The Paranormal Database

Man in Polo Shirt

Location: North Shoebury - Poynters lane, near Crouchman's Farm
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 29 July 2006, around 22:00h
Further Comments: A female driver forced to swerve to avoid hitting a man wearing a striped polo-style top and casual trousers as he stepped out of a hedge. Looking back at where the figure was, he could no longer be seen. The phantom man is a well known story in the area.

WAAF member

Location: North Weald - Airbase
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1950s
Further Comments: Killed in a bombing raid, this member of the Woman's Auxiliary Air Force was heard walking around the area where the bomb hit for a dozen years after her death. Another ghost was blamed for removing the handset off the telephones on the base - a heavily wounded airman died during the war as he picked up the receiver of a phone, and it was thought he continued to try to make the call for many years later. Finally, the base is also reputedly haunted by a man who was pinned to a tree after being caught in an explosion.

Green Light

Location: Ongar - The Kings Head
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: The owners of the public house, and one of their guests, have seen a spooky green light shine under their bedroom doors at night. No one has ever explored further.

Milkmaid does the Pulpit

Location: Onger - Greensted Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1400 to present
Further Comments: The church dates back over a thousand years and is said to be the oldest wooden church in the world. Several entities haunt the site, including a man dressed in black clothing who stands by the church organ, a milkmaid who is on all fours near the pulpit, two other ghostly figures seen within the church, and a woman dressed in black who holds a black bound bible while walking the path outside.

Grey Woman

Location: Orsett - Blacksmiths Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Murdered by a highwayman, the woman's ghost now occasionally appears.

A phantom jaywalker manifests during storms.

Phantom Jaywalker

Location: Pebmarsh - Hanner Monk's Hill
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Weather Dependent: Dark, stormy nights
Further Comments: This fleeting form is seen dashing across the road when the weather is right. It is thought to be the ghost of Hanner Monk, though it is not clear if the man died on the road or elsewhere.

Large ABC Footprints in Snow

Location: Peldon - Exact area not known
Type: ABC
Date / Time: January 1996
Further Comments: While no animal was seen, a large cat left footprints in the snow here in early 1996.

Black Dog with Drooping Ears

Location: Peldon - Wigborough Road between Guisnes Court and Sacott crossroads
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: 1930s?
Further Comments: While with a friend driving a horse and trap, a man reported being followed by a dog the size of a calf, with drooping ears and eyes that glowed like bicycle lamps.

Cold Spots

Location: Pentlow - The Pentlow Folly
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Strange phantom laughter has been heard coming from the folly, which also suffers from strange cold spots on the warmest of days.

Black Cat

Location: Pitsea - Exact location not known
Type: ABC
Date / Time: May 1976
Further Comments: A typical large cat was seen in the area, black in colour.

Nun

Location: Pleshey - Pleshey Mount Farm
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: True history unknown, a nun has been observed outside the farm.

Samuel Trying to Escape

Location: Prittlewell - Churchyard
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: 1827/28
Further Comments: After being buried, witnesses reported hearing Samuel Brown trying to escape his coffin underground. Knowing how common being buried alive once was, this may not be a ghostly event...

Lovesick Monk

Location: Prittlewell - One time Cluniac Priory, Fishponds
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1800s onwards
Further Comments: Now a museum, this site is haunted by a monk who is said to have been involved in black magic. Another story is that the monk was murdered after falling in love with a local woman. Either way, his presence is said to drive the local bird life insane whenever he appears. To lend credence to the story, an archaeological dig during the 1960's found a grave which displayed markings indicating it was that of a disgraced monk. Staff have also reported hearing children coming from a first floor room - when investigated, it is found to be empty.

Murderer and Murdered

Location: Purfleet - Royal Hotel (Room 31)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: In Room 31, an argument over gambling resulted in a young man murdering his girlfriend before committing suicide. Both are said to haunt the room, and also appear in the kitchen and the upper restaurant balcony. Poltergeist activity has also been reported in the Longbridge Bar.

The Ayloffs

Location: Rainham - Bretons Manor
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Ongoing
Further Comments: A few ghosts are reported to haunt this manor. Roman soldiers have been seen walking through walls in the basement, and a lady in white has been seen on the lower half of the stairs. Another lady seen on the stairs is thought to be Martha Ayloff, while Anne Ayloff, wearing a lavender dress, haunts the room adjacent to room 7.

Colonel Mulliner

Location: Rainham - Rainham Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Dressed in his best Edwardian clothes, the Colonel has been seen several times on the grounds.

Rugby Ball

Location: Ramsden Heath - Skies over Hanningfield Reservoir
Type: UFO
Date / Time: February (?) 1985
Further Comments: A zigzagging rugby ball shaped object, larger than an aircraft, was reported by a witness. The ufo was surrounded by red and orange lights.

Hitchhiking Cyclist

Location: Rayleigh - Blinking Owl cafe, Lychgate Industrial Estate
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1950s onwards
Further Comments: The requested end destination for this female vanishing hitchhiker; the story is that she and her boyfriend set off from the cafe on their motorbike, but it crashed on the A127 and both were killed. Now this woman flags down cars along the A127, tells them she is looking for her boyfriend, and asks to be taken to the cafe. She always disappears just prior to the Blinking Owl being reached.

Burning Hand

Location: Rayleigh - Private residence
Type: Other
Date / Time: 2022
Further Comments: Something unseen grabbed an occupant's shoulder and they felt a sudden burst of heat on their neck. The occupant turned round and, in the darkness, could see something even darker in the corner of the room. A few hours later, while at work, the occupant's neck started to hurt; looking into a mirror, they could see a burn where they had been touched.

Landing Activity

Location: Rayleigh - Private residence, Rawreth area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1980-2009
Further Comments: Over almost two decades, the residents at this property reported a figure by an upstairs window, the sound of people running on the landing, and poltergeist activity.

Pregnant Girl in Dark Dress

Location: Rayleigh - Rayleigh Lodge public house and nearby pond
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s
Further Comments: A local girl had an affair with the Lord of the Manor. After falling pregnant, the girl drowned herself in a pond opposite the pub. Her ghost, wearing a dark dress, may have last been seen in the 1970s. Other reports from the pub include a pink mist, a phantom dog, and a former customer,

Lady in White

Location: Rayleigh - Unknown toy shop
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1974
Further Comments: This ghostly woman in white could be heard moving things around the shop and was said to have touched the back of the neck of one witness. It is thought that the woman died in a house fire.

Woman with Long Hair

Location: Rayne - Shalford Road, near The Swan Public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 18 September 2014
Further Comments: Three people in a car spotted a woman with long black hair and a pale face standing by the roadside. She wore purple trousers and a ragged yellow shirt. One of the witnesses speculated that the figure was that of the ghost said to haunt the nearby public house.

Weaving Woman

Location: Rayne - The Swan public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A suicide victim, this woman hanged herself in the back of this pub.

Bell Ringing

Location: Redbridge - Woodford Bridge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Midnight marks the start of the ghostly bell ringer's duties in the area, though the building in which he worked has not stood for many years.