The Paranormal Database

Thirsty Carving

Location: Braintree (Essex) - Six Bells public house (no longer operational)
Type: Legend
Date / Time: 1970s
Further Comments: When this location was a pub, it housed a carved wooden figure which was said to have been found in a local river. At midnight, the figure would go back to the river for a quick drink.

Peter

Location: Brentwood (Essex) - Fountain Head public house, Ingrave Road
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1969
Further Comments: Several bottles exploded on their own accord, and several pieces of furniture were rearranged by an invisible presence. Police investigated footsteps that could be heard upstairs, but discovered the area empty. A medium claimed the ghost to be Peter Andover, stabbed to death while attempting to rape the landlord's daughter.

Lady Howard

Location: Bridestone (Devon) - Royal Oak public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A coach carrying Lady Howard has been spotted just outside the public house, though it is more likely to just be heard by those nearby.

Walter

Location: Bridgnorth (Shropshire) - Boycott Arms public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Walter is said to be the ghost of a former landlord who now haunts the pub.

Black Lady

Location: Bridgnorth (Shropshire) - Magpie House Restaurant (now Bassa Villa public house)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This phantom's children were drowned in the cellar of Magpie House when the River Severn broke its banks. The woman in black has been observed moving around the building and is sometimes heard crying.

Footfalls

Location: Bridgwater (Somerset) - Rose and Crown public house (no longer operational)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twenty-first century
Further Comments: Unexplained footsteps are often heard all over the pub, even after closing hours when all occupiers are accounted for.

Sobbing Woman

Location: Bridport (Dorset) - Hope and Anchor public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A phantom woman is said to sob in this public house.

Maggie

Location: Brighstone (Isle of Wight) - Three Bishops public house (was New Inn)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A former owner of the inn, Maggie is said to wander the site muttering under her breath and unlocking doors. Another story says she also stands by beds and slowly fades away.

The Windmill pub in Brighton.

Ransacked Room

Location: Brighton (Sussex) - Windmill public house, Upper North Street
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Glasses are reported to fly from shelves and one room which was left tidy was found a short time later ransacked.

Ali Cats public house, Brighton.

Groaning

Location: Brighton (Sussex) - Ali Cats public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: During refurbishment work in this pub, workmen were said to have heard strange human groans and encountered unexplained cold spots.

Aquarium public house, Brighton.

Known by Name

Location: Brighton (Sussex) - Aquarium Public House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: An unknown voice is said to call out to staff and customers using their first names.

Bat and Ball pub, Brighton (photograph supplied).

Barefooted Woman

Location: Brighton (Sussex) - Bat & Ball public house, Ditchling Road
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: 1990s
Further Comments: A witness cashing up at the end of the night watched a barefooted woman wearing a nightdress appear and start to dance. The figure passed through the bar and vanished when reaching the corner of the room. This dancing woman may or may not be the same as the phantom grey haired, middle aged woman who is said to vanish into thin air here.

Bath Arms pub, Brighton.

Victorian Man

Location: Brighton (Sussex) - Bath Arms public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Victorian man in 1990s
Further Comments: This phantom is said to be a middle aged Victorian man seen standing by a pillar. Another phantom reported to haunt the site wears a tricorn hat.

Mother

Location: Brighton (Sussex) - Bedford Tavern
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The inn is reputedly haunted by a woman who died in the cellar where she was locked up by her abusive husband, or after childbirth, or both, or neither.

The Black Lion pub in Brighton.

Deryck Carver

Location: Brighton (Sussex) - Black Lion public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1940s onwards
Further Comments: Deryck Carver was burnt in a barrel of Tar in 1555 and is believed to have been the first brewer in Brighton and the first Protestant martyr in England to be put to death. Since the 1940s it has been claimed his ghost haunts the cellar, and in 2006 the manager of the building claimed to have felt an unnerving presence in that area on several occasions. A builder in the upper part of the building spotted a shadowy figure in 1995.

The Brighton Rocks pub, formally known as the Battle of Waterloo.

Coach Driver

Location: Brighton (Sussex) - Brighton Rocks public house (formerly Battle of Waterloo), Rock Place
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1996, 2000s
Further Comments: This figure, complete with cloak, was seen in the 1990s drifting around the front door and the gentlemen's toilets. He was said to be the driver of a local mayor who was murdered by a highwayman shortly after leaving the pub. More recently, cupboards held shut by bricks have flung themselves open, heavy filing cabinets have fallen over, and a dog is either terrified of nothing or plays with something invisible.

The Caroline of Brunswick pub in Brighton.

Name Calling

Location: Brighton (Sussex) - Caroline Of Brunswick public house, Ditchling Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twenty-first century
Further Comments: An unknown phantom in this pub reputedly calls out to staff using their first name.

Druid's Head pub, Brighton.

Hooded Figure

Location: Brighton (Sussex) - Druid's Head public house, Market Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s (figure), 31 October 2015 (picture frame)
Further Comments: Always seen from the corner of one's eye, a good description of this spirit was never forthcoming (although it may be the ghost of a smuggler who died after tripping on the staircase in the basement). However, another ghost in the building moves slightly slower - a woman in a red dress has been seen on one occasion in the vicinity of the main bar. In 2015 a picture frame flew off a pillar and struck a visitor on the back; no one was injured and the frame did not break.

The Dyke Tavern in Brighton.

Woman in Grey

Location: Brighton (Sussex) - Dyke Tavern, Dyke Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1996
Further Comments: A worker spotted a woman dressed in a grey dress standing by the fireplace in the empty bar. The figure also had a grey face. She faded away.

The Fishbowl pub in Brighton.

Young Girl

Location: Brighton (Sussex) - Fishbowl public house, East Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1992
Further Comments: Seen by a Mr Dutton in 1992, a phantom young girl is said to haunt the cellar. Another witness felt a presence push past while working alone - looking up, the witness briefly spotted the shadowy figure of a tall, twenty-something woman before the entity vanished.

The Fisherman's Rest pub in Brighton.

Shapes

Location: Brighton (Sussex) - Fisherman's Rest public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: The landlord was reported to have caught ghostly activity on CCTV in this public house. Strange shapes are said to have been seen, and draughts rise and fall without apparent reason.

The Font pub in Brighton.

Grey Woman

Location: Brighton (Sussex) - Font public house, Union Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1995 onwards
Further Comments: Seen peering through the window of this converted church, the phantom woman wears a grey shawl over her head. One witness said the woman looked in her thirties and wore a matching grey dress.

The Franklin Tavern in Brighton.

Shadow

Location: Brighton (Sussex) - Franklin Tavern, Lewes Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s
Further Comments: A former barmaid claimed to have seen a shadowy figure on three different occasions behind the bar while working here. Whether this sighting relates to the rumour the site is haunted by a former owner and his wife is unknown.

Brighton's George Beard pub.

Female Jailor

Location: Brighton (Sussex) - George Beard public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This woman has been seen on the steps leading down to the cellar, though locals say she has not recently appeared.

Stroking

Location: Brighton (Sussex) - Green Yard public house, Black Lion Street
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Late twentieth century?
Further Comments: A former nineteenth century animal pound, this pub is now said to experience items which fall from shelves without reason, lights which switch off unaided, and invisible hands which stroked the forehead of a female customer.