The Paranormal Database

Observing

Location: Bluntisham (Cambridgeshire) - Former public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2007 onwards
Further Comments: An occupier of this property has reported the feeling of being watched and of doors closing themselves, although the presence is non-threatening.

Shaking Bottles

Location: Blyth (Northumberland) - Croft Arms public house
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 20 August 1962
Further Comments: Having broken a lamp in the nearby Railway Hotel, an unseen entity moved to this pub and violently shook the bar, rattling bottles and sending a couple of glasses smashing to the floor. Discussing the incident in the local press, the owner also claimed that an unearthly tune occasionally emerged from the cocktail cabinet in the upstairs flat.

Knocking

Location: Blythburgh (Suffolk) - White Hart public house
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Mid to late twentieth century
Further Comments: Loud knocking has emanated from the stout oak door of the pub, with no one on either side.

Woman in Sweeping Black Dress

Location: Bodfari (Clwyd) - Dinorben public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: Many staff and patrons have reported this spooky woman with long dark hair over the years, which is normally seen moving around the upper part of the building.

Gipsy Woman

Location: Bollington (Cheshire) - Ye Olde No. 3 public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s?
Further Comments: The ghostly woman once reported here was said to be on the run from the police, and she drowned in a flooded stream nearby. A little girl was seen by a former landlady, who said the entity was dressed in blue, wore a poke bonnet, and walked straight through a closed bedroom door.

Woman in RTA

Location: Bolney (Sussex) - A23 near the Queens Head public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early 1990s
Further Comments: A woman in a grey dress stepped out in front of a car and was hit - the car then crashed off the road. However, the woman in grey had disappeared once the three people in the car climbed out. Two other witnesses reported that they too had seen the woman in front of the car.

Roman Soldiers

Location: Bolton (Greater Manchester) - Boar's Head public house (no longer standing, replacement building is currently Hogarth's)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pub demolished 1999
Further Comments: The Boar's Head was said to be haunted by Roman soldiers. They were only seen chest upwards and could be heard marching through the building. When the pub closed, archaeologists discovered medieval artefacts (including a cellar) before the site was concreted over.

Crying

Location: Bolton (Greater Manchester) - Churchgate Public House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2010s
Further Comments: There is a story that the pub is haunted by a woman thrown out of the pub one winter's evening, after becoming pregnant with her employer's child. She died in the cold, and her child's cries can now be heard in the building. During the 1950s, bones were unearthed under the site and were thought to belong to a Cavalier who haunts the bar and cellar. Finally, a dog has been seen running upstairs but when chased nothing is found.

Smoking Man

Location: Bolton (Greater Manchester) - Derby Arms public house (now closed), Derby Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: This pipe-puffing phantom was observed in the living room above the pub.

A phantom in a nightdress.

Husky Voice

Location: Bolton (Greater Manchester) - Halliwell Lodge (public house, no longer operating)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This female ghost would materialise wearing only a nightdress in the early hours of the morning. It was also said her deep husky voice could be heard making suggestive remarks to any men still awake.

Running

Location: Bolton (Greater Manchester) - Old Three Crowns public house, Deansgate
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 2017 onwards
Further Comments: The sound of running footsteps and breathing have been heard in this pub. An engineer working in the cellar refused to return after he felt an icy hand pass over his shoulder and turn a nearby tap. The investigative team 'Haunted History of Bolton' recorded EVP, footsteps and poltergeist activity.

Slamming

Location: Bolton (Greater Manchester) - The Kings Head public house, Wigan Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Doors would slam closed, and the landlord was once awoken by an oppressive atmosphere that flooded his bedroom. The pub is said to have been built on top of a graveyard, the haunting attributed by some to be carried out by phantom Cavaliers.

Older Woman

Location: Bolton (Greater Manchester) - Wilton Arms public house, Belmont Road
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: 1998
Further Comments: Sharing a drink with the landlord after locking up, a witness looked across to the fireplace and smiled at an older lady, between 60 and 70 years of age, who sat there. She smiled and nodded back. The witness continued drinking for a minute before realising that all the doors were locked. Turning back to talk to the woman, she had vanished - all doors remained locked and a search of the pub found no one.

