The Paranormal Database

Turpin

Location: NW3 - Hampstead Heath
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Sighting of ghosts unknown, cryptid in 2005
Further Comments: Thought to be none other than Dick Turpin, this ghostly robber rides around the heath after dusk on his jet black horse. Another ghost on the common land is that of a nineteenth century Member of Parliament who swallowed poison nearby; his shade can be identified by its top hat. A third ghost was spotted by two boys out playing on the heath, who reported watching an old man silently digging a hole. When they returned to the spot the following day, the ground was undisturbed. In 2005 a man encountered a large, winged creature which tore off the tops of trees as it passed overhead.

Wells

Location: NW3 - HG Wells' House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: This famous character, author of The Time Machine and many others, reportedly still walks between the walls of his former home.

Waitress

Location: NW3 - Holly Bush Inn, Holly Mount
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: Seen and spoken to several times by customers who have given their orders to her, they later find out that a girl matching that description has never worked for the pub.

Victorian Man

Location: NW3 - Old Bull & Bush public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: This shade is thought to belong to a skeleton discovered hidden in the basement, dated around the end of the nineteenth century.

Girl

Location: NW3 - Priory, Church Row
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Nineteenth century
Further Comments: The builder of this property, Mr Thompson, was said to have bricked up one of his daughters within its walls, and her ghost haunted the site.

Knocking

Location: NW3 - Private house along Well Walk
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Nineteenth century?
Further Comments: The staircase and a bedroom were said to be haunted. One guest reportedly fled the bedroom after hearing knocking, quiet footsteps and whispering. A few days later, having changed room, the guest watched a woman in blue ascend the staircase and disappear into the haunted room.

Split Table

Location: NW3 - Private residence, Haverstock Hill
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1957 - summer 1958
Further Comments: One witness claimed a vase narrowly avoided hitting her after an unseen hand threw it across a room. Another witness watched a marble tabletop split in half, while a third was tipped out of bed. A journalist who stayed the night with two other investigators witnessed a drawer open itself and a candlestick break into three pieces after being pushed to the floor.

Trotting

Location: NW3 - The Spaniards Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Horses reported in the 1930s, other events in 2004
Further Comments: Sounds of a horse moving around this area were frequently reported prior to the Second World War. More recently, one witness reported her dog taking bites at an invisible presence within the public house.

Young Woman

Location: NW3 - Turpin's Restaurant
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1980
Further Comments: The ghost of a woman strangled by the fireplace was said to haunt the area where she died.

Old Charlie

Location: NW3 - Unnamed flat, Adamson Road, Swiss Cottage
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late 1940s
Further Comments: When a brother and sister moved into this flat, the local authorities warned that 'Old Charlie' haunted the site. Furniture would move around, a plate of fish vanished without trace, and during a seance, a hunched figure appeared. The siblings left, and the next family to move in said they had experienced nothing untoward.

Dog sized Cat

Location: NW3 - West End Lane, area near the church
Type: ABC
Date / Time: April 1992
Further Comments: Deep within London, the report of this large golden cat surprised many locals.

Girl Looking Through Window

Location: NW3 - William IV public house, Hampstead High Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The outside of the pub is haunted by a girl who gazes in through the lower windows, while inside walks the shade of a doctor's wife murdered and buried in the cellar.

Lily Langtry

Location: NW4 - 103 Alexandra Road, was known as Leighton House (no longer standing)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1960s
Further Comments: A well known Edwardian star, Lily's shade was blamed for creating the disembodied voices that could sometimes be heard here.

S for Sugar

Location: NW4 - Hendon Air Museum
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: The Lancaster Bomber 'S for Sugar', which is kept on site here, still retains its crew from the Second World War in spirit form. A gunner has been observed sitting in one of the turrets, while the sounds of people working on the aircraft have been recorded late at night.

Monk

Location: NW4 - Private residence, Sunningfields Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1960-2004
Further Comments: Three generations of family are said to have experienced paranormal occurrences in this location, including spotting a hooded monk-like figure in the garden, footsteps heard running around, and a child-like figure descending the staircase. The haunting is said to have died down or ceased completely as of late.

Shuffling Sandals

Location: NW4 - St Mary's Church, Hendon
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Around religious festivals
Further Comments: The phantom monks which remain earthbound here are said to become more active during the lead up to Christian festivals - they can be heard walking and singing in and around the church.

Black Monk

Location: NW4 - Tenterden Hall, Hendon (no longer standing - demolished in 1933)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-1934
Further Comments: A haunt of a black monk, the entity would be seen on the staircase of this former school before the building was knocked down.

Boudicca's Grave

Location: NW5 - Parliament Hill Fields
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: A mound here is reputed to be the final resting place of Boudicca.

Bearded Man

Location: NW5 - Unnamed Antique Shop, Grafton Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1980
Further Comments: A sad, bearded figure, dressed only in old fashioned underwear, started to haunt this shop shortly after it sold a recently acquired suit of armour. It was thought that the figure was a knight, upset that his protective garb had been sent overseas.

St. Gervase de Mertoun

Location: NW6 - Red stone close to Kilburn Priory (no longer present)
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: St. Gervase was killed by his brother Stephen after Stephen fell in love with Gervase's wife. The stone upon which his body fell turned red with blood, forcing Stephen to confess his crime. The stone remained red for decades after the event.

Thrown Chisel

Location: NW6 - Shoe shop (no longer operating) along Dyne Road
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: February 1949 - February 1950
Further Comments: A chisel embedded itself in the wall just as a worker complained to his manager about the haunting. Shoes would be found tossed outside or dyed the wrong colour, candles moved and lit, and locked doors opened. Eventually a pair of shoes were nailed to a bench and covered in white powder in a (failed) effort to catch the phantom. After a year, the poltergeist left a message instructing the staff to dig a hole. Instructions were followed and a concrete slab laid over a drain found under the floor where the ghost had indicated. The shop fell quiet.

Mourning Lady

Location: NW6 - West End Lane Station (now West Hampstead railway station)
Type: Other
Date / Time: Circa 1907
Further Comments: Travelling to Kew, Mrs Thompson watched a lady who appeared to be in mourning board the carriage. Thompson had placed a parcel and bunch of flowers by her side, so removed the items to make room for the lady to sit down, but the lady had vanished. Thompson replaced the items. When the train reached the next station, the carriage door opened and the lady in mourning entered, this time very much flesh and blood, and asked Thompson to move the flowers so she could sit.

Religious Disturbance

Location: NW7 - Lawrence Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1960s
Further Comments: Strange incidents around this street have been blamed on a nun, whose body was discovered buried beneath the street in 1963. A cloaked figure has been seen walking around the road, vanishing when approached, and phantom music reported. Another, older, story states the area was once haunted by a shadowy man in a wide brimmed hat.

Nan Clark

Location: NW7 - Nan Clark's Lane, Mill Hill
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 21 June (reoccurring), though last reported sighting in Nov
Further Comments: Nan Clark was a landlady of a local inn in the eighteenth century, whose history is shaky - she may have murdered or been murdered by her husband or lover, either in the lane which takes her name or in a local pond. Whatever truly happened, Nan now returns to the area once a year.

Crying Children

Location: NW8 - Capland Street, Marylebone
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Killed by their insane father (who went on to kill himself), the cries of three young children can be heard echoing around the street.