London (SE1 - SE28) Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana
Black 'Panther' Attack
Location: SE19 - Sydenham neighbourhood
Type: ABC
Date / Time: 21 March 2005
Further Comments: Local resident Anthony Holder reported being attacked by a 1.8 metre long black cat in his back garden. The creature bit his fingers and left a large gash on his cheek before escaping. Police marksmen called to the scene found nothing.
First added: 2005-05-10 | Last updated: 2005-05-10 | ID #6241
Headless Worker
Location: SE19 - Tunnel between Crystal Palace and Gipsey Hill
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This poor rail worker lost his head in an accident while working on a section of track here - the ghost remains on the material plane searching for the lost item.
First added: 2002-08-26 | Last updated: 2002-08-26 | ID #2331
Girl in the Basement
Location: SE19 - White Hart public house, Crystal Palace
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2009 (story reported in national press, but no sighting details)
Further Comments: A little room in the basement, its constructed purpose unknown, is said to be the haunt of a little girl.
First added: 2009-04-04 | Last updated: 2009-04-04 | ID #9154
Princess Alice
Location: SE2 - Thames River, Thamesmead
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: September (reoccurring)
Further Comments: When a collier rammed a pleasure boat (the Princess Alice) here in 1878, over 600 people died - many of them being poisoned by the outflow of London's sewage which emerged from a pipe by the accident site. Their pitiful cries for help can sometimes be heard around the time of the accident.
First added: 2002-08-26 | Last updated: 2002-08-26 | ID #2335
Beast of Sydenham
Location: SE21 - Dulwich Wood
Type: ABC
Date / Time: 2009
Further Comments: The press claimed a jogger had reported being chased by a large black cat through this wooded area.
First added: 2014-10-13 | Last updated: 2014-10-13 | ID #11623
Railway Worker
Location: SE23 - Devonshire Road Nature Reserve
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A phantom railway worker from the nineteenth century reputedly haunts this nature reserve.
First added: 2026-01-10 | Last updated: 2026-01-10 | ID #16274
Dancer
Location: SE23 - One Tree Hill, Honor Oak Park, Dulwich
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: 1948
Further Comments: A female dancer was seen performing perfect complex ballet moves on the hill late at night, without making a sound on the debris ridden ground.
First added: 2002-08-21 | Last updated: 2002-08-21 | ID #2230
Rail Worker
Location: SE24 - Tulse Hill Station, platform one
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Killed as he walked on the tracks, the worker's footfalls are sometimes heard echoing through the station late at night.
First added: 2002-08-21 | Last updated: 2002-08-21 | ID #2241
Nun
Location: SE26 - Sydenham High School for Girls
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Once the site of a convent, this phantom nun is the only thing that remains. She is blamed for the mild poltergeist activity which occurs here.
First added: 2005-09-18 | Last updated: 2005-09-18 | ID #6590
Mirror Turner
Location: SE27 - Private residence (no longer standing), Langmead Street, West Norwood
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: July - August 1951
Further Comments: People in the house experienced scratching sounds, glowing lights, and items that moved unaided. Mirrors would be turned around and an occupant became terrified by something white spotted on the staircase. Police performed a vigil in an attempt to solve the mystery but did not experience anything out of the ordinary.
First added: 2023-02-25 | Last updated: 2023-10-28 | ID #14804
RAF Pilot
Location: SE28 - Abbey Road and Tavy Bridge (former Erith Marshes), Thamesmead
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: This pilot died when his spitfire crashed into the marshes during the Second World War. This tall, dark uniformed man has been reported in several buildings along the road. Some also report that the sound of a German aircraft crashing into the marshes here can still be heard.
First added: 2002-08-21 | Last updated: 2002-08-21 | ID #2239
Dead Dog
Location: SE3 - Blackheath, exact location unknown
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A woman from Bath saw a vision of her dog here, at the exact moment her pet died at home.
First added: 2005-03-30 | Last updated: 2005-03-30 | ID #5996
Victorian Lady
Location: SE3 - Hare and Billet Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s
Further Comments: This ghostly figure tragically hanged herself from a tree on the heathland when she discovered her lover had run off. She still patrols the area seeking him.
