The Paranormal Database

Horse Worrier

Location: Icklingham - Hill near Deadman's Grave (now an SSSI)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The ghost of a man and his horse, supposedly buried under the hill, were blamed for worrying other horses after dark, preventing them from using tracks through the area.

Headless Shape on Horseback

Location: Icklingham - Icklingham Way, southern corner
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The Archbishop of Sudbury (or another senior religious figure) was decapitated near to this point by his enemies, the man now returns on dark nights to retrace the route of his death. Another story names the headless horseman as a highwayman, or one of three rebels executed nearby for the murder of the Archbishop.

Unearthly Forms

Location: Icklingham - Site of possible small Roman town
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre 1871
Further Comments: Prior to the discovery of Roman stone coffins in 1871, the site bordered a field which contained a so-called witches' path. 'Unearthly forms' seen in a gap on the edge of the field after dark were blamed when a horse threw its rider, the accident killing the man.

Cromwell's Treasure

Location: Icklingham - Three Hills (round barrows)
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A local legend said that Cromwell had concealed a wealth of treasure within one of the barrows.

The Church of St. Botolph, Iken, Suffolk.

Marsh Devils

Location: Iken - Church of St. Botolph (original destroyed circa AD869)
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Ninth century
Further Comments: St Botolph was said to have battled the strange creatures and demons of the Iken marshes while constructing a place of worship in the ninth century. The entities may have been banished, but Viking raiders laid the site to waste a few years after its construction. In 1977 a piece of stone cross was discovered nearby, thought to be from Botolph's original church.

Wallaby

Location: Illkestshall St Lawrence - Field, and roads near primary school
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: August 2025
Further Comments: Caught on video hopping across a field, this wallaby would also be spotted near a local school. The creature left the area after residents were asked to call the police or RSPCA if the macropod materialised.

The Willis Building in Ipswich.

Walking

Location: Ipswich - Willis Buildings, Friars Street and Grey Friars Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s, 2010s
Further Comments: One former worker reported hearing footsteps in empty parts of the building and ascending the escalator when it was turned off for the night. The witness also reported hearing a disembodied scream, all during the 1990s. More recently it has been claimed that the building is haunted by a friar which appears after dark, although the person sharing the story admitted it may be just a tale to unnerve new employees.

The now closed Woolworths in Ipswich.

Stockroom Prankster

Location: Ipswich - Woolworths (no longer operating)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-2008
Further Comments: Staff would feel as if they were not alone in the stockroom and the door would occasionally slam shut and jam.

The Buttermarket Shopping Centre, Ipswich.

Monks

Location: Ipswich - WS Cowell's, now the site of the Buttermarket Centre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century (monk), 2016 (footsteps and keys)
Further Comments: While the Cowell's building stood here (a monastery was formally on the site), a few employees reported observing an old monk. Two women, on separate occasions, were supposed to have fainted after seeing the figure, and at least one man had fled during a night shift. Phantom footsteps were also heard in the factory, and perhaps more recently by a cleaner at work in the shopping centre, with the sound accompanied by jangling keys. A local legend says that hundreds of years ago, when the monastery was under attack, the occupants hid their treasure down a well on the site - it was never recovered and remains to this day.

Large Cat

Location: Ipswich - A12 bypass near Ipswich
Type: ABC
Date / Time: 1996
Further Comments: Part of a rash of sightings of ABCs in and around the Ipswich area during 1996, and that have continued well into the 2000s.

Smoky Man

Location: Ipswich - A12 heading towards Orwell Bridge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: November 2013
Further Comments: A driver watched a pillar of smoke rise and form the shape of a young man. The driver believed that the figure was someone who had died nearby.

Nocturnal Light

Location: Ipswich - A12 towards Woodbridge, after Orwell Bridge
Type: UFO
Date / Time: 1990s
Further Comments: A family driving home one night watched as a bright light manoeuvred around the sky, before disappearing vertically into the clouds at a fantastic speed.

Man in Grey

Location: Ipswich - Belvedere Road / Cemetery Lane junction
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 18 December 2012, 08:50h
Further Comments: A driver braked as a man in dark grey clothing and a trilby-like hat stepped out in front of their car. The driver then realised the man had vanished, with no means of passing without the driver seeing. The figure may have also been spotted by a dog walker, who reported a man in old fashioned clothing who tipped his hat before disappearing.

