The Paranormal Database

Playful Creature

Location: Dunbar - Off coast
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: July 1939
Further Comments: A father and daughter watched a sea monster playing in the waters just off the coast for 30 minutes.

Glowing Eyes

Location: Dundar - Woods in the area
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A witness recounted how friends were terrified by a strange black dog with glowing red eyes which appeared and disappeared around them. The sightings were accompanied by high pitched screeching.

Pale Lady

Location: East Linton - Hailes Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s?
Further Comments: Locals have reported strange banging sounds coming from the castle, as well as the occasional glimpse of a phantom woman in white.

Grey Lady

Location: East Saltoun - Saltoun Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This shadowy female form reportedly haunts the rooms of this hall - some believe the entity to be a former owner who lost her pearls, and she now spends her time searching for the elusive jewellery.

Guard

Location: Edinburgh - Building on Leith Docks
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2009
Further Comments: A ghostly security guard is reputed to haunt this site. A painter working alone heard a door opening and footsteps walking through the building - when investigated, no one could be found.

Calton Hill, Edinburgh.

Gateway

Location: Edinburgh - Calton Hill
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Seventeenth century
Further Comments: According to one story, dating back to the Seventeenth Century, a magical fairy gateway leading to France, Holland, and the fairy kingdom opened on the hill, though only those with second sight could see and use the mythical entrance. A young lad claimed to have access to the gate and would act as a drummer to the many fairies who used the portal. The lad claimed to be needed on a certain date by the little people, and despite all physical efforts to force him to miss the meeting, the lad slipped away from his wardens and was never seen again.

Canongate, Edinburgh.

Figure in Black

Location: Edinburgh - Canongate
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1980s
Further Comments: Standing tall, this figure in black was spotted by a witness as they walked towards each other. It vanished when they reached touching distance.

Young Boy

Location: Edinburgh - Canongate area, Queensberry House (no longer standing)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This building was said to be haunted by the ghost of a young boy murdered (and partially eaten) at the site.

Lady Royston

Location: Edinburgh - Caroline Park House (also known as Royston)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1976 (babysitter's encounter)
Further Comments: This green tinted ghost is said to rise from the ground somewhere in the garden and drift slowly towards the front door before disappearing. Loud banging is sometimes heard coming from one of the rooms and is thought to be a cannon ball bouncing around - its motivation is unclear. A babysitter working here heard furniture being flung around in the room above her, although the following morning it was discovered that nothing had been moved.

Castle Hill and The Royal Mile, Edinburgh.

Deacon Brodie

Location: Edinburgh - Castle Hill and Royal Mile
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Brodie is reputed to walk this area, carrying a lantern. A coach pulled by a team of black horses (which sometimes breathe fire) is also said to start its journey here before travelling along the royal mile. The coach is filled with people in black garb. Another phantom, General Dalzell, rides the same route, but this time on a white horse.

Punch

Location: Edinburgh - Cathedral
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa early twentieth century?
Further Comments: A woman visiting the cathedral felt three sharp blows to the back of her neck but was unable to see anything which may have caused the strikes. She spoke to a worker at the cathedral who told her that the blows had been reported previously, and that the person had later received bad news. Sure enough, the woman later discovered that her son had died in an accident which had occurred at the same time as the blows had been felt.

Chalmers Close, Edinburgh.

Invisible Energy

Location: Edinburgh - Chalmers Close
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: 02 March 2006, around 20:30h
Further Comments: An invisible force of energy hit a mother and son in the chest before rushing past them at the top of Chalmers Close - both were shaken by the event. A few seconds prior to this, the pair had seen a red headed girl running towards them - they stopped to let her pass, but she turned off.

Charlotte Square, Edinburgh.

Piano

Location: Edinburgh - Charlotte Square
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: The tinkling of phantom ivories can sometimes be heard over the noise of traffic. In total, four apparitions have been reported from the Square - a coach, a woman in old fashioned clothing, a scruffy beggar, and a monk.

