The Paranormal Database

Bishop's Finger Inn, Canterbury.

Ellen Blean

Location: Canterbury - Bishop's Finger Inn, St Dunstan's Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Every Friday night (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Blean, a housekeeper to a Canon in Canterbury, poisoned him and his mistress when she discovered their affair. Blean disappeared soon after, and many years later her body was discovered walled up in a nearby building. The story goes that Blean's ghost haunts the street and appears in the inn itself, although the story's connection to the inn is said to be fictitious.

Abigail

Location: Canterbury - Building along Hawks Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: John Hippisley, who runs the Canterbury ghost walk, tells the story of Abigail. She committed suicide after several years of being beaten by her husband. Abigail ultimately had the last laugh, as her death was mistaken as a murder for which her husband was found guilty and hanged. Her spirit is said to linger in the upper part of the building.

Canterbury Cathedral, Kent.

Nell Cook

Location: Canterbury - Canterbury Cathedral - Archbishop's Palace, the Dark Entry, and other areas
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Nell was a servant at the cathedral. He discovered his niece was having a relationship with a canon and killed them both. Nell's ghost now walks in regret. Phantom plainchant has also been heard from the area, and the figure of a nun and the ghost of Simon of Sudbury are also reported.

Roads running through the centre of Canterbury.

One Time Mayor

Location: Canterbury - Central city streets
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Riding his bicycle around the city he loved, the mayor has proved to be quite harmless.

Clouded Leopard

Location: Canterbury - Countryside around the area
Type: ABC
Date / Time: 1975
Further Comments: An escapee from Howletts Park, this leopard lived for eight months in the Kent countryside, before being shot by a farmer.

St Margaret's Street, Canterbury.

Girl in Grey

Location: Canterbury - Former private residence (now an Estate Agent) along St Margaret's Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early twentieth century, every Friday morning at 05:00h
Further Comments: John Hippisley, who runs the Canterbury ghost walk, tells the story of a phantom girl dressed in grey clothing would be seen to enter the front door and ascend the staircase before vanishing. Eventually, a female's skeleton was discovered under the floorboards, draped in grey cloth.

Stagehand

Location: Canterbury - Gulbenkian Theatre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2011
Further Comments: This phantom presence is said to be a stagehand wearing black clothing. While only being seen once, the figure is more likely to be heard climbing ladders.

Thrown Glass

Location: Canterbury - Maidens Head public house (Room 4 in particular)
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 2019 - 2022
Further Comments: The pub appeared in the local press after it was reported that keys were taken and glasses smashed by an unseen hand in one of the guest rooms. A jukebox reputedly played while disconnected.

The new Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury.

Figure in White

Location: Canterbury - Marlowe Theatre (original theatre demolished in 1982)
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: 1967
Further Comments: This ghostly figure could be seen loitering on the right hand side of the stage during a performance. Please note that the image is of the newer Marlow; the one in which the ghost was encountered was demolished in 1982.

Mrs Veal

Location: Canterbury - Private house opposite animal market
Type: Manifestation of the Living
Date / Time: September 1705
Further Comments: Even though Mrs Veal arrived unexpectedly at the house of her friend Mrs Bargrave, the visitor stayed and chatted for a while before leaving. The following day, Mrs Bargrave discovered at the time of the visitor, Mrs Veal had lay dying twelve miles away.

Sheet Removal

Location: Canterbury - Private residence along Querns Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2012
Further Comments: The Canterbury Times reported that Dorothy Crawford had lived in her haunted home for thirty years, experiencing shaking furniture and having bed sheets removed at night. Crawford had also observed an old woman dressed in nineteenth century garb in her home.

Woman's Voice

Location: Canterbury - Rowlands Bistro (no longer operating)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late 1980s / early 1990s
Further Comments: Locking up late one night with only one other person in the building, a member of staff in the office heard a disembodied woman's voice say, 'I'll be there in a minute'. The witness quickly ran downstairs to find the waiter. The waiter himself stood in shock, having encountered a cold shape which had passed through him.

Black Figure

Location: Canterbury - Shop in The Parade
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1973
Further Comments: A worker in the upper part of the shop heard rustling. When they turned, a black shadowy figure was observed moving towards a kitchen. When the area was investigated, no one was there. The shadow had been spotted a couple of years previous by a cleaner.

Grey Robed Man

Location: Canterbury - Sudbury Tower, Pound Lane, City wall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: This solitary figure haunted a bedroom in the tower, reportedly tucking the occupant in at nights! Some believe the figure to be Simon of Sudbury.

Sun Street, Canterbury.

Bloody Water

Location: Canterbury - Sun Street
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A pump that once jutted from a wall was said to give out red water, coloured by the blood of Thomas Becket.

The Old Weaver's House, Canterbury.

Grey Lady

Location: Canterbury - The Old Weaver's House, currently a restaurant
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Seen by a domestic assistant, the lady in grey was observed ascending the staircase.

Tiny Tim's Tearoom, Canterbury.

Three Children

Location: Canterbury - Tiny Tim's Tearoom (restaurant), 34 St Margaret's Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: Workmen working on restoring the building during the 2000s reported the sounds of children playing on the staircase, strange noises in the attic, and youngsters whispering in a panelled room where they had found the relics from several children.

Black Figure

Location: Canterbury - Undisclosed shop along The Parade
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: March 2011
Further Comments: An employee reported that a customer had seen a black figure walk into and through a wall in the upper part of this shop.

Happy Man

Location: Canterbury - Unnamed church residence along Burgate
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century?
Further Comments: A property along this road was haunted by an unhappy man who made himself frequently seen. A skeleton was discovered the area, after which the phantom took on a cheerier disposition.