Birkfield Drive, Ipswich.

Large Cat

Location: Ipswich - Birkfield Drive
Type: ABC
Date / Time: Mid 2010s
Further Comments: A man walking home late had encountered a handful of police searching the edge of a small, wooded area. He asked the closest police officer if everything was okay, only to be told that they had had a report of a large black cat in this location and were searching for it.

The Black Horse.

Glass Pusher

Location: Ipswich - Black Horse Pub
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: February 2023
Further Comments: CCTV caught a glass moving across the table before falling to the floor. The pub is reputedly haunted, and local stories say a smuggling tunnel once ran from the cellar to a nearby church.

Christchurch Mansion, Ipswich.

Sweeping Female Figure

Location: Ipswich - Christchurch Mansion
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Summer 1995, and prior
Further Comments: Pictures on the walls have been seen turning themselves, while a female witness with her daughter watched a Victorian woman walk by them, passing through a closed glass door. A much older report stated that the mansion was haunted by a maid with two children, who laughed and danced around the building. Prior to the Second World War, a witness spotted a grey lady wandering around the park close to the mansion.

Teapot Smasher

Location: Ipswich - Coffee shop along St Margaret's Street (no longer operational)
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: November 1950
Further Comments: Over the period of a week, eleven members of staff witnessed cups, plates, and a teapot smashed by an unseen hand. On one occasion, a police officer watched a cup roll down the staircase. A C Henning, famed for his involvement in the Borley Rectory case, came to investigate (his conclusion is not known).

Princes Street, Ipswich.

Walking

Location: Ipswich - Community building (no longer operating), Princes Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2010s
Further Comments: Staff working late at night in the building would occasionally hear footsteps and whistling from empty parts of the building.

Staring Woman

Location: Ipswich - Crown Hotel, 346 Felixstowe Road (no longer operating)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2010
Further Comments: The face of a woman looks down from the window in bedroom 2, even though the room is empty. Mild poltergeist activities have also been reported, the piano has been heard playing itself, and a crashing sound, as of a wardrobe falling over, also reported.

Eagle Street, Ipswich.

Robert

Location: Ipswich - Eagle Street - undisclosed house
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 14 December 1952 (date of exorcism)
Further Comments: The local vicar of St Michael's was called in to exorcise this entity which threw items through the air and scattered an unknown powder around rooms. The entity briefly paused its antics after the service, but started again a few days later. The family would appear in court a month later for non-payment of rent, the landlord claiming the haunting started just after he had issued a summons against the occupants.

Foxhall Road, Ipswich.

A Very Black Cat

Location: Ipswich - East Ipswich (Felix Road, Foxhall Road areas)
Type: ABC
Date / Time: 21 August 2006
Further Comments: The local paper reported that two people had seen a large cat, 'very black' in colour, in separate incidents. The first was along Felix Road at around 03:30h, followed by the Foxhall Road sighting two hours later. One witness said that the cat was not as big as a panther but was much larger than a normal cat.

Crying Baby

Location: Ipswich - Flat along Foxhall Road
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: February 2003-July 2004
Further Comments: A medium who came to cleanse the flat failed to do so and the tenants finally moved out. They had reported poltergeist-like activity, loud bangs and footsteps, the muffled sounds of a baby crying, and black and grey shadowy figures.

Poltergeist

Location: Ipswich - Former Lakeland Plastics building
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1997
Further Comments: Believed to be the ghost of Mother Lakeland, a wise woman/witch who once lived in the area, this entity has been blamed for moving displays around the shop. As a side note, contained within the shop is a fifteenth century chapel that remained undiscovered for many years. It is now open to the public.

Gippeswyk Hall, Ipswich.

White Lady

Location: Ipswich - Gippeswyk Hall (currently occupied by Red Rose Chain)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Nights of the full moon (reoccurring)
Further Comments: This ghostly white lady has been seen by several witnesses in the upper part of the hall. One person reported a strange mist emerging from the chimney, though no fires were burning within.

Great White Horse Hotel, Ipswich.

Grey Lady

Location: Ipswich - Great White Horse Hotel (no longer operational)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This ghostly woman who has been observed walking through a wall is said to have died in a fire on the site.