The Paranormal Database

Shadowy Figure

Location: Plymouth (Devon) - Plym Valley Trail, viaduct bridge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 01 February 2020, 21:30h
Further Comments: A couple spotted a male figure wearing contemporary clothing standing completely still in the middle of a viaduct bridge. Concerned for the man's safety, the couple called out 'are you okay?', only to watch him drift to the edge of the bridge and vanish before their eyes.

Faceless Woman

Location: Dublin (County Dublin) - Flat near the North Circular Road
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Circa 1988 / 1989, around midnight
Further Comments: Two friends chatting outside a flat spotted an old woman walking along the road, pausing every so often to pick up scraps of rubbish. The friends commented on how terrible it was to see the woman alone in that state and continued to watch as she climbed some stairs to the house on the opposite side of the road. The woman turned to face the friends, who then realised the woman's face was brightly glowing, and her legs and hands were also illuminated. The glowing woman then turned her back and vanished.

Monk

Location: Bawnboy (County Cavan) - Exact area not known
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Possibly twentieth century
Further Comments: An area of the village was said to be haunted by a headless monk.

EVP

Location: Bawnboy (County Cavan) - Workhouse
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2018
Further Comments: GhostEire have carried out an investigation at this workhouse, capturing several instances of EVP.

Suicide

Location: Crossdoney (County Cavan) - Unidentified pool in the area (may no longer exist)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early twentieth century
Further Comments: A man who accidently shot a colleague drowned himself in a pool; his ghost hung around the area for a while afterwards.

Priest

Location: Lavey Strand (County Cavan) - Parish Priest's house in the area
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Mid nineteenth century
Further Comments: As Paul Keon walked home, he encountered a ghostly priest who requested Paul take him to the Parish Priest's house. Paul did as asked; he escorted the ghost to the Parish Priest's house, knocked on the door and introduced the priests to each other. They had a conversation in Latin, after which the ghostly priest promptly vanished.

Victorian Woman

Location: Glenade (County Leitrim) - Unidentified house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Sometime between 1960-2008
Further Comments: The ghostly Green Lady that famously haunts a location in Ballyshannon was seen looking from a top floor window in a house in this area. The entity wore Victorian clothing.

Spanish Soldiers

Location: Streedagh (County Sligo) - Staad Abbey Ruins
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The abbey is reputedly haunted by the ghosts of Spanish Sailors who were brought here and executed by British soldiers in 1588, after a vessel from the Spanish Armada. The ghostly presences manifest as shadowy forms accompanied by a cold atmosphere.

No Night Shift

Location: Laindon (Essex) - Former printers (was previously Fortune of War public house), High Road
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Mid 1980s
Further Comments: A local story says that poltergeist activity at this building was so bad that staff refused to work at night. Footsteps were heard walking around and boxes in the storeroom would be thrown around.

Sounds of Children

Location: Glasgow (Lanarkshire) - Cathedral House Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The sounds of children have been reported coming from the top floor of this hotel. Other people have claimed to feel something invisible brush against them. In a newspaper interview in 2022, it was stated that Suzi Quatro had reported seeing a ghost here to the manager.

The Necropolis, likely taken between 1858-1872.

Gorbals Vampire

Location: Glasgow (Lanarkshire) - Southern Necropolis
Type: Vampire
Date / Time: 1950s (vampire, others unknown)
Further Comments: An urban myth circled the area during the 1950s that the graveyard was home to a vampire with iron teeth. At the story's height, it is said that hundreds of children patrolled the site, looking for the monster which, they thought, had kidnapped and eaten two local children. Another story to emerge from the Necropolis is that of the white woman - a feminine statue that sits on top of the grave of three people killed in a tramcar accident is said to turns its head and watch visitors as they pass.

Coach Master

Location: Nelson (Lancashire) - The Coach House, Marsden Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2021
Further Comments: The owner of this property has experienced disembodied footsteps and whispering accompanying a sense of not being alone. Workmen who had tools moved have left after feeling a strange presence. It is thought the old coach master, together with his wife and adopted child, may be responsible for the haunting.

Phone Call

Location: Egham (Surrey) - Private residence east of M25
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 05 May 2022
Further Comments: While a husband and wife were alone downstairs in this property, the husband's mobile phone that had been left upstairs placed a call to the wife's phone. When the husband went to grab his phone, he realised that his boots had moved from the stairs and had been placed on the bed, where he had previously been.

