The Paranormal Database

Hymns

Location: St David's (Dyfed) - St Nonna's church ruins
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 01 March (reoccurring)
Further Comments: The sound of phantom singing is heard coming from these church ruins on the evening of St David's Day.

Lord Capel by Henry Paert the Elder

Jumping Jack

Location: Watford (Hertfordshire) - Cassiobury Park
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 09 March (reoccurring) (Capel), others unknown
Further Comments: Ironbridge Lock is haunted by a man paid to create havoc and prevent canal shipments from reaching their destination. Jack was finally caught, knocked unconscious, and left to drown. The ghost of Lord Capel also walks the park on the anniversary of his 1649 execution for his royalist beliefs, while another story says a mill which once stood in the park was haunted by either a murderer or his female victim. Finally, the pathway on the north side is haunted by a couple pushing a 1940s style pram who vanish if anyone is too close; it is speculated they were killed in a Second World War air raid.

Sounds of Murder

Location: Loch Assynt (Highland) - Banks of the loch
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 11 March (reoccurring)
Further Comments: The site where a debt ridden schoolmaster killed a peddler for his gold is marked once a year by the sounds of the crime being re-enacted - the crack of something hard being brought down on the salesman's head, followed by footsteps, a body being dragged, and the splash as the corpse is thrown into the water.

Hopton Castle, photograph copyright 2006 Lawson Clout.

Parliamentarians

Location: Hopton (Shropshire) - Hopton Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 14 March (reoccurring)
Further Comments: The ghosts of twenty eight Parliamentarians return on this date. They held out in the castle against a force of five hundred Royalists for two weeks, the siege only ending when the defenders were tricked into surrendering in exchange for their lives - they were slaughtered as they left the building. A maid is also reported to walk the site. (Image copyright 2006 Lawson Clout)

The ghostly Juliet appears once a year.

Juliet Tewsley, Her Love Unrequited

Location: Holywell (Cambridgeshire) - Ye Olde Ferryboat Inn, gravestone in bar
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 17 March (Reoccurring)
Further Comments: Juliet took her own life after being jilted by a lover. The pub was later built over her grave, and she is now seen in the form of a white lady, appearing near the Ferry Boat Inn and walking towards the banks of the river on the date of her death.

Misty Figure

Location: Ayr (Ayrshire) - Tower of St John's
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 22 March (reoccurring)
Further Comments: It is unsure whether this grey man is a builder, friar or warrior.

Hilda

Location: Tralee (County Kerry) - Ballyseede Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 24 March (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Affectionately named Hilda, this phantom former landlord is reputed to appear on an annual basis.

John Coke

Location: Ottery St Mary (Devon) - Churchyard
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 26 March (reoccurring)
Further Comments: John Coke was murdered by his own brother on 26 March 1632. On the anniversary of his death, Coke briefly climbs from his tomb and has a quick look around the area to ensure his brother is not lurking in the shadows.

Old Soldiers

Location: Alresford (Hampshire) - Cheriton battlefield
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 29 March, every four years (last in 2024) (reoccurring)
Further Comments: These troops are said to be doomed to return to their former battleground.

Hounds All Black and Wide-Eyed

Location: Peterborough (Cambridgeshire) - In all the woods between Stamford and Peterborough
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Between Lent and Easter (reoccurring), but last reported 1100s
Further Comments: These woods were the scene of a wild hunt, which included large black hounds and loathsome riders on the backs of mares and goats.

Red Head

Location: Stockton (Warwickshire) - Blue Lias public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Between March and November (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Seen walking through the pub after opening hours, this red headed male is thought to have been killed long ago after being discovered in bed with another man's wife.

Voice of Lord Marney

Location: Layer Marney (Essex) - Layer Marney Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Easter (or May) (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Legend says that the voice of Lord Marney can be heard echoing around the church.

