The Paranormal Database

Man on Black Horse

Location: Ranworth (Norfolk) - Neighbourhood of Ranworth Broad
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 31 December (recurring)
Further Comments: Locals tell of an unknown man on a black horse that is believed to haunt the area. The devil is seen riding across the broad every 31 December; under his arm is the soul of a Colonel who had dared hunt on the Sabbath.

Source: Historical Record, Published Media
First added: 2000-08-17   Last updated: 2000-08-17   ID: #221

Green Hunter

Location: Fawsley (Northamptonshire) - Dower House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 31 December (recurring)
Further Comments: This woodland figure dressed in green, manifesting minutes before midnight, is thought to be an ill omen if observed.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2003-01-01   Last updated: 2003-01-01   ID: #3366

Walking Stone

Location: Birsay (Orkney) - Standing Stone in the area
Type: Legend
Date / Time: 31 December (recurring)
Further Comments: At the stroke of midnight on Hogmanay, this stone would walk down to Birsay loch and would briefly dip its head into the water before moving back to its original location. Anyone foolish enough to try to observe the stone at this time would be found dead the following morning, laying by the base of the stone.

Source: Historical Record
First added: 2017-06-16   Last updated: 2017-06-16   ID: #12520

Coach and Horses

Location: Badwell Ash (Suffolk) - Road between village and Walsham Le Willows
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 31 December (recurring)
Further Comments: The coach and horses which appear once a year are considered unlucky, with any witness to the sight supposed to die within the year.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2025-11-08   Last updated: 2025-11-08   ID: #16156

Joan

Location: Midgley (West Yorkshire) - Milk Churn Joan (standing stone)
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: 31 December (recurring)
Further Comments: A few folkloric stories exist concerning the stone, based around Joan going to fetch milk for her family (or fellow villagers) during winter before freezing to death. Another says Joan was turned to stone by the devil, while a third states the name is a corruption of Churnmilk Peg, a fairy-like entity who protected the area. One custom says leaving a coin on top of the stone is lucky. Finally, the stone turns itself over three times at the end of the year.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2026-06-20   Last updated: 2026-06-20   ID: #16665

Horse & Dog

Location: Penselwood (Wiltshire) - Sloane Track - between Penselwood and Stourton
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 31 December (recurring)
Further Comments: A man who wagered that he could cross the track in record time fell from his horse and snapped his neck. The man on horseback, now minus a head, with a hound in tow, tries again and again to make the journey once a year.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2006-08-08   Last updated: 2006-08-08   ID: #6917

Coach & Four

Location: East Wellow (Hampshire) - Area from Embley Park to St Margaret's Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 31 December (recurring) (another story says 24 December)
Further Comments: Moving at breakneck speed, this phantom coach leaves the park, passing through the walls, just before midnight on the last day of the year. A newspaper story from 1940 claimed villagers were disappointed after they stayed up until after midnight and the entity failed to manifest.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2004-11-13   Last updated: 2025-07-15   ID: #5560

House Party

Location: Downend (Isle of Wight) - Area near Knighton Gorges
Type: Environmental Manifestation
Date / Time: 31 December knight seen (recurring), house reported in the twentieth century
Further Comments: A manor house has been seen in the area, a party in full flow visible through its windows. However, the house was demolished many years previous. Even when not seen, locals have reported hearing music coming from the site. A large black knight on horseback is still occasionally seen, once a year.

Source: Published Media, User Submission
First added: 2002-12-31   Last updated: 2002-12-31   ID: #3327

A photograph of a statue depicting the Devil.

Laird Beardie

Location: Moonzie, Fife (Fife) - Lordscairnie Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 31 December, Midnight (recurring)
Further Comments: Beardie played cards against the Devil and lost - the fateful game is now replayed once a year, though it is warned that anyone watching the game will also travel to hell with the Laird at the end of the match.

Source: Historical Record, Published Media
First added: 2003-05-31   Last updated: 2003-05-31   ID: #4289

Westminster Bridge, London.

Leaping Shadow

Location: SW1 (Greater London) - Westminster Bridge (over)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 31 December, midnight (recurring) - 'Ripper' seen. Woman circa 1900s?
Further Comments: Just as a new year begins, a phantom man is said to throw himself off this bridge - many believe it to be the ghost of Jack the Ripper, taking his own life. Another story tells of a policeman who encountered a woman who pleaded with him to follow her. The policeman set off and was led to another woman in the act of throwing herself into the river. Having prevented her suicide, the policeman realised that the woman looked identical to the girl who had taken him to the spot, who had since vanished.

Source: Historical Record, Published Media
First added: 2002-08-26   Last updated: 2002-08-26   ID: #2315

Tech Support

Location: Chelmsford (Essex) - Civic Theatre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: All year, but especially in December (recurring)
Further Comments: This building is haunted by the spirit of a technician killed on Duke Street. Visitors would sometimes ask about the helpful man who had guided them around, only to be told that it was the ghost. There are also reports of footsteps on stage and of an overwhelming uncomfortable feeling on the Balcony and the stairs to the Wardrobe/FOH Office. In December, the spirit takes the form of a white butterfly, seen (traditionally) on one show during Christmas week.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2006-01-13   Last updated: 2006-01-13   ID: #6674

Wailing

Location: Steyning (Sussex) - Bramber Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: December (recurring)
Further Comments: Maude of Ditching's screams and cries can occasionally be heard in the ruins - her lover was bricked up in the dungeon after being caught by Maude's husband. The castle is also said to be haunted by two children seen begging for food, though they vanish if approached.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2002-05-05   Last updated: 2002-05-05   ID: #931

Duchess

Location: Bristol (Somerset) - Area around Duchess Lake (now filled in) and Dower House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: December (recurring) - exact date not known
Further Comments: Duchess Elizabeth Somerset fell from her horse and broke her neck - her ghost is said to ride around the area. A local legend says that if you wait near her monument, three knocks will signify her presence.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2005-08-12   Last updated: 2005-08-12   ID: #6483

Headless Figure

Location: Castel (Guernsey) - Fauxquets Valley
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: December (recurring), between 22:00h - 00:00h
Further Comments: A tall headless figure is said to haunt the valley during the winter months.

