The Paranormal Database

Examining folkloric, paranormal & cryptozoological locations in the UK and beyond

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Animal Ghosts and Folklore

Fading Lady

Location: WC2 (Greater London) - Peacock Theatre (was Royalty Theatre), Dean Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Lady circa 1934, Dolphin from 1980s onwards?
Further Comments: A woman clothed in an outfit dating from the Queen Anne period is reported to descend the staircase here, slowly fading before she reaches the bottom. A short scream is said to signify her complete disappearance. The female ghost has not recently manifested and appears to have been replaced by the sound of a phantom dolphin which, during life, was kept in a small tank under the stage in the 1930s.

Headless Horse

Location: Welwyn (Hertfordshire) - White Horse Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The headless horse which runs along this road was said to have been a casualty during the civil war.

Hare

Location: West Lulworth (Dorset) - Daggers Gate
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The hare that haunts this area is thought to be the ghost of a witch. In life, she enjoyed turning herself into a lepus. Another ghost at the gate was said to be a farmer murdered by a woman. For the crime she used a dagger, from which the gate takes its name.

Dog in Cellar

Location: West Mersea (Essex) - White Hart Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Delivery men at the White Hart Inn have complained of a dog darting under their feet as they worked in the cellar, though the landlords have always insisted that the area is devoid of animals.

Pitch Forked Dog

Location: West Woodyates (Dorset) - Manor
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A farmhand discovered a dog laying in the hay - he poked it with his pitchfork, causing the entity to vanish. The sound of a coach has also been heard as it stops by the front of the house, though nothing is seen.

Black Bird

Location: Whirlow (Yorkshire) - Lane close to Whirlow Hall (no longer standing)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A member of the family which owned Whirlow Hall was said to haunt the lane, taking the form for a black bird with a white tail (or wings). It was capable of paralysing people; in one instance the entity froze the rider of a mule in the air as his mount continued walking along oblivious to its master's predicament.

Horse?

Location: Whitby (Yorkshire) - Esk Terrace
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: 02 September 2011, 00:20h
Further Comments: While staying in a house along this road, a witness heard a horse walking outside on the gravel - when they looked from the window, nothing could be seen.

Footsteps

Location: Whitkirk (Yorkshire) - Vicarage
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Sounding like someone moving across flagstones, the echoing footfalls may belong to the owner of a ghostly dog also seen in the premises.

Woman Wearing Sackcloth

Location: Wickham Market (Suffolk) - The White Hart (currently a collection of shops and flats)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: The ghost is said to be that of one Betty Price, executed for being a witch. The old room 14 of the Inn was also reportedly haunted, by a cat. Only one person has reported spooky occurrences since the pub has been converted, and that relates to an answer machine that switches itself on.

Padding Dog

Location: Willesborough (Kent) - The Moat manor house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This invisible hound has been heard walking around the building. It is said to leave a tranquil air in its wake.

Old Jeffrey

Location: Willington (Northumberland) - Old Mill (no longer intact, though some of the Rope Works still use the old mill buildings)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 1840s
Further Comments: Once said to be the most haunted site in the north of England, the mill was haunted by several ghosts. While the most well known was 'Old Jeffrey', a bald man who floated a metre off the ground, other ghosts included a lady in lavender, another woman in grey, and a third woman with empty eye sockets. Phantom animals spotted on site included a rabbit, cat, and sheep.

White Lady

Location: Woburn (Bedfordshire) - The Inn (was the Bedford Arms Inn)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The misty white lady is not alone in her haunting of this building. A ghostly figure is also reported to sit by the fireplace smoking a pipe, a little phantom dog by his side.

Cavalier

Location: Woodborough (Wiltshire) - Road between village and Allington
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1971
Further Comments: Returning home one night, a driver encountered a man wearing Cavalier-style clothing. The figure was accompanied by a large black dog. The driver sped away, rather than investigate further.


An old woodcut of a strange-looking cat.

Grey Cat

Location: Worcester (Hereford & Worcester) - Old Talbot public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Perceived by both man and animal, this ghostly cat has been known to brush up against people, only to vanish once their attention has been attracted.


Old postcard showing Worcester Cathedral.

Bear

Location: Worcester (Hereford & Worcester) - Worcester Cathedral and College Green
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Ever since the Civil War there have been reports of a phantom bear that rises as if to attack. One guard is said to have taken a shot at the creature, which of course had no effect.


Snickleway Inn, York.

Little Girl

Location: York (Yorkshire) - Snickleway Inn, Goodramgate (was the Angler's Arms public house)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Seen as she waits on the staircase, this entity is said to radiate peace and love. She met her death when a horse and cart delivering beer ran her over just outside the pub. The ghostly presence reported down in the basement is much more sinister and has been called evil by previous landlords. Finally, a phantom cat may rub itself against the legs of visitors.

Rabbit

Location: York (Yorkshire) - St George's Roman Catholic Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Seen moving around the aisles of the church, the ghostly rabbit always vanishes before it is caught. Some believed it to be the ghost of Dick Turpin who is buried nearby.


The Olde Starr Inn, York.

Screams

Location: York (Yorkshire) - The Olde Starr Inn, Stonegate
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Another building which once housed injured Civil War troops, the basement is said to be the place where amputations occurred, which explains the sound of cries and screams. Two black cats are also reported to haunt the pub, and an old woman has been seen on the stairs.


The Treasurer's House, York.

Roman Legion

Location: York (Yorkshire) - Treasurer's House, Minster Yard
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1953
Further Comments: Harry Martindale was working on a ladder in the cellar of the building when a group of Roman soldiers walked past him along the old Roman Road which ran through the basement. Harry was so shocked that he fell from his ladder, and despite his terror, noted that the figures disappeared into the floor at knee height and was also later able to describe the uniforms and equipment of the Romans. At the time Harry was told that his description of the soldiers was wrong, and the uniforms and equipment did not match that which was used by the invaders, although later local archaeological discoveries resulted in Harry's observations being proved correct. Harry died in 2015 and never changed his story, nor made any money from sharing it. The building also claims to be home to several other ghosts, including a dog, a black cat, George Aislaby (killed in a duel), and Frank Green, the man who converted the interior into what it is today. The Tapestry Room is reputed to have an oppressive atmosphere and is where the wife of a former owner murdered him after he conducted one extra-marital affair too many (so the story goes).


York Minster, quiet in the early morning.

Dean Gale

Location: York (Yorkshire) - York Minster
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1702 onwards
Further Comments: This gentleman loved the Minster so much that in death he refused to leave and has been seen sitting while listening to sermons. A crisis apparition has also manifested here; the ghost of an officer appeared to his sister as she prayed in the church in the 1820s - at the exact moment he had died on far away shores. Also reputed to haunt the building is the sound of a dog barking.

Records 276 - 292 of 292

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