The Paranormal Database

Untrustworthy Kelpie

Location: Luib, Isle of Skye (Highland) - Bridge (now made of stone) crossing the river Don
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A man urgently needed to cross the river here, but the old wooden bridge had been washed away during a storm. A kelpie appeared and offered to ferry the man across. The man accepted the offer, but halfway across the kelpie tried to toss the man from its back and drown him. The man hung on for his life, and after some minutes managed to jump to the opposite bank. Enraged, the kelpie threw a rock after the man, which missed. The stone stood near the bridge for many years, until broken up and used for construction.

Headless Hound

Location: Manchester (Greater Manchester) - Cathedral area, & bridge over the Irwell towards Salford
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: 1825
Further Comments: A tradesman spotted the spectral dog outside the cathedral and the creature jumped up at him. The phantom creature was finally exorcised under the bridge over the Irwell.

One of Three Shucks

Location: Manton (Lincolnshire) - Bridge between Manton & Scotter
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: One of three bridges in Lincolnshire that is said to be a haunt of the black shuck.

Now Gone

Location: Marwhirn (Dumfries and Galloway) - Bridge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Nothing is known about the ghost which haunted this bridge, other than it no longer does so.

Crying Baby

Location: Maryport (Cumbria) - Dearham Bridge railway station
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A man once threw his new-born child under a train here, killing the infant. The father was hanged for the crime. Now, as a train is now about to enter the tunnel, the child can occasionally be heard screaming before being hit.

Not Boxer

Location: Mawbeg (County Cork) - Bridge over the River Bandon
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Late nineteenth century?
Further Comments: Mick Donovan spotted this phantom hound and mistook it for his own dog 'Boxer', calling out to the creature until he realised that the entity was a ghost.

Floating Woman

Location: Millom (Cumbria) - Railway Bridge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990, 23:00h
Further Comments: A local story says that a woman leapt from the bridge during the Second World War after hearing that her husband had died in battle. Some fifty years later, a witness spotted a woman in old fashioned clothing hovering above a hedge next to the bridge. The figure appeared to be missing her legs.

Doggy Suicides

Location: Milton (Dumbartonshire) - Overtoun House, and the Victorian Bridge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1960s onwards
Further Comments: Overtoun house is said to be haunted by a woman in Victorian attire, while at the old Victorian bridge on the property over fifty dogs have leapt to their deaths from the bridge during the past fifty years. The Scottish SPR visited the bridge in 2005 and claimed to have detected the woman, as well as phantom ministers and children.

The remaining visible part of Hopping Bridge in Mistley.

Phantom Jaywalker Alarming Motorists

Location: Mistley (Essex) - Small hump-backed bridge known as Hopping Bridge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Matthew Hopkins is named as this phantom jaywalker, reported to wear clothing suited to the seventeenth century.

Headless Lady

Location: Mount Bures (Essex) - Bridge Street, the bridge over Craig's Brook
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Midnight, reoccurring
Further Comments: Holding her head under one arm, the spirit has no known history.

Jewish Peddler

Location: Newton Abbot (Devon) - Bridge over River Bovey, Stover
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1961
Further Comments: While people can only guess that the shade here is that of a murdered peddler, the entity was seen running alongside a witness, waving its arms wildly.

Old Fashioned Man

Location: Newton Stewart (Dumfries and Galloway) - Glebe Bridge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1996, 1998, 2006
Further Comments: Several strange events have occurred on or around the bridge. In 1996, a group of teenagers playing nearby spotted a man wearing old fashioned clothing - when they went to see who it was, he disappeared. A kangaroo-like creature was seen in 1998, while in 2006 wailing was heard from under the bridge.

Man Monkey

Location: Norbury (Staffordshire) - Bridge
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: January 1879, circa 22:00h
Further Comments: A man driving a horse and cart crossed this bridge in the evening. A black creature with white eyes leapt from a bush upon the horse, causing the horse to panic and bolt. The rider used his whip to lash out at the creature, only for the whip to pass through the entity. The man eventually arrived home, with little memory of how he managed to shake off the attacker. Sharing the experience with another local man, the witness discovered that the 'creature', known locally as a man-monkey, had come into being after someone drowned in the river.

