The Paranormal Database

A photograph of a raven.

Raven

Location: Outer London: Hillingdon - West Drayton church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1883 (another version says circa 1749)
Further Comments: For many years, this large black bird haunted the church and its grounds - it would tap and peck at coffins, sit on the pews, and generally create a nuisance.

White Woman

Location: Outer London: Hounslow - Banks of the Grand Union Canal, Brentford
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1935
Further Comments: A torso of a female murder victim was discovered here, with her legs found in a train carriage at Waterloo. Her ghost remained in the area for a while, manifesting as a tall woman wearing a white dress.

Water Spirit

Location: Outer London: Hounslow - Bell Inn
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This destructive entity, named as a highwayman hanged just across the road, is blamed for turning on taps and smashing barrels of beer.

Playful Child

Location: Outer London: Hounslow - Clitheroe's Lock, Grand Union Canal, Brentford
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A young boy with a connection to Boston Manor is said to have drowned here during the 1820s. Always 'felt' but never seen, the entity's demeanour is playful and can assist (or hinder, depending on his mood) with the lock gates as boats pass through. His presence is considered a blessing.

Gliding Woman

Location: Outer London: Hounslow - Cranford Park House (no longer standing (demolished 1946) - currently The Berkeley Arms)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-1946
Further Comments: Two men with the intent of going out with the gamekeepers followed what they thought was a maid around the corridors of the building - until the figure disappeared at a dead end. The ghost of Sir Roger Aston, barber to James I, also wandered the site.

Hooded Figures

Location: Outer London: Hounslow - Disused building along Elmwood Avenue, Feltham
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Various days, 2007, around 06:45h
Further Comments: Moving at a fast pace, two hooded figures resembling monks were seen walking through a closed door of a disused building. The witness approached the door and realised it had not been opened for quite a while, as the grass that had grown around the base of the doorframe had not been disturbed.

An old woodcut of Hounslow Heath.

Dick

Location: Outer London: Hounslow - Hounslow Heath
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The highwayman Dick Turpin, who is just as busy in death as he was in life, is reported to haunt this area of urban heathland.

Highwayman

Location: Outer London: Hounslow - Hussars public house
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This figure, complete with dark clothing and cape, has been observed loitering around the cellar doors.

White Robe

Location: Outer London: Hounslow - New Brentford National School (rebuilt 1905), Brentford
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 28 September 1835
Further Comments: A schoolmaster, soon after discovering writing slates scattered on the floor, found himself questioning ten children who reported seeing a tall white shape in a robe which may have disappeared into the cellar. Volunteers ventured into the cellar but found nothing, not even footprints in the wet mud contained within.

Something

Location: Outer London: Hounslow - Norwood Hall, Norwood Green
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: According to a 1999 edition of the Middlesex Chronicle, the building was haunted, although no further details were given.

Pound Pincher

Location: Outer London: Hounslow - Private residence, Catherine Gardens
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: March - July 1956
Further Comments: The Hankins, a married couple, asked their vicar for an exorcism after one-pound notes vanished without trace, no matter where they hid the money. Footsteps were also heard, objects moved, and food would be scattered around the kitchen. The activity ceased after a psychic visited the site and the family used 'anti-poltergeist' chants whenever they spotted a strange shadow.

Maid

Location: Outer London: Hounslow - River Crane Cranford
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A mother and son walking along the river spotted a maid wearing white perched upon a stone seat by the water's edge. On their return journey they noticed that the maid, perhaps unsurprisingly, had gone, but the stone seat had also vanished without trace.

Headless Man

Location: Outer London: Hounslow - Two unidentified cottages
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: March 1948
Further Comments: Police were called after a headless man sat on a bed, scaring a nearby dog.

Former Captain

Location: Outer London: Hounslow - Unnamed house, Isleworth
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: January 1963
Further Comments: A phantom older man in a naval uniform and sporting a beard took to haunting the house and drove the residents out. When they later returned, the haunting appeared to have ceased, and the residents were never troubled again.

Gliding Lady

Location: Outer London: Kingston upon Thames - Infirmary (would later become Kingston Hospital, Regent Wing(?))
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: January - April 1922
Further Comments: A child first reported the ghost, describing a lady who stood at the end of his bed before drifting into a nearby room. When examined, the room was empty. A sister in charge spotted a similar figure, with a thin white face, sad eyes, and a cap like that worn during the First World War. Another nurse felt two hands grab her wrists just after extinguishing her light.

Alfred Batten

Location: Outer London: Kingston upon Thames - Portland Avenue and surrounding area
Type: Other
Date / Time: Circa January 1899
Further Comments: After several ghost sightings were reported in this area, police set up a watch and caught a man by the name of Alfred Batten who wore 'ghostly garments'. Batten was fined ten shillings.

Breathing

Location: Outer London: Kingston upon Thames - The Liverpool Arms public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1979
Further Comments: The ghost here has been heard breathing in several places around the building.

Bad Word

Location: Outer London: Kingston upon Thames - Unidentified shop, Market Place, Kingston
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: September 1875
Further Comments: Over the course of a week, mops, buckets, and other items were disturbed within the shop. Windows were also broken by stones, and the word 'bad' written on the staircase. The shop had been partly built on an old graveyard, so the haunting was suspected to have some connection to its locale, although stones were thrown at other properties in the area.

Dark Figure

Location: Outer London: Merton - Private residence along Morden Road, Mitcham
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1988-1998
Further Comments: A former resident stated that he and other previous owners of the property had spotted a dark shadowy figure in the hallway and on the landing. The figure appeared to be wearing a cloak.

Fred

Location: Outer London: Redbridge - Aldborough Hall Farm Shop (no longer operational). Ilford
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Last seen 2002
Further Comments: Seen wearing a dark fleece, and about 1.65 metres in height, this phantom was mistaken by a shop worker for his mother, until he realised there was no one else in the shop. The ghost was seen several times and is thought to be a totally benevolent entity of a former customer.

Asian Woman

Location: Outer London: Redbridge - Aldersbrook Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 1993
Further Comments: This Asian woman was only visible to two out of four occupants in a car. She ran out in front of the vehicle, causing the two witnesses to scream as they thought she would be hit - though no impact occurred. The entity was said to have a face full of fear and regret.

White Light

Location: Outer London: Redbridge - Barkingside police station, Ilford
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twenty-first century
Further Comments: A white light was seen hovering over the custody desk by one officer, while the same area was known to create a feeling of unwelcomeness.

Screaming Woman

Location: Outer London: Redbridge - Former Wanstead police station (no longer operational)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This police station was said to be haunted by a woman who screamed as she descended the staircase.

Raining Stones

Location: Outer London: Redbridge - General area of Woodford
Type: Other
Date / Time: August 1920
Further Comments: It was reported that stones rained down from the sky in this area for three days.

Prisoner

Location: Outer London: Redbridge - Ilford police station
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: One of the cells at this station was said to be haunted by a prisoner who took his own life (although an officer who researched the haunting could find no evidence that the suicide occurred).