The Paranormal Database

Wicked Parson

Location: Gillingham - Dogs Lane and All Saints church
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: 1927
Further Comments: Last seen sitting on a verge along Dogs Lane with glowing eyes, this phantom hound is thought to be a holy man with less than holy tendencies. The entity was also reported outside the church in 1913.

Jangling Highwayman

Location: Gillingham - Road past the War Memorial
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The sound of chains that can be heard crossing the road as the church bells ring are attributed to a phantom highwayman. He prowled on people using the road between Beccles and Great Yarmouth, and when caught the man was chained and hanged.

Rustling

Location: Gillingham - Winston Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The phantom sounds heard at the hall include a rustling silk dress that passes along the corridors, ghostly footsteps, and a voice that calls out 'are you there?'.

Smugglers

Location: Gillingham - Wyndale Farm
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Possibly connected to the rumoured secret tunnel that extends from the farmhouse to the river, the farm is thought to be haunted by the phantoms of smugglers.

Pony and Trap

Location: Gorleston - A143 - Gorleston/Beccles road; the Lily Pit - once a deep pond, now filled over and a school stands there
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Though there does not appear to have been any reports of this pony since the pond was filled, it was reported that the creature would travel at breakneck speed before vanishing into the water.

Fisherman

Location: Gorleston - Mulberry's hairdressers, Bells Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2003
Further Comments: The entity here apparently took a dislike to the people using his former home and generally made a nuisance of himself, locking one of the staff members in a room.

Not Swans

Location: Gorleston - Pond in private garden
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1989
Further Comments: Two children climbed the fence to a garden after spotting what they thought were two swans swimming in the misty waters of a pond. They stopped approaching when they realised the shapes were a single white horse struggling in the water. The horse promptly vanished.

Flying Wheelie Bin

Location: Gorleston - Skies over Brasenose Avenue area
Type: UFO
Date / Time: 24 August 2007
Further Comments: Several people spotted a strange wheelie bin-shaped object flying silently across the sky, fire seemingly coming from the bottom of the craft. One man photographed the object, and although the images were reasonably clear, the object remained unidentifiable until it was reported in the local press the 'craft' was a home-made hot air balloon.

Dog with Long Legs

Location: Gorleston - Suffield Road and High Street
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: 2006
Further Comments: A woman reported seeing a strange dog-like creature with long legs on two different occasions around Gorleston. When she spotted the creature the second time running down the High Street, it vanished without trace.

Gorleston-on-Sea beach, Norfolk.

Large Running Dog

Location: Gorleston-on-Sea - Along beach, half a mile from the Gorleston Rescue Headquarters
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: 19 April 1972
Further Comments: While on duty at the HQ, Graham Grant watched a large black dog running in the sand, pausing every now and then to look around. It vanished without warning, in the middle of the beach.

White Figure

Location: Great Hockham - Woodland alongside roadside between Hockham and Wretham
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1995
Further Comments: Spotted by a witness passing by on a bus, this figure was described as resembling the Grim Reaper, only in white. The witness discovered a few years later that the figure has been seen by other locals and is somehow connected to a chapel in the area.

Peddar's Way, Great Massingham.

Phantom Dog

Location: Great Massingham - Peddar's Way & Massingham Heath
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: 1960s, 1970s
Further Comments: The shucks around this area bring misfortune to any who see them, one witness having a serious road accident exactly one year after seeing a ghostly dog. Reports of a grey phantom dog have also been made, quite rare in East Anglian Shuck mythology.

Hyter Sprites

Location: Great Melton - Area once known as Blow Hill, aka Coldblow Hill
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Pre-twentieth century
Further Comments: Hyter Sprites were said to be a beneficent type of fairy, though their homes were avoided after dusk. Hyter Sprites were once believed to live in this part of Great Melton.

Woman with Child

Location: Great Melton - Blow Hill
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1870s
Further Comments: A phantom woman would sit under a tree on the hill, cuddling a crying child.

Four Headless Bridesmaids in a Coach

Location: Great Melton - Old Norwich Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown, but one version of the story says every midnight and midday
Further Comments: Bringing misfortune to all those who witness the spectacle, the headless bridesmaids are said to have been murdered by a highwayman who pushed the coach into a pond (or bottomless pit) to hide his crime. Another slight variation of this story states that if you see the coach, and the bridesmaids have heads, all is well. If they are headless, then it's time to panic.

Circular Lights

Location: Great Ryburgh - Skies in the area
Type: UFO
Date / Time: Mid-1990s
Further Comments: At least three witnesses observed a very large circle of flashing lights for ten minutes as it crossed the sky. The lights moved both clockwise and anticlockwise, while another set pulsated.

Phantom White Dog

Location: Great Snoring - Road South of Great Snoring
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Late 1930s
Further Comments: Just prior to the Second World War, a farmer reported driving straight through a phantom white dog. He was so shocked he stopped his car and ran. Many cyclists in the area had also reported the creature.

Key Hiding Spirit

Location: Great Yarmouth - The Duke's Head Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 14 Century onwards?
Further Comments: Possibly the spirit of the old local baddie Baron Scarfe, this shade hides various items and plays around with electrical equipment.

Little Boy

Location: Great Yarmouth - White Horse Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 2003
Further Comments: The pub featured in local press in 2003 after it was claimed that the ghosts which haunted the site were a 'stumbling block' for the sale of the building. Visiting ghost hunters said the pub was haunted by a small child and a woman named Mary. In addition, a poltergeist would switch lights on and off, and cause electrical items to fail.

Flying Food

Location: Great Yarmouth - White Horse public house (no longer open), Northgate Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: The chef came close to quitting this pub after a beef stake was thrown at him in the kitchen by an invisible entity. A few customers have reported seeing shadowy figures lurking around, and one ghost hunter claimed to have filmed contorted faces behind the bar.

Bear Sized Hound

Location: Great Yarmouth - Yarmouth South Station (no longer standing)
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: 1860
Further Comments: This creature was described as white and the size of a polar bear by two witnesses as they watched it leap over engines.

Breydon Water, Norfolk.

Fighting Galleons

Location: Great Yarmouth - Breydon Water
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Varies: 11 July, 14 September (reoccurring)
Further Comments: The first set of ships to haunt this area is said to be a fleet of galleons heading towards Burgh Castle. The second is a battle between a pirate ship and two smaller vessels.

Will' o'the Wisp

Location: Great Yarmouth - Cemetery Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1859
Further Comments: The ghostly entity which briefly appeared at this site was said to have startled several people along the road during this year.

Disappearing Shop

Location: Great Yarmouth - Exact location not known
Type: Environmental Manifestation
Date / Time: 1973
Further Comments: A coin collector in Yarmouth reported visiting a shop to buy envelopes for his collection. He thought the shop looked old fashioned, as did the lady who served him, but thought no more of it until he returned a week later - and found the place had gone.

Henry

Location: Great Yarmouth - Fire Station
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s and 2000s
Further Comments: Built upon an area that housed bodies, the fire station has developed a reputation for being haunted, particularly by a monk nicknamed Henry. Footfalls have also been heard down empty corridors.