The Paranormal Database

Walberswick Church, Suffolk.

Victorian Church Warden

Location: Walberswick - Walberswick Church
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: 1930s, 1970s
Further Comments: Witnessed by George Orwell, a small and stooping figure dressed like a workman was seen silently crossing the churchyard, before disappearing from view. Orwell investigated further and realised that the figure had vanished. Others who have seen the figure have described him as dressed like a gentleman.

Walberswick Common, Suffolk.

Equine Entities

Location: Walberswick - Walberswick Common
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Daytime
Further Comments: Said to be heard only during the day, phantom horses gallop across the common. In addition, reports of a phantom man have been frequent since the 1940s, appearing both on the common and in the church ruins, while the Black Shuck is also said to occasionally make an appearance.

No Touching

Location: Walsham Le Willows - Gypsy's Grave, under oak tree along Hundred Lane
Type: Curse
Date / Time: Still present?
Further Comments: The rumoured curse on this grave prevented it from being disturbed by workers in the area.

White Figure

Location: Walsham Le Willows - The Avenue
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A white figure is said to flit along the avenue trees. As an aside, a secret tunnel is supposed to connect St Mary's Church to a local house.

Chainsaw Accident

Location: Walsham Le Willows - Tree (no longer standing), exact location not known
Type: Curse
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Warnings concerning a cursed tree were not taken seriously by one farmer, who took a chainsaw to it and died in the process.

Phantom Coach

Location: Wangford - SW of Thetford - Raydon Hall, Quay Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A coach pulled by a headless horse runs down Quay Lane on dark nights, believed to be driven by a former owner of Raydon Hall.

Lady in Long Silver Dress

Location: Wenhaston - Ruins of Westwood Lodge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Rumoured to be a site where witchcraft is still practised, the woman in a long silver dress is said to be one of many ghosts that haunt the area.

Monk

Location: Westerfield - Tree visible from public footpath between Westerfield and Ipswich
Type: Other
Date / Time: 1980s
Further Comments: A section of dead tree on a footpath running along a farmer's field resembled a monk; young people playing in the area would scare each other with stories about how a monk was hanged there.

Mary Rose Tudor

Location: Westhorpe - Westhorpe Lodge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: This building may contain the ghost of Henry VIII's sister.

Fairy Loaves

Location: Westleton - Common
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Circa nineteenth century
Further Comments: It was once believed that fossilised sea urchins that were found in a gravel pit here were loaves of bread made by fairies.

Witch's Stone

Location: Westleton - St Peter's Church
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: Standing by the chancel door, this stone is said to be used to summon the ghost of a witch. Any object placed in a hole in the wall above the stone would vanish after the owner ran around the church seven times, and the chinking of chains would echo around the area. Legend has it that grass will not grow in the area.

Clanking

Location: Westleton - Unnamed cottage next to churchyard
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Pre-1924
Further Comments: A couple living in the cottage would hear sounds coming from their garden that resembled a donkey with a clanking chain. When investigated, they could never find anything.

Walker

Location: Westleton - Westleton Walks
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Quite possibly a story invented by smugglers in bygone days, a phantom is said to aimlessly traverse the area.

Crop Curse

Location: Wetherden - Field between Wetherden and Woolpit
Type: Curse
Date / Time: Still present?
Further Comments: Robert Rosier was burnt to death in this field in 1556 by a former friend; since that day, no one has been able to raise a successful harvest in that pasture.

Yellow Frog Fall

Location: Wetheringsett - General area
Type: Other
Date / Time: 1900
Further Comments: Described as either yellow or dull green, these frogs rained down upon the town.

Four Sisters

Location: Wherstead - Four Sisters (A14/A137 junction)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s?
Further Comments: Local folklore claims that four sisters committed suicide here and have remained ever since.

White Shadow

Location: Wickham Market - Deben Court
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: A tale states that children were buried in the walls of the building, and that their shades remain. A taller figure has been seen on the site also.

Man in Pointed Hat

Location: Wickham Market - OAP Home
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Staff at the home have reported seeing this figure moving around the building.

Black Robed Figure with a Skeletal Face

Location: Wickham Market - Potsford Wood, gibbet marked by plaque
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1980s, 1997
Further Comments: This is the location where the hanging of Jonah Snell occurred, though nothing suggests that he is the ghost in question. In 1997 a couple reported being harassed by a black shapeless object that moaned gently at them late at night when their car broke down near the site, while the 1980's sighting occurred in broad daylight; a truck driver stopped for a call of nature near the plaque, paused to read it while walking into the woods, and felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning, he came face to face with a skeletal form, hooded and dressed in robes. The truck driver ran to his vehicle and drove away. Another piece of folklore says a stone which stood at the base of the gibbet would scream if kicked.

'Ostrich'

Location: Wickham Market - Railway Line
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 24 May 2012
Further Comments: A rhea, though referred to as an ostrich in the local press, spotted on the line between Ipswich and Saxmundham forced a train to slow near Wickham Market.

Woman Wearing Sackcloth

Location: Wickham Market - 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.

Mrs Smith

Location: Wickhambrook - General area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: December 1867 - May 1868
Further Comments: Villagers feared venturing out after dark following the death of Mrs Smith, as a phantom female form took to walking the streets and visiting her former home. The haunting appears to have ceased after a butcher pursued what he thought was the ghost, but it transpired to be a local woman. The villagers burnt an effigy of a ghost outside her home.

Lady in White

Location: Wickhambrook - The Cloak public house (closed 1989, now a private house)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The pub was said to be haunted by an older lady in white, who would sit in the bar.

Dragging Chains

Location: Wissett - Bleach Farm
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The jangling of chains being dragged across the floor could once be heard on the upper floor of this farmhouse.

Mr Grey

Location: Wissett - Grey's Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Mr Grey hanged himself from a tree along this lane, and now his ghost is said to sway on the end of a rope from the branches.