Source: Historical Record
First added: 2014-06-14   Last updated: 2014-06-14   ID: #11588

Dark Horseman

Location: Ellistoun (Renfrewshire) - Ellistoun Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: December nights (recurring)
Further Comments: Possessing a grinning skull barren of flesh, this dark horseman and his black steed gallop furiously down muddy paths towards the nearby waterfalls.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2003-12-21   Last updated: 2003-12-21   ID: #4783

Fighting Armies

Location: East Lulworth (Dorset) - Flower's Barrow and Grange Hill
Type: Environmental Manifestation
Date / Time: December, during wartime
Further Comments: The ghostly figures found here when Britain is at war generate screams, horses and the clashing of swords as they move over the hills overlooking the coast. The apparitions are said to have last appeared during the Second World War.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2007-06-03   Last updated: 2007-06-03   ID: #7507

Blinding Light

Location: Newquay (Cornwall) - Old Headland area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Mid December (recurring)
Further Comments: A floating light is said to unnerve local fishermen as it moves along the path before vanishing near the old lifeguard and boatyard. One story is that the light belonged to a smuggler, trying to wreck unsuspecting craft.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2016-08-27   Last updated: 2016-08-27   ID: #12251

Robert

Location: Easington (Durham) - Half Moon public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: November - December, and April (recurring), last during the 1970s?
Further Comments: The landlady of this pub said Robert would be heard walking around for three months of the year. One story claimed Robert to have been a nineteenth century road sweeper who fell in love with a barmaid; Robert took his own life in the cellar when she married another man. Keys would also disappear and doors open unaided.

Source: Historical Record
First added: 2026-09-10   Last updated: 2026-09-10   ID: #16794

Paths in Dunwich, Suffolk.

Hobby Lanterns

Location: Dunwich (Suffolk) - Paths around Dunwich
Type: Other
Date / Time: Pre-1924, said to be most active between 29 September and 24 December
Further Comments: Will-o-the-Wisps, known locally as Hobby Lanterns, were said to lure people off the paths at night after extinguishing the victim's own light source.

Source: Historical Record
First added: 2009-05-03   Last updated: 2021-08-07   ID: #9298

Phantom Runner

Location: Bolton (Greater Manchester) - Hall i' th' Wood Manor House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Runner between 25 December - 06 January (recurring)
Further Comments: Always heard but never seen, this spook frequents the old staircase, the footsteps always rushing. Other ghosts reported here include an old woman seen in the kitchen and two men, one dressed in black and the other green.

Source: Historical Record, User Submission
First added: 2002-06-02   Last updated: 2002-06-02   ID: #1052

Jean Baptiste du Barre

Location: Bathampton (Somerset) - The George Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century, said to be more frequent in December
Further Comments: A Frenchman killed in a duel, du Barre reportedly took his last breaths in the inn. A spirit resembling the duellist was seen standing by the bar at the end of the twentieth century; the witness said the entity was friendly and unthreatening.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2003-07-19   Last updated: 2003-07-19   ID: #4413

King John's Hounds

Location: Purse Caundle (Dorset) - Purse Caundle Manor
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Varies: 20 June or 23 June and 31 December (recurring)
Further Comments: Twice a year, this pack of devil dogs is let loose in the neighbourhood. Sounds of ghostly plainchant have been heard coming from the manor house.

Source: Historical Record, Published Media
First added: 2002-07-16   Last updated: 2002-07-16   ID: #1744

Night Coach

Location: Ilmington (Warwickshire) - Roads of village, particularly Pig Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Varies: 24 December and 01 January the pack hunt, date of coach unknown
Further Comments: This spectral vehicle runs along the roads, before suddenly veering off and vanishing across local fields. This may be related to the ghostly hunt pack seen in the area, led by a man killed by his hounds.

Source: Historical Record, Published Media
First added: 2002-10-30   Last updated: 2002-10-30   ID: #2969

Party with Ugly Young Man

Location: Madingley (Cambridgeshire) - Madingley Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Varies: 24 December Lady Ursula seen. Party reported in September 1963
Further Comments: One witness claimed to have heard a ghostly party, followed by the sighting of a stuffy young man, whose face resembled that of a skeleton. Others have also reported similar occurrences, describing the man as having a decaying green face. Lady Ursula Hynde also returns to the hall once a year, upset at her son's actions - he pulled down a church, and used the wood to finish construction of Madingley Hall.

Source: Historical Record
First added: 2001-09-07   Last updated: 2001-09-07   ID: #613

An old postcard of Rochester Castle.

Lady Blanche de Warenne

Location: Rochester (Kent) - Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Varies: Blanche on Good Friday or 04 April, Dickens on 24 December (recurring)
Further Comments: A bystander in a battle for the castle, the Lady Blanche was killed when an arrow entered her heart - her shade has been observed still staggering with the shaft protruding from her chest. It is also believed that Charles Dickens's ghost haunts the moat; he has been seen both here and at the Corn Exchange clock.

Source: Historical Record, User Submission
First added: 2002-06-16   Last updated: 2025-12-22   ID: #1248