The Paranormal Database

Bushy Bearded Man

Location: Abbots Bromley - Royal Oak Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This cloaked, bearded gentleman was seen lurking around the attic and one of the bathrooms. A few unearthly notes from a non-existent music box have been heard in the bar area.

Madam Vernon

Location: Adbaston - The Lea house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Nineteenth century
Further Comments: Madam Vernon's ghost returned soon after death, upset at how her family had split her wealth and land. The spirit caused much trouble, until clergymen banished the entity to a pond under the house.

Young Men

Location: Barton under Needwood - Former RAF Tatenhill, now a business park
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2008-2010
Further Comments: A witness who works on the site has reported the smell of old aftershave in the corner of a warehouse which is only detectible at 20:30h, and the sounds of young men in disused buildings. A loud crash and the shaking of a concrete floor resulting in one employee running to a warehouse, convinced that racking units must have collapsed, but nothing was disturbed. On one summer night, the sound of young children playing and singing could be heard by the main gate at 23:00h, a location many miles from the nearest residential site.

Ghostly woman on the stairs.

Woman in White

Location: Bilston - Greyhound and Punchbowl public house, was once Stow Heath Manor House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Prior to becoming a public house, the staircase of the manor house was haunted by a woman in a white gown. While it is not clear whether the ghostly woman remains, more recently a baby has been heard crying and mild poltergeist activity reported.

Hooded Man

Location: Bobbington - Road heading towards Wombourne
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Summer 2009
Further Comments: A driver and his passenger spotted a monk-like figure run across the road in front of them and disappear into an open field.

The Devil failing to steal stones.

Dropped Stones

Location: Bradley - Webb Stone, also known as the Wanderer Stone
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Stones still present
Further Comments: The three stones here were taken from a church by the Devil to extend hell. They proved too heavy, and he dropped them where they now stand. Another legend says that if anyone tried to move the Webb Stone, farmland would become less productive, while a third story says that any girl who baked a cake on All Saint's Eve and left it on the stone would dream of their future husband.

Grave Hound

Location: Bradnop - Road behind Oxhay Farm
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The site where a Jacobite was murdered by a companion is now haunted by a phantom black dog.

Hound with Pointed Ears

Location: Brereton - Coal Pit Lane, and roads leading to Brereton
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: 1972, 1985
Further Comments: This large black dog, with pointed ears and glowing eyes, is said to haunt the area. In 1972, one witness watched a large ball of light crash into the ground, and the hound appeared soon after.

Crashing

Location: Brown Edge - Private residence, north of village
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1992
Further Comments: One witness living in this residence heard a loud crashing sound, as of something falling down the staircase, although no other person in the house heard the noise. Previously, the occupants had heard footsteps on the staircase, and felt a malevolent presence with the sensation of being watched.

Flying Statuette

Location: Burslem - Leopard public house/hotel, Market Place (razed by fire January 2022)
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Twenty-first century
Further Comments: No one appears to know for sure what haunts this public house (some claim the entity was a murderer), but people report feeling a presence, and a horse statuette once flew off the mantelpiece.

Molly with Pail

Location: Burslem - Town streets
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s?
Further Comments: Feeling so guilty about her own sins committed during life, Molly returned as a ghost; balancing a milk pail on her head, she apologised to anyone she met. This restless spirit was finally exorcised by six holy men, three of whom died in the process. However, a shade wearing black and white was seen racing around near the churchyard in the 1970s, which may indicate Molly's return...

Molly

Location: Burslem - Turk's Head public house and St John's Church
Type: Post-Mortem Manifestation
Date / Time: 1748
Further Comments: A witch during life, Molly Leigh's shade briefly came back from the dead the day she was buried and made its home in the local pub before being exorcised. Her grave is still visible in the churchyard (it faces north to south) and running around it three times is said to summon her spirit.

Former Worker

Location: Burton upon Trent - Appleby public house (now closed)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: Investigated by Spirit Team UK, this public house was declared haunted by a former employee dating from when the building was not a pub.

Cat

Location: Burton upon Trent - Bass museum (no longer open)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twenty-first century
Further Comments: Seen by members of staff and visitors, a ghostly cat lurked around the ground floor and the recreation of an Edwardian bar.