Vanishing Hand

Location: Smethwick (West Midlands) - St Philip's Church
Type: Other
Date / Time: Circa 1954, mid summer
Further Comments: Two young boys playing in the church grounds were close to the statue of Saint Philip. They watched the left hand suddenly break off and fall to the ground, leaving a black void in place of the hand. The boys looked away for a few minutes and when they looked back the left hand was back in place.

Rocking Chair

Location: Batley (Yorkshire) - Jessops Mill
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twenty-first century
Further Comments: Jessops Mill's ghostly past featured in several newspaper articles when the property was sold in 2022. The site had previously featured on a television programme, and former staff had claimed to have encountered strange shadows and witnessed a rocking chair rock unaided.

Portland, Dorset

Underground Mutton

Location: Portland (Dorset) - General area
Type: Curse
Date / Time: Still occurring
Further Comments: The death of a nineteenth century quarry crane operator, blamed on a collapsing rabbit warren, gave birth to the belief that rabbits were unlucky. Even mentioning the word rabbit could bring frightful consequences; the creatures were referred to as 'underground mutton', 'furry things' or just 'bunnies'. Some employers would send their labourers back home if a rabbit had been seen en route to work.

Clach na Glaistig

Location: Achindarroch (Argyll and Bute) - Farmhouse
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A stone known as Clach na Glaistig would be washed with a portion of milk every evening to thank a ghost for keeping the calves and cows separate at night. The entity was said to have a face resembling a lichen-covered stone.

Donald Campbell

Location: Inverawe (Argyll and Bute) - Inverawe House
Type: Post-Mortem Manifestation
Date / Time: 1756
Further Comments: Donald Campbell appeared to his brother Duncan three times after being murdered, begging that Duncan hand over his killer; Duncan had inadvertently promised that the killer be hidden, not realising the murderer had struck at his brother. Unwilling to break his word, not even to the ghost of his brother, Duncan helped the killer escape - and as punishment his ghostly sibling told Duncan where he would die. The building is currently haunted by Duncan (the ghostly Donald moved to Barcaldine) and by Mary Cameron, the sole survivor of a 1660s outbreak of plague at the house. One nineteenth century account says the house was also home to a Glaistig who would rearrange furniture and could be heard rustling as she moved through the house.

An old postcard showing Iona Abbey

Time Slip

Location: Iona, Mull (Argyll and Bute) - Abbey
Type: Environmental Manifestation
Date / Time: 1940s?
Further Comments: A clergyman visiting the island reported seeing the abbey in its former glory - he almost drowned when approaching the building, believing that he was walking on a causeway that no longer existed. Friends managed to save him. There are also stories that say Viking longboats sometimes appear off the coast, depositing phantom raiders who go on to attack the abbey, while people still report hearing singing coming from the empty abbey. At least one guest reported seeing a transparent, motionless, cowled figure standing by their bed.

Carmichael

Location: Lorne (Argyll and Bute) - House (no longer standing) by Loch Feochan
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A former mistress of the house, the ghost by the name of Carmichael took up residence in a nearby ravine. She could be heard wailing prior to a family misfortune and cried for weeks when it was decided to demolish her old home. She left the area when a new house was built.

Glaistig

Location: Oban (Argyll and Bute) - Dunstaffgne (or Dunstaffnage) Castle
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Prior to major news
Further Comments: The Glaistig is a fairy-like guardian entity that follows a family, only becoming apparent when good or bad news is heard (that is when she bursts into song, cheers, or cries). Dunstaffgne's Glaistig would also be heard stomping around and on one occasion, pulled the sheets off a guest's bed. The creature has not been heard since the castle burnt down,

Rothesay Castle, from the Evening Express, 30 July 1897

Lady Isabell

Location: Rothesay (Argyll and Bute) - Rothesay Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Local stories tell of a female form which moves along the battlements after dark, with the occasional scream being heard. One account says the entity is white in colour, while others maintain the ghost is green. The woman has been named as Lady Isabell, who took her own life rather than being forced to marry a Viking raider. A step, known as the 'Bluidy Stair', is said to have a bloodstain that can never be removed.

Figure in Black

Location: Braintree (Essex) - Lanes around Bocking
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: October 1896
Further Comments: A hooded, gliding figure was seen around the village lanes, with varying descriptions to whether the ghost was male or female. The entity would disappear when/if the witness screamed.

