The Paranormal Database

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Location: Chelmsford - Civic Theatre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: All year, but especially in December (reoccurring)
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.

Laughing

Location: Chelmsford - Essex Regiment Museum
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2013?
Further Comments: One witness claimed to have heard the laugh of a child and the slamming of several doors, one after another, in the early hours of the morning.

Richard and Little Girl

Location: Chelmsford - Hyde Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1980s
Further Comments: Once owned by the singer Suzi Quatro, she claimed that Richard de Foe haunted the guest room, while the little girl walked other parts of the house. Both are believed to be benevolent.

Hare Fox

Location: Chelmsford - Outside of town, exact area not known
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 18 April 1886, morning
Further Comments: A father and daughter spotted a grey creature which resembled a fox, although it had long brown ears with white tips which were hare-like. They watched it jumping across a field until it disappeared into a hedge.

Tall Man in Cloak

Location: Chelmsford - Patching Hall Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s
Further Comments: This tall pallid figure, wearing a top hat and cloak, was seen by a teenage witness out with a couple of friends - the figure disturbed them to such an extent, they ran off. The witness looked back to see if he was following, only to see the ghost vanish before their eyes.

Older Woman with Trolley

Location: Chelmsford - Pedestrian crossing over Parkway
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 2013
Further Comments: A witness waiting at the crossing spotted a 'normal' older woman with a trolley or bag on the other side of the road also waiting to cross. The witness looked away for a few seconds, and when she looked back, the older woman had vanished, with no discernible place where she could have moved out of view.

Footsteps

Location: Chelmsford - Private building, New London Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: November 2013
Further Comments: Working alone into the evening, this witness heard three distinct footsteps ahead of their location. When they mentioned the footsteps to their team leader a few weeks later, she admitted that she had also heard them.

Victorian

Location: Chelmsford - Regiment Way roundabout in Beaulieu
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2018, 00:00h
Further Comments: While driving along this road, two people slowed down to ascertain their location. As they approached the roundabout, both spotted a man wearing Victorian clothing, including a small top hat, walking along the side of the road. After a few seconds, the man vanished, leaving behind mist.

Tapping Behind Sealed Door

Location: Chelmsford - Spotted Dog Inn, Tindal Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Mid twentieth century
Further Comments: No longer standing (replaced by a shopping centre) the Spotted Dog Inn had an infamous sealed room, haunted by the ghost of a guest murdered in his sleep. His tapping would wake any who tried to sleep within, hence the sealing. Some reports exist of the entity in the shopping centre itself, where it earned the nickname of 'Box Monster', due to its habit of throwing cardboard boxes around.

The Funny Man

Location: Chelmsford - Springfield Place, near Chelmsford
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: 1864, 1946
Further Comments: Many have complained of being harassed by an unknown force while at the building, reports blaming an ugly little dwarf said to haunt the area, particularly the churchyard.

Fire Dancer

Location: Chelmsford - Unknown dance hall
Type: SHC
Date / Time: 27 August 1938
Further Comments: As Phyllis Newcombe (22) left the dance floor, her dress burst into flame, and she died a few hours later in hospital. Tests showed that her clothing could not be ignited with a cigarette.

Friendly Lady in White

Location: Chigwell - The Marchings, Gravel Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1969
Further Comments: Believed to be a friend of King John, this ghost has frequently been seen in the house.

Suicidal Agnes

Location: Chigwell - Woolston Hall, now a country club?
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: 1980s
Further Comments: The spirit appearing only picking on males, Agnes is believed to have jumped from a third floor window to her death, and now haunts that floor.

Shadowy Figures Dancing Around Grave

Location: Chrishall - One mile away from Chrishall, a yew tree marking a mass grave.
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The yew tree marks the sight of a mass grave of plague victims, killed when the old town hall was set ablaze. The ghosts of those buried are said to dance around the tree, as a warning that the grave must never be disturbed.

Drowned Girl

Location: Clacton-on-Sea - Baptist Church along Pier Avenue
Type: Post-Mortem Manifestation
Date / Time: 1954
Further Comments: The sister of a bride was visible on several photographs, even though she had drowned a dozen years previous.

The beach between Clacton and Jaywick, Essex.

Owner of the Arm

Location: Clacton-on-Sea - Beach between Clacton and Jaywick
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1986
Further Comments: A man reported that his dog uncovered a human arm along the beach. He carried the arm home before taking the severed limb to the police station, and for several weeks afterwards, his house was plagued by loud bangs and rapping.

Sounds of a Struggle

Location: Clacton-on-Sea - Carr's Farm House, Coppins Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1980s?
Further Comments: The owners of this property reported several spooky occurrences, including phantom footsteps and muffled cries and the sounds of a struggle near the top of the staircase.

Three Pilots with Pale Faces

Location: Clacton-on-Sea - Disused sandpit and spinney
Type: Post-Mortem Manifestation
Date / Time: 1953
Further Comments: Seen by two children, the three pilots are believed to be German, the sandpit being a crash site for a Messerschmitt 110 shot down during the Second World War. The area is currently a car park for a nearby factory.

Little Old Men with Long Beards and Pointy Hats

Location: Clacton-on-Sea - Jaywick's Frobisher Primary School, school field
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: 1982
Further Comments: Two girls watched a couple of fairy folk, described as looking like the average garden gnome, dig a hole in the school's playing field.

Junction of London Road and St Johns Road, Clacton.

Riderless Horse

Location: Clacton-on-Sea - Junction of London Road and St Johns Road, Great Clacton
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early twentieth century
Further Comments: Before traffic in the area increased considerably, there were several reports of a ghostly horse without rider which would cross the roundabout before vanishing into a now demolished barn.

The site of the old ballroom at the former Butlins camp, Clacton.

Soldier Killed in a Fight

Location: Clacton-on-Sea - Old ballroom at former Butlins camp, near Martello Tower (no longer standing)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: On 11 June 1938, Butlin's Clacton opened its doors, although it was briefly closed and used as a training base when the Second World War broke out. A local legend says that a soldier was stabbed and killed in a fight which occurred at the ballroom and took to haunting the area. The camp, which stood close to the Martello Tower, was demolished and the area redeveloped in the mid-1980s; it appears that the ghost left at the same time.

Stamping and Slamming Doors

Location: Clacton-on-Sea - Old Kinema - currently a Homecare shop?
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: After a 1940's suicide, this cinema gained a reputation as being haunted. The sound of stamping feet has been heard, and doors have opened and closed on their own accord. A few have reported seeing an old man dressed in a 1940's suit.

The Old Lifeboat House in Clacton, Essex.

Moving Stock

Location: Clacton-on-Sea - Old Lifeboat House
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: A shopkeeper who hired a room to store surplus stock reported that items would rearrange themselves overnight.

Plough Inn, Clacton.

Hand Holder

Location: Clacton-on-Sea - Plough Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: The landlady of the inn reported feeling someone take her hand as she went to open a door. Believing it to belong to her husband, she turned to talk to him, but found no one there. Many visitors to the building also feel as if someone is watching them.

Singing

Location: Clacton-on-Sea - Private house along St Osyth Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1975-1978
Further Comments: Until the building was exorcised in 1978, a family living here reported phantom singing, a little girl which all could hear but only their four year old son could see, and ghostly footsteps.