Essex Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana
USAAF Pilot in Car
Location: Saffron Walden - B1052, between Saffron Walden and Hadstock
Type: Post-Mortem Manifestation
Date / Time: November 1993
Further Comments: Exactly fifty years after dying in a flying accident (1943), the ghost of an USAAF pilot appeared in the back seat of a woman's car, as she drove past the old crash site of the plane in which he flew.
First added: 2000-08-17 | Last updated: 2000-08-17 | ID #464
Reducing Woman
Location: Saffron Walden - Bridge in South Road
Type: Other
Date / Time: September 2002, 00:00h
Further Comments: This witness wrote: 'When I was walking with my friend that night, we saw a lady at the top of the bridge. She was about 3 metres tall. While she was walking down the bridge towards us, she decreased in size until becoming about 1.6 metres tall. We ran quickly after seeing that. We both were sober when we saw that.'
First added: 2009-09-12 | Last updated: 2009-09-12 | ID #9667
Heavy Trampling
Location: Saffron Walden - Cross Keys public house, corner of King Street and High Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 24 December (reoccurring), 23:00h-Midnight
Further Comments: Any listener here is said to hear footsteps marching up and down a passageway. They are rumoured to belong to a soldier of Cromwell. A ghostly woman is said to haunt one of the bedrooms, and it is alleged she was Cromwell's mistress.
First added: 2000-08-17 | Last updated: 2000-08-17 | ID #459
Cockatrice
Location: Saffron Walden - Exact location unknown
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This medieval creature which killed people with its eyes took up residence near the town, only to be defeated by a man wearing mirrored armour.
First added: 2002-05-05 | Last updated: 2002-05-05 | ID #662
Door Slammer
Location: Saffron Walden - Farm of Big Bill Campbell
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Circa 1948
Further Comments: The home of Canadian entertainer Big Bill Campbell had an entity that would walk the site and slam doors, although Campbell's seven year old daughter declared the phantom to be friendly.
First added: 2023-10-24 | Last updated: 2023-10-24 | ID #15133
Nelly
Location: Saffron Walden - Hill House in the High Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: After freezing to death in the mid-1800's, a teenage maid known as Nelly is said to have returned to Hill House. Her ghost has been reported walking around the corridors in the house, her presence accompanied by sharp drops in temperature.
First added: 2000-08-17 | Last updated: 2000-08-17 | ID #458
Mrs de Freville
Location: Saffron Walden - Hinxton Churchyard, square stone vault
Type: Post-Mortem Manifestation
Date / Time: 08 May 1885
Further Comments: Shortly after her death, Mrs de Freville was spotted by a gardener standing by her husband's grave. The woman's ghost had a white face and wore a black dress. The gardener was unaware of the lady's death at the time of the sighting.
First added: 2001-09-07 | Last updated: 2001-09-07 | ID #354
Cromwellian Soldier
Location: Saffron Walden - The Old Sun Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A noisy fellow, blamed for moving furniture about, and banging on the walls. Some people have reported feeling uneasy on entering the building.
First added: 2000-08-17 | Last updated: 2000-08-17 | ID #457
Tap Turner
Location: Saffron Walden - Unidentified cottage
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1946
Further Comments: After taps turned themselves on and a pen moved itself to the top of a picture frame, the couple living here suspected something was not quite right. After enduring further poltergeist antics, the residents had their friend Father Sotherby exorcise their home. A few years after moving out, the couple discovered their former home to have been an asylum that had a reputation for brutality.
First added: 2025-04-12 | Last updated: 2025-04-12 | ID #15863
Adolphus Frederick
Location: Sewardstone - Gilwell Hall
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Haunting a corridor in the building, Frederick was a common visitor to the hall in life.
First added: 2001-09-08 | Last updated: 2001-09-08 | ID #888
Girl with Slit Throat
Location: Shoeburyness - A small brick house called Red House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: unknown
Further Comments: This woman is said to have slit her own throat to upset her lover.
First added: 2001-09-06 | Last updated: 2001-09-06 | ID #844
Heavy Breathing
Location: Shoeburyness - Army Barracks - Woman's Royal Army Corps
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: A former building here burnt down, killing several people. It is believed that the new buildings are haunted by those killed, and they can be heard moving around at night, breathing the thick smoke that claimed their lives.
