The Paranormal Database

Woman in Black

Location: Blandford Forum (Dorset) - Crown Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Wearing a black crinoline dress, this ghostly woman has been observed on the first floor. One of the cleaning staff spotted a woman in black enter a room, but upon investigation, the room was devoid of life. The hotel is also home to a phantom highwayman who hangs about in the courtyard.

Flying Lamp

Location: Blyth (Northumberland) - Railway Hotel
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 20 August 1962
Further Comments: After an unseen hand threw a lamp from a shelf and smashed it on the ground, Bar staff blamed Peter, a poltergeist which occasionally caused mischief.

The Cook

Location: Boat of Garten (Highland) - The Boat Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This brave man was murdered while trying to save a fellow worker from an assault. He now periodically appears in the hotel.

Footsteps

Location: Bognor Regis (Sussex) - The Lion Hotel, Nyetimber
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 03:00h (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Moving between rooms 5 and 6, the footfalls could belong to the lady in blue who has been seen on the odd occasion. Her silk dress has also been heard rustling along the corridor.

Hand on Bottom

Location: Bolton (Greater Manchester) - Albion Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1978 / 79
Further Comments: The female owner at this hotel felt something grab her bottom as she climbed into the bath. The ghost is also said to play around with the beer pumps.

Coachman

Location: Boscastle (Cornwall) - Wellington Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: This figure, complete with frilly shirt and ponytail, has been watched as he disappears though a wall near reception. The ghost of a young lady who committed suicide by leaping from a tower attached to the building has also been seen drifting forlornly in the area.

Carpenter

Location: Boston (Lincolnshire) - New England Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990
Further Comments: Two members of a wedding party returning to their room were met outside their door by a man in white overalls. He told them he was working in the room next door for the 'next twenty minutes, but would try to keep the noise to a minimum'. Retiring, the guests heard the man next door sawing and hammering for an hour. The following morning the guests complained about the worker to the manager, who told them there were no workmen on site. A few minutes later a female employee at the hotel approached the guests, having overheard the conversation, and told them that the room was haunted by the ghost of a carpenter who had died during the 1970s. The employee also said she had once seen a ghostly woman in a blue dress in the bar.

Langtry Manor Hotel, Bournemouth.

Lillie

Location: Bournemouth (Dorset) - Langtry Manor Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late 1970s
Further Comments: The story is that this building was commissioned in 1877 by Edward VII as gift for his mistress Lillie Langtry. The house became an hotel in the 1930s, and during the 1970s, the grey form of a woman, thought to be Langtry, was spotted several times by the hotel's chef. All this told, there is no historical documentation which links the building to Langtry - the story looks as if it was constructed around the 1940s, which means that the ghostly grey lady remains unidentified.

Barbara Pitcairn

Location: Brae (Shetland) - Busta House Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: It has been suggested that the apparition of a grey-haired woman wearing a brown dress and a lace cap is Barbara Pitcairn, secretly married to a former owner of the house just prior to his death.

Opening Door

Location: Brentwood (Essex) - Moat House Hotel (?)
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Mid-twentieth century?
Further Comments: This hotel was subject to poltergeist activity, and it was reported that a bedroom door continually opened itself.

Tap Twister

Location: Brentwood (Essex) - The Swan Hotel. 123 High St.
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1960s onwards
Further Comments: This poltergeist has plagued the owners of the pub by turning water taps on and off, unlocking doors, hiding household items, and antagonising animals.

Crying

Location: Bridge of Earn (Perth and Kinross) - Moncrieffe Arms Hotel
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Strange sobs have been heard coming from empty guest bedrooms, and hollow footfalls fill the air.

Woman in Black

Location: Bridgnorth (Shropshire) - Croft Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A mystery woman in black is said to haunt the dining room. Bells have been heard ringing in other parts of the hotel after dark.

Bed Sitter

Location: Bridgwater (Somerset) - Old Vicarage Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twenty-first century
Further Comments: A few spooky occurrences have happened at this pub, including being tapped on the shoulder by an unseen force and the sensation of someone sitting on the end of a bed in Room 5.

Lonely Child

Location: Bridport (Dorset) - Bull Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: Sometimes heard in the ladies' toilets, the faint sounds of a child are investigated by members of the public and staff, but no toddler is ever found. A ghostly woman in tweed is also said to sit in the reception area.

Escaping Extinguishers

Location: Brighton (Sussex) - Belgrave Hotel (now renamed)
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1990s
Further Comments: One story says that certain fire extinguishers in this hotel would be moved around unaided at night, although it is possible that they were moved by a mortal practical joker.

The Regency Hotel in Brighton.

Disabled Girl

Location: Brighton (Sussex) - First floor rooms, Regency Hotel, Regency Square
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This young girl jumped from one of the upstairs windows - her ghost mirrors her actions, though it now vanishes as it leaps into a wall, as the window was bricked up many years ago. Another female shade that totters around the building is the Victorian landlady.

Brighton's Grand Hotel.

Seventh Floor

Location: Brighton (Sussex) - Grand Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: The seventh floor of this hotel is said to be home to a phantom, although details are fleeting.

Brighton's Metropole Hotel.

Swinging Beads

Location: Brighton (Sussex) - Metropole Hotel
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Late twentieth century (?) and 2000
Further Comments: A cleaner and the night manager watched glass beads hanging from wall lamps swing for no apparent reason. The sound of a baby crying has also been reported on occasion, although no infant can be found when the sounds are investigated. In 2000, a member of staff encountered an old man in the building and engaged him in conversation; he later the old man discovered had died years previously.

Brighton's Royal Albion Hotel.

Man behind the Bed

Location: Brighton (Sussex) - Royal Albion Hotel, Old Steine (destroyed by fire, July 2023)
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: 2010
Further Comments: One witness staying in this flat watched a male figure pass behind the bed and cross the room. The hotel is said to be haunted by Sir Harry Preston.

Charlie

Location: Bristol (Somerset) - Greyhound Hotel (no longer standing - replaced by the Galleries Shopping Centre)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The hotel which once stood here was said to be haunted by a ghost named Charlie. It is not known whether the spook now frequents the new building on site, the Galleries Shopping Centre.

Pregnant Nun

Location: Bristol (Somerset) - Arno's Manor Hotel, Room 160 and other areas
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1977
Further Comments: This nun took her own life, and for varying reasons, her sisters bricked her body up in an alcove. The haunting is said to have started during the Second World War, when workmen came across her skeleton and to avoid any delay to their work, just hid the bones elsewhere. Since then, a figure in brown has periodically been reported, and some people have heard a soft female voice calling them by name.

Napoleonic Figure

Location: Brixham (Devon) - Berry Head Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: August 2013
Further Comments: A wedding guest was said to have seen a figure in Napoleonic clothing during the night. Local legend says that the building is haunted by the ghost of a soldier.

Monk

Location: Brixham (Devon) - Churston Court Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Reports exist of a monk seen within this building; as a witness enters, he leaves via another doorway. There are also reports of candles lighting themselves.

One for Dinner

Location: Brixham (Devon) - Smugglers Haunt Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: This lonely shade was spotted sitting by itself at a dinner table but could only be seen when looked at through a mirror.