First added: 2002-08-21 | Last updated: 2002-08-21 | ID #2238
Screams
Location: SE3 - Kidbroke Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late 1800s
Further Comments: The screams of a murder victim could be heard here for years after the crime committed.
First added: 2002-08-21 | Last updated: 2002-08-21 | ID #2237
Elsie Marshall
Location: SE3 - St John's public library, Blackheath
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: A former missionary killed in China, Elsie has appeared to have returned to her former home, gently pushing past people if they stand in the way of the invisible entity.
First added: 2002-08-21 | Last updated: 2002-08-21 | ID #2235
No Biting
Location: SE3 - Unidentified residence, Blackheath
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Mid 1895
Further Comments: A team of eight spiritualists visited this house to rid it of the presence that prevented children from sleeping. Even though one spiritualist became possessed and tried to bite the ears off the landlady, the remaining seven contacted four lost spirits (a murdered woman, two men who had killed her, and a female conspirator) and convinced them to leave.
First added: 2022-01-27 | Last updated: 2022-01-27 | ID #14377
Footfalls
Location: SE4 - 85 Breakspear Road, Brockley
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1935-1955
Further Comments: The phantom footsteps once reported at this property would ascend and descend the staircase several times in succession. Towards the end of the haunting, the invisible entity would knock down ornaments and shake windows.
First added: 2007-03-20 | Last updated: 2007-03-20 | ID #7130
Scared to Death
Location: SE4 - Brockley Cemetery (aka Deptford Cemetery)
Type: Other
Date / Time: 21 March 1888
Further Comments: The British Medical Journal reported that an eighteen-year-old girl had been 'frightened to death' by a man dressed as a ghost.
First added: 2026-01-03 | Last updated: 2026-01-03 | ID #16268
Singing Lady
Location: SE4 - Brockley Jack public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: The building appeared on the television programme 'Whines and Spirits', where it was said the pub ghosts included a small child on the back stairs, a singing lady in the attic, and a figure in the cellar. Objects moved and a front door reportedly locked and bolted itself.
First added: 2026-01-03 | Last updated: 2026-01-03 | ID #16271
Man on Horseback
Location: SE4 - Brockley Road, near the Brockley Jack pub
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa March 1894
Further Comments: Walking along the road heading to Wickham Terrace, this witness spotted the motionless figure of a man sitting upon a horse. They were described as 'shadowy forms', not real, but with enough detail for the witness to discern the man's leather pistol pouches and the sweat on the horse. The apparitions vanished while the witness watched.
First added: 2026-01-11 | Last updated: 2026-01-11 | ID #16281
Percy
Location: SE4 - Private residence, Brockley Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 1900
Further Comments: The occupants of this property claimed to have seen a figure wearing a chimneypot hat behind the front door - he vanished as they opened it. Disembodied footsteps that ran up the staircase were also reported. Elliot O'Donnell identified the ghost as Percy Stephens.
First added: 2016-01-31 | Last updated: 2026-01-03 | ID #12016
Grabbing
Location: SE4 - Private residence, Endwell Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Situated in an area hit by a V1 rocket during the Second World War, residents and visitors at this property had the feeling of something grabbing for their feet on the staircase. Another person reported an eerie 'trapped' sensation around the cellar entrance.
First added: 2026-01-03 | Last updated: 2026-01-03 | ID #16269
Boy
Location: SE4 - Rivoli Ballroom
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Staff have reported footsteps in an empty bar after closing, and the shadow of a young boy against a projection screen.
First added: 2026-01-03 | Last updated: 2026-01-03 | ID #16270
Floating Face
Location: SE4 - Unidentified house, Brockley Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Summer evening, nineteenth century
Further Comments: A woman encountered a floating green/yellow face with matted hair in an upstairs corridor, which vanished when she exclaimed 'In the name of Christ, be gone!'
First added: 2026-01-03 | Last updated: 2026-01-03 | ID #16272
Suffocation
Location: SE4 - Unknown residence, Brockley
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: December 1920
Further Comments: A few weeks after moving in, the Trent family experienced shaking beds, flashing light bulbs, and an invisible entity which tried to suffocate Mrs Trent with a pillow. After several more nights of smashing mirrors and ornaments, and the manifestation of a figure made of black smoke, the family moved out.
First added: 2025-09-27 | Last updated: 2025-09-27 | ID #16103
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