death, this child can now be heard crying in pain.

A ghostly young woman, one of many Derby phantoms.

Young Woman

Location: Derby - Spondon area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A young woman is said to walk the streets calling out for her brother who died during a war. The form is said to be faint and blurry.

Monk

Location: Derby - St Helen's House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Seen in the building, the monk is not the sole haunter - a ghostly girl has been seen running through the corridors. Workers in the building who have been there alone have reported hearing a mysterious voice whisper their names.

Nun in a Carriage

Location: Derby - St Mary's Bridge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Travelling in a royal carriage, a nun passes over the bridge only to vanish shortly after reaching the other side.

Lady in Blue

Location: Derby - The Haus, once known as the Jacobean House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Around 400 years old, the Jacobean House is home to a headless coachman who drives his carriage through a former archway of the building. Also seen is a lady in blue, who descends the main staircase, while another man (believed to have committed suicide) has also been spotted on the upper floors of the building.

Screaming

Location: Derby - Well Street - St Mary's Bridge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The bridge was once used to display the bodies and limbs of executed criminals and priests - their cries are a reminder of the method of their deaths.

I Live Here

Location: Derby - William & Glyn's Bank, Corn Market
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: May 1973, 1982-1983
Further Comments: Three builders demolishing walls within the bank's basement knocked through to a hidden cavity where they spotted a young boy. One of the men asked the youngster what he was doing there. The boy replied, 'I live here', before vanishing before their eyes. Ten years later the building was a DHSS office - stories were told about the cellar being haunted by a maid, while another witness claimed to have entered an office which contained a sitting man; the witness was never able to find the office again. Finally, a member of staff reported seeing a hand on a rail of a staircase coming down towards them, but when they expected to see the owner of the hand, no one was present.

Bump

Location: Derby - Ye Olde Dolphin Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 01 February 2002
Further Comments: A family sitting at one table felt it move slightly, as if someone had bumped into it, although no one could be seen. At the same time a picture on the wall moved slightly. The inn is said to be haunted by a grey figure, seen in the restaurant.