Monk

Location: W6 (Greater London) - Holy Trinity church, Brook Green
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 1896
Further Comments: Father White claimed to have seen a ghostly monk enter the church on more than one occasion. The Father's servant and curates had also spotted the entity.

Rapping

Location: Abertridwr (Gwent) - Unidentified house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1906
Further Comments: A man named Craze lived in the property and was said to have experienced strange knocking and groans which were said to emerge from the kitchen floor. After newspapers reported the story, it would appear Craze was boycotted by other miners.

Glass Smashing

Location: Blaenavon (Gwent) - Private residences along Darkfield Terrace (since renamed?)
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: November 1904
Further Comments: Several properties along this terrace had windows smashed or removed. Although some believed a human hand was behind the vandalism, others pointed to a supernatural explanation as the perpetrator had never been seen.

Walking Man

Location: Ynyshir (Mid Glamorgan) - Private residence, Whitting Street, and surrounding area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa October 1893
Further Comments: After the sounds of footsteps and someone chopping wood were heard emerging from this property at night, several teams patrolled the area. Most bore witness to the footsteps that moved from room to room, and one group encountered a ghostly man standing at the top of the staircase, who resembled a former owner who had died of disease.

Large Black Shape

Location: Passenham (Northamptonshire) - Road alongside the church
Type: Other
Date / Time: Mid - late twentieth century
Further Comments: Three men spotted a large black shadowy shape, some seven foot (2.1 metres) tall, emerge from the churchyard. As they drove off, the entity appeared to shoot beams of light from white, diamond-shaped eyes. Later in their journey, the steering of the car failed and the men narrowly avoided crashing.

Mrs Jones

Location: Welshpool (Powys) - Unstated house
Type: Post-Mortem Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 1906
Further Comments: Several months after Mrs Jones died, she manifested in her neighbour's home. The neighbour claimed she had felt someone grab her arm; turning around, the neighbour came face-to-face with Mrs Jones who then disappeared. The neighbour said her arm hurt for several days after the encounter.

Cellar Dweller

Location: Forfar (Angus) - Osnaburg Bar (public house)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The entity which lurks in the cellar is said to have unnerved several members of staff.

Spirits

Location: Towednack (Cornwall) - Old mine known as Wheal Sperris
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The mine had a reputation of being home to spirits, but the finer points of the haunting are not known.

Little John's Femur

Location: Hathersage (Derbyshire) - Hathersage Hall
Type: Curse
Date / Time: Circa 1784
Further Comments: James Shuttleworth is said to have dug up the nearby grave containing the remains of Little John, removing a femur measuring seventy-two centimetres in length. However, he was struck by misfortune soon after, which vanished after he reburied the bone.

Rooftop Hounds

Location: Hynish (Argyll and Bute) - Fort at foot of hill in the area
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This old fort was used by two sons of a local farmer to watch over the family cattle overnight, as the pasture was far from the family home. One evening, the children's mother heard a voice warning her that her sons were in danger. The mother ran to the fort and found her sons terrified, claiming that they had heard fairy hounds stomping and howling on the roof of the fort.

Fairy Hill

Location: Isle of Mull (Argyll and Bute) - Small hill near Duart Castle
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: It was said that if any milk was spilt close to the hill, the fairies reap the benefit.

Paws the Size of Hands

Location: Kennavarra, Tiree (Argyll and Bute) - Grassy sandy area close to a hill
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A man walking along the links changed direction after spotting a huge dog asleep on a sand dune. Returning to the place the following day, the man found the dog's pawprints in the sand, each the size of his hand.

Fairy Music

Location: Kennavarra, Tiree (Argyll and Bute) - Kennavarra Hill
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Two children, a sister and brother, were hunting for birds in the snow. Music that emerged from deep underground terrified the pair; they ran home, the girl losing her shoes in her haste to escape.

Dog Killer

Location: Loch Tuath (Argyll and Bute) - Area between Loch Tuath and Loch Cuan
Type: Other
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A misty female form was once seen here, with long blonde hair. The entity picked up the witness's dog and ran off with it behind a nearby rock formation; the owner gave chase and, turning the rocky corner, found the dog with its windpipe crushed and large pieces of fur torn away. The strange woman had vanished. Another version of the tale says the witness heard strange music and lost sight of his dog; the witness ran home and his dog later returned stripped of its hair, dying after laying by its master's feet.