First added: 2003-12-27 | Last updated: 2003-12-27 | ID #4952
Hooves on Gravel
Location: Shoeburyness - Countryside in area
Type: Environmental Manifestation
Date / Time: 1950s
Further Comments: While walking home through the nearby countryside, a woman reported hearing the overworked horses and the sound of crunching gravel. The site of the occurrence, upon investigation, proved once to be a brick yard.
First added: 2000-08-17 | Last updated: 2000-08-17 | ID #678
Old Lady
Location: Shoeburyness - East Beach
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1992, a Sunday at 10:00h
Further Comments: Walking with his nine year old brother from a caravan park, this witness spotted an old lady heading towards them. Both realised that the woman's legs faded to nothing from below the knee - no feet were visible - although she appeared to walk normally.
First added: 2011-10-22 | Last updated: 2011-10-22 | ID #10612
Old Lady
Location: Shoeburyness - Private flat along Caulfield Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1986 onwards
Further Comments: The grey-haired phantom that haunted this flat was blamed for moving potted plants around while the occupants slept.
First added: 2007-06-16 | Last updated: 2007-06-16 | ID #7604
Dark Haired Young Lady
Location: Sible Hedingham - The Bell Inn, 46 Swan Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s
Further Comments: The lady haunts one of the building's bedrooms and has been known to remove the bed covers of any who sleep in her room.
First added: 2000-08-17 | Last updated: 2000-08-17 | ID #438
Runner
Location: Sible Hedingham - The White Horse
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: An invisible being has brushed past several staff and customers of this public house. The entity has also disturbed people by running down corridors and ringing the front bell.
First added: 2000-08-17 | Last updated: 2000-08-17 | ID #428
Man Holding a Lantern
Location: Sible Hedingham - Wethersfield Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 23 November 2015
Further Comments: A man in period clothing carrying a Tilley lamp was spotted by five witnesses in a car. The figure appeared to be self-luminating and walked along the roadside, ignoring the car as it passed.
First added: 2021-05-03 | Last updated: 2021-05-03 | ID #14093
Lady Hamilton
Location: South Benfleet - Conservative Club, High Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: This ghost, still waiting for Lord Horatio Nelson, reportedly patrols the corridors and rooms to ensure that he has not arrived.
First added: 2003-01-18 | Last updated: 2026-09-06 | ID #3621
Breeding Stone (Pudding Stone)
Location: South Weald - Parish
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Local legend tells the story of how smaller stones grow out of the larger one, and if the 'baby' stones are removed, more grow in their place.
First added: 2001-09-08 | Last updated: 2001-09-08 | ID #386
Monk
Location: South Weald - The Golden Fleece, Brook Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1960s?
Further Comments: Seen in a mirror by a witness who ran screaming from the scene, the reason behind the monk's presence in the pub remains a mystery.
First added: 2001-09-06 | Last updated: 2001-09-06 | ID #853
Footsteps
Location: Southend-on-Sea - Private Residence along Gordon Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990-2010
Further Comments: Two different residents at this property are reported to have heard sounds of footsteps running across the landing. It was speculated that they belonged to a young girl.
First added: 2010-02-21 | Last updated: 2010-02-21 | ID #9797
Mr Barber
Location: Southend-on-Sea - Private residence in Southchurch area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1996 to mid-2000s
Further Comments: A family living at this site reported seeing moving shadows without an obvious source, poltergeist activity (including the throwing of a coffee pot), loud footsteps on the staircase, and the smell of pipe tobacco. The source of the activity was nicknamed Mr Barber.
First added: 2018-04-14 | Last updated: 2018-04-14 | ID #12813
Calf Sized Dog
Location: Southend-on-Sea - Road between Rochford/Ashingdon & Hullbridge
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: 1991
Further Comments: A calf-sized dog walking on the other side of the road was spotted by the passenger in a car (although not by the driver), unnerving the witness considerably.
First added: 2003-10-07 | Last updated: 2003-10-07 | ID #4679
Flying Disc
Location: Southend-on-Sea - Skies over the town
Type: UFO
Date / Time: 14 October 1954
Further Comments: A fighter pilot, while out on routine patrol, reported a near miss with a silver domed disc - the UFO travelled towards him at fantastic speed, veering off at the last possible second.
First added: 2002-10-31 | Last updated: 2002-10-31 | ID #3003
Records 401 - 425 of 520
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