Witch

Location: Normanby (Gainsborough) (Lincolnshire) - Small bridge over stream, between village and Newton
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The ghost of a witch was blamed for pushing people off the small bridge that crossed the stream here. Three parsons gave the entity a live stag, which was torn apart by the witch, and while she was distracted, the holy men banished the phantom into an iron pot.

Bridge Ghost

Location: Normanby-by-Spital (Lincolnshire) - Pilfer Bridge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Nineteenth century?
Further Comments: While it was not clear what made horses frightened while crossing this bridge, it was thought to have something to do with the gibbet that once stood close by.

Woman

Location: Nottingham (Nottinghamshire) - Railway bridge over Wood Lane, and Gedling Station (currently a youth centre)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: The phantom woman who is said to peer over the edge of the bridge and watch passers-by may be the same entity also reported at the old station.

Man in Green Jacket

Location: Nottingham (Nottinghamshire) - Trent Bridge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1960s onwards
Further Comments: The ghost of a man in a green jacket has been spotted looking over the edge of the bridge before fading from view, leading some to speculate he was a suicide victim. A transparent jogger has also been spotted running over the bridge, and phantom voices heard by people crossing alone. Some have reported seeing people leap into the waters under the bridge, but they vanish before hitting the water, and finally a one-man canoe has been seen just before passing under the bridge, but it suddenly vanishes.

Man in Blue

Location: Nottingham (Nottinghamshire) - Wilford Toll Bridge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1930s onwards
Further Comments: A gentleman wearing a blue suit has been seen on the bridge and is thought to be the ghost of a former toll collector. A hooded figure is said to haunt under the bridge.

Accident

Location: Nuneaton (Warwickshire) - Railway line and bridge near the Bomb Hills
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa October 1986
Further Comments: Two people walking home spotted steam coming from under a bridge. Looking down from the bridge they could see a stationary steam locomotive and dozens of people laying across the tracks - the scene appeared semi-transparent. The witnesses ran off to find someone, and returned several minutes later, by which time train and figures had gone.

Lodge Hotel, Old Hunstanton.

Grey Old Lady

Location: Old Hunstanton (Norfolk) - Lodge Hotel, and bridge down the road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This figure has been observed passing through solid objects around the hotel and ambling around the area.

Man in Top Hat

Location: Old Royston (South Yorkshire) - Bridge/cycleway between Old Royston and Newmillerdam
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: 14 July 2014
Further Comments: One witness photographed what was thought to be a ghostly figure wearing a top hat and tails standing under this bridge.

Black Coach

Location: Old Woking (Surrey) - Bridge between Old Woking and Send
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The bridge is said to be haunted by a black coach pulled by a black horse.

Kate Webster

Location: Outer London: Richmond (Greater London) - Barnes Railway Bridge (replaced in 1895)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1879
Further Comments: The ghost of murderer Kate Webster was said to appear on this bridge and could be seen dropping the remains of her victim, Julia Martha Thomas, into the river below. The main problem with this ghost story is that Webster threw pieces of her victim into the river from Richmond Bridge...

Phantom Coach

Location: Oxnead (Norfolk) - Oxnead Bridge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 19 May (reoccurring)
Further Comments: A ghostly coach and four passes over this bridge once a year. It is said to be driven by a headless Sir Thomas Boleyn and is one of eleven bridges that he passes over on the night of his daughter Anne's execution.

Haunted Margaret

Location: Panteg (Gwent) - Church (plus a footbridge and other locations in the area)
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Marget yr Yspryd gained her nickname 'Haunted Margaret' after being jilted at the alter - she fell to her knees in the church and prayed that the man who betrayed her would never find rest. The man died shortly after, and his ghost took to following Margaret. One of Margaret's friends suggested talking to the ghost and forgiving him. Soon after, Margaret met the ghost at a footbridge - she absolved him, and the ghost disappeared forever.