White Figure

Location: Burton upon Trent - Branston Bridge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 19 July 2011
Further Comments: A driver reported seeing a white figure pass over the middle of the bridge. The light from his headlights appeared to go through the figure, and once it reached the far side of the bridge, the figure vanished.

Vanishing Car

Location: Burton upon Trent - Bretby Business Park
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: A former security guard reported seeing car headlights coming down an exit road from this site several times, although they would always vanish without trace before reaching the gate. Sounds of running showers and voices were also heard coming from an empty building. One report said that a guard was approached by a young woman wearing a summer dress (even though it was winter) who said she was lost and wanted directions to Stapenhill, which the guard gave. The CCTV caught the guard speaking and gesturing, but of the woman there was no trace.

Running

Location: Burton upon Trent - Burton Mail newspaper offices
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s
Further Comments: The sound of feet running down the main staircase was said to have been often heard as the building was being locked up at the end of each day's production. One witness also reported seeing the ghost of a printer and hearing doors slam at night.

Man in Grey Rags

Location: Burton upon Trent - Chemist shop, exact location withheld
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Summer 2006
Further Comments: A woman in this chemist 'screamed the shop down' after seeing a man in grey rags and dirty long hair who held his arms out and made guttural sounds which she did not understand. The figure vanished and the witness was given a chair and a glass of water by staff who waited for her to calm down.

Large Man

Location: Burton upon Trent - Derelict site along Shobnall Street (now a housing estate)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Around July, 2004
Further Comments: Two young boys slipped into this derelict site after a firm had closed and moved away. The first time they did so, they heard footsteps and had the feeling of being watched. In another building they heard machinery and hammering, although nothing could be seen. A few days later they entered the site again, although this time they watched a large man slipped through a gap in the fence who proceeded to shout at them - they fled the site. When they returned later, they found the gap in the fence was far too narrow for a man to have fitted through.

Mr Dykes

Location: Burton upon Trent - Harper Avenue
Type: Post-Mortem Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 1954
Further Comments: Walking home one afternoon, a teenage lad said hello to Mr Dykes, a neighbour who stood leaning on his gate. The neighbour returned the greeting, addressing the lad by his first name, something which had never happened before. When the teenager reached his house, only two doors away from where the neighbour lived, his mother informed him that Mr Dykes had died that morning.

Heavy Bell

Location: Burton upon Trent - King Edward Place, heading towards corner of Rangemore street
Type: Environmental Manifestation
Date / Time: April 2012, 23:00h
Further Comments: Two bell ringers with first-hand experience of every bell in town heard an unfamiliar ringing coming from the direction of the Audi supermarket, the sound different to the nearby town hall clock and that of Saint Modwens, a church with bells that could be occasionally heard from the area. The supermarket was built on the site of the Holy Trinity church, which had a heavy bell that would have had a similar note depth to the sound the bell ringers heard.

Rustling Skirts

Location: Burton upon Trent - Leopard Inn (no longer operational)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s
Further Comments: The sound of a rustling skirt was reported in several parts of the building, and doors were heard to open and slam shut.

Pretty Girl

Location: Burton upon Trent - Market Place
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Unknown - twentieth century?
Further Comments: Two teenage lads watched a pretty girl walk across quiet marketplace. She glanced and smiled at the boys before suddenly vanishing a few metres away.

Ringing

Location: Burton upon Trent - Outside Saint Chad's church, Hunter Street
Type: Environmental Manifestation
Date / Time: 01 April 2012, between 09:15h - 09:30h
Further Comments: Two bell ringers standing outside the church waiting to ring for Sunday service heard the peeling of a set of eight bells. The next nearest church only had six bells, while the only two churches with eight bells both denied their bells were operating at the time.

Sir Henry Paget

Location: Burton upon Trent - Sinai House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The ghost of Sir Henry is one of many phantoms claimed to haunt this site. Other spooks include participants from the English Civil War and a white (or grey) female form that stands on the moat bridge. Another piece of folklore claims the Knights Templar concealed a large portion of their treasure somewhere on the site, including the Holy Grail.