Chessel Court, Edinburgh.

Veiled Woman

Location: Edinburgh - Chessel Court, Canongate
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1986
Further Comments: Wearing a black dress, this veiled woman is thought to be the ghost of a suicide which took place many years previous. One former occupant reported hearing heavy breathing just outside their bedroom door, while in 1986 a resident felt something climb over their bed as they lay in it. An older story relates to the original building which stood here, which was set on fire to conceal the murder of its beautiful owner. The plan worked, and several buildings were constructed as a replacement. However, when a fire broke out and devoured these newer premises, the murdered woman was seen in the flames, screaming 'Once burnt, twice burnt, the third times I'll scare you all!'.

Crying Infant

Location: Edinburgh - Corn Exchange public house, Leith
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twenty-first century
Further Comments: Heard by the staff, the spirit of the crying child also creates cold gusts of wind and flickers the lights. It is thought the child spent much of their short life locked away in a cupboard.

White Lady with Sword

Location: Edinburgh - Corstorphine Sycamore Tree (only the stump remains)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This lady, angry at being (once again) stood up by her secret lover, murdered him with his own sword. She now haunts the scene of the crime.

Cowgate, Edinburgh.

Criminal

Location: Edinburgh - Cowgate area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Lurking near the place he was executed, this ghost has the rope burns from the hangman's rope still visible around his neck.

Lord Francis Jeffrey

Location: Edinburgh - Craigcrook Castle, Blackhall
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1970 (poltergeist), 2013/14 (footsteps)
Further Comments: A poltergeist in the building threw small metal items at staff, including paperclips and screws. Many years later, a member of staff reported hearing footsteps in an empty room above them and the following year two other people witnessed doors opening unaided. One story says that the castle is haunted by Lord Francis Jeffrey.

Ann Street, Edinburgh.

Mr Swan

Location: Edinburgh - 12 Ann Street - private residence
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: Late nineteenth century
Further Comments: As he drowned at sea hundreds of miles away, Mr Swan appeared to his family at the house and took the opportunity to wave goodbye before disappearing into thin air. Some report that he still returns once every few years to have a quick look in. As a side note, during the 1950s one house along Ann Street was said to be home to a white lady; it is unclear whether this is the same property or another.

Curse of the Mummy

Location: Edinburgh - 15 Learmonth Gardens
Type: Curse
Date / Time: 1930s
Further Comments: The figure of an ancient priest was seen in the building after the family returned from a trip to Egypt - it was said that the ghost had accompanied a bone that had been illegally removed from a tomb by a family member. When the piece of skeleton was destroyed, the haunting stopped.

Yellow Eyes

Location: Edinburgh - 25a Regent Terrace
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1979
Further Comments: The strange events which occurred in this shared flat included a voice which asked 'yes?', the sounds of a baby crying and heavy footsteps, the disappearance and reappearance of personal items, and the brief glimpse of a pair of narrow yellow eyes in the darkness.

Female Form

Location: Edinburgh - 36 Rutland Street
Type: Post-Mortem Manifestation
Date / Time: 24 December 1887, 07:30h
Further Comments: A doctor who lived here reported seeing the apparition of a female patient he had seen the previous night. The doctor later found out the woman had died at the exact moment of his encounter.

Soldier

Location: Edinburgh - 5 Hazeldean Terrace
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1957
Further Comments: The ghost of a Prestonpans soldier was said to haunt this site and performed various poltergeist tricks to obtain attention from the media.

Gnomey

Location: Edinburgh - 5 Rothesay Place
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1950s
Further Comments: This phantom appeared shortly after the family purchased furniture which belonged to a recently deceased sailor. Another version of the story names the phantom as Merry Jack Tar.

Old Lorry

Location: Edinburgh - A7 towards Stow
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Mid-twentieth century to early twenty-first century
Further Comments: A phantom lorry has been blamed for causing a few accidents along this part of the A7. Other sources state phantom cars have also been encountered, including an orange Austin in 2010.