The Paranormal Database

19 Magdalen Street, Norwich.

Victorian Female Murder Victim

Location: Norwich - 19 Magdalen Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s
Further Comments: When this location was home to a charity shop, staff were subjected to the sounds of footsteps in empty parts of the building, cold spots, and drafts. A shadowy figure was also reported to lurk on the staircase. The psychical research team BSIG spent a night on the site; they documented EVP and witnessed a previously locked door swing open. It was speculated that the haunting was caused by a Victorian woman murdered near the site. More recently, the EDP's Weird Norfolk team reported an exorcism had been performed in the shop in the 1980 and that, perhaps other than one recent fleeting encounter, the haunting has all but ceased.

Sam the Lord Sheffield

Location: Norwich - Adam and Eve public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1549 onwards
Further Comments: Dying at the inn in 1549, Lord Sheffield (now nicknamed Sam) now makes the odd appearance in the building. Sometimes staff report the feeling of someone running fingers through their hair, even though no one else is nearby. In 2006 one man reported seeing a ghostly hand holding a head while sitting in the pub's car park.

Augustine Steward House, Norwich.

Lady in Grey

Location: Norwich - Augustine Steward House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century?
Further Comments: When the plague killed the occupants of this building, the house was boarded up for several weeks. Unfortunately, a girl in the house had survived; unable to escape, she starved to death. Her grey ghost haunts both the Augustine Steward House and the Tombland alleyway.

Child with Hoop and Stick

Location: Norwich - Business premises, Thorpe Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: July 2019
Further Comments: One person in the building spotted a child running across the landing with hoop and a stick. Other members of staff have encountered a Victorian lady walking down the staircase and disappearing.

Cathedral Close, Norwich.

Poltergeist

Location: Norwich - Cathedral Close
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Items began to move on their own accord after builders broke up an old stone staircase in one building along here. The activity died down after church officials were brought in to investigate.

Highwayman

Location: Norwich - Coachmaker's Arms public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: This phantom figure (who looks like Dick Turpin) stands at the end of the bar and has been mistaken for a paying customer. A ghostly woman in black reportedly walks down the staircase, while bottles and glasses fall from the shelves without just cause.

Mr Issacs, a Former Rabbi

Location: Norwich - Cupit (or Curat) House (town centre)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Third week of November, 1889 onwards
Further Comments: Since a building extension, the ghost of Mr Issacs has been heard walking in the upper part of the house. Evidence discovered indicated that the Rabbi may have killed his wife, and as punishment, his spirit returns.

Elm Hill, Norwich.

Father Ignatius

Location: Norwich - Elm Hill
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This holy man cursed several people who died soon after, so the locals forced him to flee the city. His shade walks along this hill, big black bible in hand, still cursing the unwary.

Voices from the Past

Location: Norwich - Farnworths (was at 35 London Street)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1997
Further Comments: Local press reported at the time that the manager would hear men's voices in the building although no other people were present. On another occasion wet drag marks were seen on the floor, with no rational explanation for their presence.

Former Lamb Inn, Norwich.

John Aggas

Location: Norwich - Henry's (formally the Lamb Inn)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1999
Further Comments: Last seen sitting on a chair by a window, this friendly phantom is thought to be John Aggas, a former landlord murdered by his brother in law. The ethereal John would make himself known to children staying at the inn, by perching on the foot of their bed and recounting ghost stories!

Woman in Turquoise Jacket

Location: Norwich - Lane between St Stephens Street and Malthouse Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 24 January 2022, 13:00h
Further Comments: Taking a shortcut through this narrow lane, a witness spotted an older woman wearing a 1970s-style turquoise jacket and brown skirt a short distance away. The witness looked away for a second, during which time the older woman vanished - there was nowhere the woman could have gone in such a brief period of time.

Maddermarket Theatre, Norwich.

Black Robed Priest Celebrating Mass

Location: Norwich - Maddermarket Theatre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1920s
Further Comments: Once a church, the theatre is now known for the infrequent sightings of a spectral priest, though little has been seen or heard from the spirit since the 1920's.

Maid's Head Hotel, Norwich.

Lady in Grey

Location: Norwich - Maid's Head Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: This old woman dressed in grey clothing walks around the hotel, the smell of lavender following her. She is believed to be a former maid at the building. A former mayor of the city walks around the courtyard shaking his head.

Norwich Castle, Norfolk.

Old Lady in a Black Dress

Location: Norwich - Norwich Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1820 onwards
Further Comments: The earliest ghost sighting here dates to 1820 when a few prisoners were scared 'half to death' by something indescribable. In 1844 the Devil, dancing away on the walls, was seen by two witnesses. More recently, staff at the castle museum have reported watching an old lady wearing black float around the grounds. It is unclear if this sighting relates to the old ghost story of Martha Alden, who was executed for murdering her husband in 1807 and took to haunting the castle hill. Finally, there are rumours that the hill on which the castle stands conceals the grave of an old king, together with his hoard of silver and gold.

Flying Coach

Location: Norwich - Pockthorpe area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early eighteenth century
Further Comments: A team of headless horses driven by a headless coachman would be seen flying over the rooftops in this area of the city.

Dark Figures

Location: Norwich - Private residence, Silver Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2007-2008
Further Comments: A former occupier of this house claimed lights would flick on and off, a dark figure could be seen, and covers forcefully removed off the bed. Neighbours reported hearing sounds from the building after the occupier left.

Norwich Railway Station, Norfolk.

Large Rat

Location: Norwich - Railway Station
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This station is home to a frightful entity which takes the form of a rat-like creature with large teeth and obnoxious breath.

Samson and Hercules House, Norwich.

Lady in Grey Again

Location: Norwich - Samson and Hercules House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: The ghost which haunts the nearby Augustine Steward House has also been seen here, her grey form drifting around, the legs fading away just below the knee.

Woman with Dark Hair

Location: Norwich - St John Ambulance Training Centre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2019
Further Comments: The site is home to a woman with dark black hair wearing a red dress. Her legs are said to be below floor level, suggesting that the current building is higher than the original land.

Footsteps

Location: Norwich - Strangers Club, Elm Hill
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Heard walking on the wooden floorboards upstairs, the owner of these footfalls can never be found when the upper story is investigated.

Phantom Footfalls

Location: Norwich - Tap & Spile, Oak Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Footfalls and poltergeist activity are blamed on the ghost of a former landlord executed for the murder of a prostitute.

The Bridge House pub, Norwich.

Screaming

Location: Norwich - The Bridge House public house (currently the Lollard's Pit), Riverside Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Constructed over sixteenth century holding cells, the screams are assumed to be those of terrified prisoners.

Lady in Grey

Location: Norwich - Tombland
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 18 April 2015, circa 23:15h
Further Comments: A couple walking their dog at night encountered a woman wearing layers of old fashioned grey dresses with a torn white apron. The woman wore an eye mask, which the witnesses believed prevented her from seeing where she was walking.

Wild Man pub, Norwich.

Little Boy

Location: Norwich - Wild Man (aka Wildman) public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century?
Further Comments: A former staff member claimed to have seen a young boy run across the bar area and disappear up the staircase, though no trace of him could be found. He is thought to have died in the cellar in a fire, where heavy barrels are now heard moving across the floor late at night.