Molly Tape

Location: Hurst (Berkshire) - Road between village and Hinton, Tape Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Easter (reoccurring?)
Further Comments: This shade made local news in 1971 when she appeared drifting down the road wearing very little in the way of clothing. It is thought that the woman hanged herself from a tree in the lane following a disastrous romantic engagement with a farmer.

Priest with Young Girl

Location: Holme Hale (Norfolk) - Hall's Green Room
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Easter (Reoccurring)
Further Comments: Once frequently seen in and around the Green Room, a priest and a girl are supposed to haunt the building. The priest is believed to have been killed on Good Friday by Cromwellian soldiers; hence the sightings tend to occur around the Easter period.

The magic well of Cerne Abbas.

Faces of the Dead

Location: Cerne Abbas (Dorset) - St Austin's Well, aka St Augustine's Well, aka Silver Well
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Easter Sunday (faces) (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Anyone looking into the waters of the well in the early hours of Easter morning will see the faces of those fated to die within a year. Women who drink the water and pray to St Catherine will soon be married.

Howard Pyle, The Mermaid, 1910.

Mermaid

Location: Rostherne Mere (Cheshire) - General area
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Easter Sunday (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Her motivation unknown, this mermaid returns once a year to sing and ring a bell hidden deep underwater.

Lady in Red

Location: Bodiam (Sussex) - Bodiam Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Easter Sunday (singing) (reoccurring), others unknown
Further Comments: This spectre stands on the top of a tower, illuminated by bright moonlight, as if waiting for someone. A child haunts the bridge - the young boy disappears when he reaches the halfway point. More stories tell of phantom singing, music, and words spoken in an unknown tongue.

Pins

Location: Bradwell (Derbyshire) - Wells in the village
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Easter Sunday (tradition died out nineteenth century?)
Further Comments: Children in the area would drop pins in the village wells for luck. Each well had a fairy protector who would know whether a child had not performed the ritual. The following day, children had glass bottles tied around their necks on string; if a child had not dropped a pin, the fairies would break their bottle.

Mermaid

Location: Hayfield (Derbyshire) - Mermaid's Pool, near Kinder Reservoir
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Easter Sunday Eve, at midnight (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Anyone who sees the creature is said to gain immortality. One man who came here once a year lived to be 104 (so the story goes)!

Roman Legion

Location: Longdendale Valley (Derbyshire) - Bleaklow Mountain
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: First full moon of spring (reoccurring)
Further Comments: This long dead legion is said to march across the moor, carrying glowing torches; they set off from Melandra, old roman fortification near Glossop. Another report states that the area is haunted by a giant grey man, standing at least 10 meters tall.

Small French Man

Location: Smarden (Kent) - The Chequers Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late Spring (reoccurring)
Further Comments: The ghost of a French POW from the Napoleonic war is said to move small items around the premises and upset pets in the building.

Darting Large Cat

Location: Beeley (Derbyshire) - Moor
Type: ABC
Date / Time: March 2016 (cat), phantom horseman on first full moon in March
Further Comments: A cat, reportedly the size of a small horse, darted out in front of a car. The previous year, a panther was observed on the moor, from which the witnesses fled. The moor is also said to be haunted by a phantom horseman who appears once a year.

Somerset House, London.

Horatio Nelson

Location: WC2 (Greater London) - Somerset House, Strand
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Spring (Nelson) (reoccurring), 1972 (woman)
Further Comments: The ghostly figure of Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson was said to manifest at Somerset House during Spring months. The entity would stride with purpose across the courtyard, heading towards his former office, but always vanished soon after being spotted. A wispy female ghost has also been spotted on site, drifting along a corridor.

Screaming Groom

Location: Nannau (Gwynedd) - Mules Well
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Spring (reoccurring)
Further Comments: The seasonal sounds of screaming can be heard in this location, dating back from when a young groom was killed when the horse he was tending panicked and trampled the man to death.

Incense

Location: Broadhempston (Devon) - Church House Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Varies: Christmas and Easter (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Once a cottage for monks, the sweet smell is thought to come from the long dead monks celebrating their festivals.