A Man Vanishes

Location: W1J (Greater London) - Piccadilly Circus Underground Station
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early 1970s
Further Comments: In his autobiography, Gary Numan says that he and a friend followed a man dressed in 1940s style clothing as they passed through the station, believing he was heading towards an exit. The man turned a corner with Numan and friend close behind, but they turned into a dead end - there was no place the man could have gone.

Black Shape

Location: Kintail (Highland) - Unidentified hut in the area
Type: Other
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Two men working in the hills, accompanied by their dog, decided to spend the night in a hut. Their rest was disturbed by a horrible screaming so they grabbed burning torches and ventured outside. The screaming continued and a large dark object moved passed by. The men did not move, but their dog gave chase. When the dog returned, all its hair had gone and never fully grew back.

Stoned Man

Location: Trotternish, Isle of Skye (Highland) - Old Man of Storr
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: Turned to stone by a couple of antisocial ogres, the old man of Storr has remained a monolith for hundreds of years, and no doubt will forevermore. A local legend says that fairies once stole horses from all nearby farms and rode them around the area at breakneck speed. All the horses were later returned unharmed.

Footfalls

Location: Kenmore (Perth and Kinross) - Taymouth Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The sound of phantom footsteps can be heard around the castle. A piece of folklore from the nineteenth century says that the pipers from Taymouth Castle had their instruments provided from the fairies.

Bridge

Location: Loch Rannoch (Perth and Kinross) - Camghouran
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Fairies were in the process of building a bridge across the loch when a traveller wished them 'God speed'. The fairies stopped working and left their bridge unfinished.

Smelly Corpse

Location: Over Stowey (Somerset) - Walford's Gibbet, and Dead Woman's Ditch
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Smell unknown, swearing in 2022
Further Comments: The smell of rotting flesh that hangs around this area is blamed on John Walford, a local man who murdered his wife - his executed body was placed in a gibbet here. The ghost of his wife haunts the ditch where she died, and may have been the entity spotted by a ghosthunter in 2022; the spook told the ghosthunter to 'f**k off'!

George

Location: South Wraxall (Wiltshire) - Long Arms public house
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 2021
Further Comments: This public house's resident ghost, nicknamed George, was blamed for breakages and opening doors. In 2021, CCTV showed a glass spontaneously shattering.

Dog Attack

Location: Cornaigbeg (aka Cornaig Beag), Tiree (Argyll and Bute) - Land around Cornaigbeg Farm
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Pre nineteenth century
Further Comments: A group of men with a dog were watching over cattle when they heard strange sounds, resembling a herd of sheep, although nothing could be seen. As the sounds passed, the dog chased the invisible entity. The dog later returned but died soon after, its hair scraped off with skin ripped and bloodied.

George And Abbotsford Hotel, Melrose

Footsteps

Location: Melrose (Borders) - George and Abbotsford Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century, and 2020
Further Comments: Guests staying on the top floor of the George and Abbotsford Hotel would hear footsteps above them, even though there is nothing there. In 2020, the hotel featured in the local press; poltergeist activity had resulted in lights being turned on and off by an unseen agency, and the chef having her hair violently pulled.

Red Cow

Location: Balephuil, Tiree (Argyll and Bute) - Farm in the area
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Dugald Campbell noticed a strange little red cow being attacked by the rest of his herd. The red cow ran off with the rest of the herd giving chase. Campbell followed and watched as the red cow entered a solid piece of rock, closely followed by one of his cows. The rest of the herd, intercepted by Campbell, were prevented from vanishing into the rock.

Burning Dog

Location: Islay (Argyll and Bute) - Bothy on Beinn na Caillich
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: While visiting the island with his hunting dog, Macphie came across a mountainside bothy and decided to rest. A dark entity appeared in the doorway and the dog attacked it. Macphie noticed his dog's fur was smouldering, so fled back to his boat. The dog followed but had changing - the creature was now mad and breathed green flame. Macphie killed the dog with two sixpences fired from a shotgun.

Changeling

Location: Kerrera (Argyll and Bute) - Gylen Castle
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A fairy changeling took up residence in Gylen Castle, escaping into the sea when identified by an Irish visitor.

Secret Cave

Location: Loch Awe (Argyll and Bute) - Rocky outcrop
Type: Other
Date / Time: Pre twentieth century
Further Comments: A shepherd spotted a cave that he did not recognise and poked his head in to take a better look. Weapons and large chests filled the cave. The shepherd was momentarily distracted by his sheep and briefly looked away. When he turned back, the cave entrance had gone.