The Paranormal Database

Deconstruction

Location: Langley - Private residences, Burroway Road
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Early 1960s onwards
Further Comments: Strange activity broke out during building work on several properties along the road, including machines failing, items being moved, and building work undone. Residents of the properties had the feeling of being watched, and one witness claimed to have seen a shadow in their hallway. The buildings were close to a former brickmaking field where an accident had killed several men, and it was speculated the strange activity related to the deaths.

A guardian raven protects his gold.

Chest of Wealth

Location: Little Wittenham - Money-Pit, The Clumps
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This chest of fabulous treasure is buried somewhere in the area and is protected by a large black raven. This bird once told a would-be treasure hunter that the wealth belongs to one man and one man alone.

White Lady

Location: Littlewick Green - Boundary Elm, Green Lane, Cold Harbour and Knowl Hill
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This female apparition closely follows the same route as she calmly drifts through the area.

Lost souls in the woods.

Souls

Location: Littlewick Green - Bowsey Hill
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This wooded area is thought to contain all the lost souls from the surrounding lands.

White Hound of Feens

Location: Littlewick Green - Wooded area
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: 1985 / 1986
Further Comments: A legend says this hound, which can be heard howling in the night, is sometimes accompanied by a young lady in grey on horseback. She, in turn, has been known to ride with a wild hunt called the Dorcas Noble, while trying to win the heart of a former boyfriend. A large white hound was seen in the area during the 1980s - the size of an Irish Wolfhound, during one encounter the creature vanished as if running behind a black sheet.

Bicarbonate of Soda

Location: Long Wittenham - Co-Op Store
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: November 1962
Further Comments: This mischievous spirit moved food about in front of the staff, floating the bicarb in front of their startled faces. The outbreak lasted for eight days.

Grey Lady

Location: Maidenhead - Harlyford Park
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1977
Further Comments: A witness who lived at this caravan park for several months reported a phantom woman who would appear once a year. A photograph taken of an empty field revealed either an exposure error or a ring of fire which was not visible with the naked eye.

Bob

Location: Maidenhead - Hobgoblin Public House
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Late twentieth century?
Further Comments: As well as the normal poltergeist tricks, Bob is sometimes heard walking around the building when it is almost empty.

Floating Head

Location: Maidenhead - Ockwell Manor
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s
Further Comments: The floating head has been seen in the garden, though most people report extreme cold spots. The sounds of phantom hooves pounding the earth have also been heard.

Grey Lady

Location: Moneyrow Green - White Hart public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This phantom woman is sometimes seen along with her young child. The road outside the pub is haunted by a racehorse which occasionally gallops by, more often heard than seen.

Army

Location: Mortimer - Common
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1778
Further Comments: A phantom army is said to have appeared on the common land here, vanishing when approached.

Roundheads

Location: Newbury - A34
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: October 1996
Further Comments: The construction of the Newbury bypass disturbed a mass grave containing the remains of both Roundhead and Cavalier soldiers. The ghosts of these Civil War troops were reported soon after, manifesting as shadowy figures that vanished when approached.

Soldier

Location: Newbury - Biggs Cottage, Endbourne
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1950s
Further Comments: One guest spotted a phantom soldier walking across his bedroom. He was told that the figure was 'often' spotted.

Monk

Location: Newbury - Boarding School
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: September 1978
Further Comments: A boy at the school awoke to see a monk standing at the foot of the bed. The boy briefly looked away, and when he looked back, the monk had vanished. Thirty years later the witness came across another person who had encountered the monk in the 1960s, while in the same dormitory.

Harmonious Singing

Location: Newbury - Coombe Manor
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Locals say that the singing comes from nuns, long since dead.

Escaping witch.

Bullet Proof Witch

Location: Newbury - Cottington's Hill - general area
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A local story tells of a witch shot at by Cromwellian troops - she caught the bullets in her hands. The woman was defeated after a soldier managed to slice open her forehead with his sword, robbing her of her power, before shooting her in the back of the head.

A phantom white hound.

Soldier

Location: Newbury - Donnington Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This incorporeal trooper stands by the remaining gatehouse, quickly vanishing after being seen. A white dog haunts the hill on which the castle stands, often bounding towards the nearby woods where it disappears.

Chained Man

Location: Newbury - Enborne House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1936
Further Comments: Florence Loury purchased the building and converted it into a guest house, but soon lost all her customers after word was spread that the place was haunted. During a court appearance over non-payment of rates, she described encountering the ghost - an old man with shackled arms and legs. Another witness saw a slim figure wearing a skirt. The court displayed no sympathy and forced Florence to repay the rates.

Falling Pictures

Location: Newbury - Highclere Castle
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: 2012
Further Comments: Newspapers reported that Shirley MacLaine claimed to have had paranormal experiences while filming Downton Abbey at Highclere, although the experiences appear to be 'pictures falling from walls'.

Horace

Location: Newbury - Huntsgreen Farm
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Horace is said to be more playful than anything and will softly tug at sleeves or other pieces of loose clothing.

Hair Puller

Location: Newbury - Jack O'Newbury public house (was known as The Catherine Wheel)
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Twenty-first century
Further Comments: The phantom at work in this pub is said to pull hair, unlock doors and move items around. CCTV footage from February 2011 shows two glasses falling from a shelf without human aid.

Airman

Location: Newbury - Roads around the White Swan Pub
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 1955
Further Comments: A First World War airman was spotted by a driver and his passenger walking by the roadside one night. They stopped to offer the uniformed figure a ride, but he had disappeared. Both stopped at the nearby White Swan Pub and told their story, and received the distinct impression that locals knew of the airman but were unwilling to say anything more on the subject.

White Haired Lady

Location: Reading - Castle Hill House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1995
Further Comments: The owner of this building appeared in the local paper, talking about the non-threatening ghostly woman with white hair with whom she shared her home. The entity may have moved a heavy wardrobe to the top of the stairs.

Miss Effie

Location: Reading - Elm Park football ground
Type: Other
Date / Time: 1996
Further Comments: The (former) owner of Miss Ellie, a dead hamster which was buried on the goal line of this football ground, claimed that the animal's spirit had prevented Reading FC being relegated.

Victorian Woman

Location: Reading - Mansion House, Prospect Park
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2010
Further Comments: A visitor to the manor house encountered a woman in Victorian clothing who stood leaning against a bathroom sink.