The Paranormal Database

Man with No Face

Location: Anstey - Fields along Anstey Road, leading to Leicester
Type: UFO
Date / Time: Late 1920s
Further Comments: Thought to be an early alien encounter (though it can also be interpreted as ghostly in nature), a woman playing in the fields came across a figure without a face dressed in black. Behind him, she could see a circular 'hut'. By the time she awoke her father, who was sleeping in a nearby field, both hut and man had gone.

An old woodcut of a demonic figure standing over a bed.

Bedclothes Tugger

Location: Asfordby - Asfordby Rectory
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Pre 1913
Further Comments: The poltergeist at work here developed a habit of pulling people's bedcovers off them as they slept at night, including those belonging to the visiting Vicar of Whetstone The resident reverend F A Gage Hall exorcised the noisy spirit in 1913.

Pooka

Location: Ashby de la Zouch - Private residence
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: 1990
Further Comments: A witness who awoke in the middle of the night encountered what she believed to be a fairy entity known as a Pooka, sleeping over the pelmet of a landing window. The creature resembled a little piglet, but with a longer, pointy nose and no visible tail. The part of the house where the sighting happened is on the path of a ley line.

Dark Man

Location: Ashby de la Zouch - Queen's Head Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s?
Further Comments: Several staff at the hotel have reported seeing a strange tall man dressed in dark clothing. He is said to emanate an evil presence.

Smoky Woman

Location: Ashby de la Zouch - Royal Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Mid 1980s
Further Comments: A guest at this hotel felt his hair stand on end just prior to encountering an opaque smoky female form which stood in front of the bathroom door.

Coachman

Location: Ashby de la Zouch - Social Club
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: Investigated by Spirit Team UK, this social club is said to be the haunt of many phantoms, including a coachman, a Tutor lady, and children who died of the plague.

Old Lady

Location: Ashby de la Zouch - White Hart public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: Once used to hold prisoners due to be executed at the nearby castle, the White Hart was investigated by the Spirit Team UK who detected phantom children and an elderly lady.

Upper Torso

Location: Aston Flamville - Grass next to St Peter's Churchyard
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: 1980s
Further Comments: Seen by a witness in the passenger seat of a passing car, this male phantom only materialised from the torso upwards.

Large Cat

Location: Barrow-upon-Soar - High Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: April 2011
Further Comments: A large white or ginger cat ran out in front of a car before the driver had a chance to react and disappeared under the vehicle. Both driver and passenger felt a bump and, stopping the car, leap out to check on the animal. However, they could find no blood, fur, or any other evidence they hit something either on, under or near the car. Reflecting on the incident, one of the witnesses thought the creature was very large, seemed too visible under the lighting conditions, and seemed to suddenly appear.

Glowing Mouthed Hounds

Location: Birstall - General Area
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The locals here say their devil dogs, known as Shag Dogs, have a glow that emanates from the inside of their mouths.

Fairy Rings

Location: Birstall - Mill Hill
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This area was widely believed to be the haunt of fairy folk, where they would come and dance in the pale moonlight.

Barrel Mover

Location: Birstall - Plough Inn
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1970s
Further Comments: This entity was renowned for moving barrels around the basement.

Man in Flying Kit

Location: Bitteswell - Asda distribution warehouse, Magna Park (site of former airbase)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: The warehouse was constructed at the end of the runway at Bitteswell. It is reported that in the toilets is a permanent stain on the floor in the shape of a man, and an airman in flying kit has been repeatedly seen in there.

Woman Seeking Husband

Location: Blaby - Blaby Ford
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: April 1995, around 20:30h
Further Comments: Two people driving to a party stopped at the forward to smoke. While sitting in the car they spotted the outline of a person wearing a long coat walking near a steep bank. They turned on the main lights of the car, but the figure had disappeared. They continued to the party, and towards the end of the evening people started to discuss local ghost stories, where one people told the story of the phantom woman which haunts Blaby Ford, looking for her husband who drowned in 1923.

Death by Witchcraft

Location: Bottesford - Church
Type: Other
Date / Time: Tomb still present
Further Comments: Likely to be the only inscription on a tomb that blames death by 'wicked practice and sorcerye', the two children's graves marked as such were sons of the local Lord of Rutland. As a side note, a late nineteenth century piece of folklore says that if a ghost has not left a grave within 25 years after their remains have been buried, it may never do so.

Shoe Filler

Location: Bottesford - Private residence, Devon Lane
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: November 1979 - Late 1981
Further Comments: During the renovation of this property, a poltergeist would fill any shoes left in a locked porch with stones. Items would also disappear and reappear in strange places. A woman who climbed the banister-less staircase almost toppled over the edge, but said she was saved by what felt like a small hand which pushed her in the opposite direction. The day the house went on the market, the activity dropped to next to nothing.

Manchester

Location: Bottesford - Second World War Airfield
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: It is thought that the sound of droning sometimes reported over the former airbase is that of a Manchester bomber - a high loss ratio ensured that these aircraft were later replaced with Lancasters. A phantom light source has also been reported moving in the tower, and a pilot in full kit was seen once.

Headless Woman

Location: Bottesford Beck - Close to bridge over the river
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A local folk belief placed a headless woman haunting a bushy piece of land.

Scythe Carrier

Location: Breedon on the Hill - Churchyard
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: Strange mists and a figure carrying a scythe are said to have been reported at this site, investigated by the Spirit Team UK. Folklore says that the church was to be built at the base of the hill, but doves (or angels) moved the foundations at night.

Hobbes

Location: Breedon on the Hill - Hill in the area
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Hobbes lived in a secret cavern under the hill and would travel to a tavern after dark to churn the milk. The entity left the area after his coarse woollen apron was replaced with a cotton one.

Music

Location: Breedon on the Hill - Near the church
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: 02 October 2012, approximately 19:00h
Further Comments: A couple sitting close to the church heard loud music, sounding like an ice cream van tune, although nothing was in sight. When the music started a second time, they left the area.

An old fashioned coach sits in shadow.

Coach

Location: Brooksby - Brooksby Agriculture College
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: The sounds of a coach being pulled by horse can be heard in the hall here - the building was moved and rebuilt in the nineteenth century, with the hall being placed where a road once lay. A phantom woman also reportedly roams the building.

Stanhope

Location: Broughton Astley - A5
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Weather Dependent: Foggy nights
Further Comments: A member of the Stanhope family is reputed to haunt this road when the fog rolls in.

Grey Hooded Figure

Location: Broughton Astley - B581, Broughton Way
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 11 August 2014, 22:30h
Further Comments: Two people watched as a grey hooded figure walked out in front of their car, forcing them to brake sharply. The figure crossed the road and dissipated near a gate. Both witnesses were left shaken.

Victorian Policeman

Location: Broughton Astley - Pavement outside Bulls Head pub
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 13 September 2011, 02:50h
Further Comments: This phantom figure dressed in a Victorian policeman's uniform was observed standing outside the Bulls Head public house by a man walking home in the early hours of the morning. The policeman emanated a presence so strong that the witness could feel it even though he crossed the road and deliberately avoided eye contact with the entity. Further along the road the witness turned to take another look at the phantom, but it had gone.