Bloodied Hands

Location: Bolton (Greater Manchester) - Ye Olde Man and Scythe public house, Churchgate
Type: Other
Date / Time: Late twentieth century (blood story), and 2000s (Geny)
Further Comments: A woman drinking at the public house found her hands covered in blood as she started to leave, though she had no wounds of her own, and no other source for the liquid could be discovered. More recently, the spirit of Geny, an eight year old girl, has been blamed for tugging at skirts, pinching people, and moving items around, while a phantom dog runs around chairs in the museum room. A Roman soldier may also haunt the beer garden.

Martha

Location: Bolton (Lancashire) - Finishers Arms public house
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 2024
Further Comments: Local folklore says the body of Martha, a mill worker, was found in the nearby lake (now filled and converted to a carpark) after drinking at the pub. Normally Martha shows herself in poltergeist form, moving glasses and creating footsteps, although she has manifested in the form of a woman in white.

Footsteps

Location: Botley (Hampshire) - Dolphin public house, High Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Echoing footfalls have been reported from this public house, as have strange sounds from the cellar. It has been speculated that the pub is haunted by a man hanged here after a mock trial went tragically wrong.

The Acorn pub, Bournemouth.

Smuggler

Location: Bournemouth (Dorset) - The Acorn public house (was The Dolphin and then Gullivers), Kinson
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1980, and 2008
Further Comments: When this public house was known as The Dolphin, one witness reported waking during the night to the sounds of clinking. Leaving their room to investigate further, they came across the apparition of a man perched on a chest, counting gold coins. After the pub became Gullivers Tavern, mild poltergeist activity was reported, including glasses and pool cues being thrown around, and footsteps heard in empty parts of the building.

Old Charlie

Location: Bournmoor (Durham) - Dun Cow public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The ghost of a former miner, Old Charlie has his own stool to keep him quiet. Another phantom, with the less affectionate nickname Crazy Lady of Bournmoor, was the wife of a Napoleonic era officer who never returned from combat.

Cleaning Lady

Location: Bracknell (Berkshire) - Horse and Groom public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This pub is haunted by a phantom old woman who goes around silently cleaning.

Old Fred and Bert

Location: Bracknell (Berkshire) - Old Manor public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Fred unknown, Bert late twentieth century
Further Comments: Old Fred is said to be a hooded priest, who once hid within the building. Bert is thought to be an old regular of the pub and can be recognised by his red face and handlebar moustache.

'Orbs'

Location: Bradford (West Yorkshire) - Dog & Gun public house, Wibsey
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: January 2015
Further Comments: Said to be 'historically haunted', although by what is unclear, this public house featured in the local press after CCTV caught 'orbs' in the cellar and bar (most likely to be created by dust and a strong light source close to the lens).

Pram Pusher

Location: Brading (Isle of Wight) - Kynges Well public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A woman with her pram was said to haunt the upper part of this building.

Apparition on Staircase

Location: Braintree (Essex) - Angel public house, Notley Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1960s-1980s
Further Comments: While only a vague form has been reported on the staircase, the presence is better known for upsetting dogs and creating footfalls around the building.

Blurred Figure

Location: Braintree (Essex) - Horse and Groom public house, Rayne Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2010, 2011
Further Comments: In 2010, a medium visited the site and felt the spirits of young people, soldiers, servants and a dog. The following year, medium Ron Bowers photographed a blurred figure within the building which looked suspiciously like a small object held close to the camera.

Man in Dark Grey

Location: Braintree (Essex) - Kings Head public house, Bradford Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2009 onwards
Further Comments: Paranormal occurrences are reported from his pub, including a man in dark grey who watches customers from the bar (he vanishes when looked at), footsteps on the second floor, unexplained shadows in the men's toilets, doors opening and lights turning off. The ghost has earned the nickname 'Frank'.