The Paranormal Database

The Regency Hotel in Brighton.

Disabled Girl

Location: Brighton - First floor rooms, Regency Hotel, Regency Square
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This young girl jumped from one of the upstairs windows - her ghost mirrors her actions, though it now vanishes as it leaps into a wall, as the window was bricked up many years ago. Another female shade that totters around the building is the Victorian landlady.

The Fishbowl pub in Brighton.

Young Girl

Location: Brighton - 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 - 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.

A flat along Western Road, Brighton.

Breathing

Location: Brighton - Flat along Western Road
Type: Other
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A man was said to have problems breathing as he lay down to sleep at night, as if something was pushing down on his chest. There were no health related problems, although the case does sound like Old Hag Syndrome, aka Sleep Paralysis.

The Font pub in Brighton.

Grey Woman

Location: Brighton - 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 old ABC Cinema in Brighton.

Steam

Location: Brighton - Former ABC Cinema, King's Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This cinema operated from the site of an old Turkish bathhouse. Cinema staff would report the sound of running water and clouds of steam which appeared from nowhere.

Brighton's former Debenhams store.

Nun

Location: Brighton - Former Debenhams store, Western Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Said to have been spotted by staff and customers, the phantom nun wearing a white habit and black cloak would vanish up a stairwell. The east end of the building was a convent.

The Franklin Tavern in Brighton.

Shadow

Location: Brighton - 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.

The Friends Meeting House in Brighton.

Victorian Child

Location: Brighton - Friends Meeting House, Prince Albert Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Spring, 2009
Further Comments: Said to be around three years of age, this young girl dressed in Victorian clothing was spotted on the back steps of this building.

The Gardner Arts Centre in Brighton.

Grey Smoke

Location: Brighton - Gardner Arts Centre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1979
Further Comments: A grey mist accompanied by clanking and a drop in temperature was reportedly seen on stage by cleaning staff at this theatre.

Brighton's George Beard pub.

Female Jailor

Location: Brighton - 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.

Brighton's Grand Hotel.

Seventh Floor

Location: Brighton - Grand Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: The seventh floor of this hotel is said to be home to a phantom, although details are fleeting.

Stroking

Location: Brighton - 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.

Floor Shadow

Location: Brighton - Guitar, Amp and Keyboard (GAK), North Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2019
Further Comments: CCTV taken in the shop showed a ghostly shadow moving across the floor. Cameras also recorded guitars gently swaying from side to side and an item falling off the wall with nobody close by.

Glass Smashing

Location: Brighton - Ha! Ha! Bar, Pavilion Buildings
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Early 2001
Further Comments: Noises and the breaking of glasses resulted in the owners calling in the ghost hunters in early 2001.

Tapper

Location: Brighton - Hanningtons department store (no longer operating), North Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: A phantom was said to have developed a habit of tapping customers on the shoulder when they visited the perfume department.

Monk

Location: Brighton - Harlequin Bar, Providence Place
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A phantom monk is said to have been spotted on the first floor, while a ghostly girl lurks in a passage which leads to the toilets. An exorcism is reputed to have taken place many years ago which rid the site of the entities.

The Heist nightclub, Brighton.

Tall Man

Location: Brighton - Heist (club), West Street (no longer operating)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s?
Further Comments: It is claimed that several ghosts haunt this building, including a tall man with a handlebar moustache, a small child, and another figure who walks behind a stained glass window at the rear of the venue.

Brighton's Hippodrome Theatre.

Vesta Tilley

Location: Brighton - Hippodrome Theatre, Middle Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Said to wear a long black dress (and occasionally a grey one), the ghost of Tilley haunts the area which was once the theatre's bar.

Hoard

Location: Brighton - Hollingbury Hillfort
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A local legend says that treasure is (or was) concealed in this area, though the details are vague.

Brighton's Horse and Groom pub.

Fred

Location: Brighton - Horse and Groom public house, Islingword Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s
Further Comments: A former customer, the ghost of Fred was said to take up residence in his favourite chair. A glass of beer was also seen to move unaided across a shelf before falling on the floor.

Location of the shop 'John Beal and Son' before it closed, in Brighton.

Dark Cowled Figure

Location: Brighton - John Beal and Son (no longer trading), East Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1950
Further Comments: This figure, most likely to be a monk, appears after dark and is said to lack a face.

Cheetah

Location: Brighton - Junction of Mill Road and Dyke Road
Type: ABC
Date / Time: 23 December 1982, 22:00h
Further Comments: Driving home, Douglas Owen encountered a large cat resembling a cheetah lying on a grassy bank. After watching it for a short while, the cat ran off towards nearby houses.

Brighton's Upper Rock Gardens.

Naked Woman

Location: Brighton - Junk Shop, Upper Rock Gardens (no longer exists)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1950s
Further Comments: This naked, disfigured female phantom was said to have been murdered in the building's basement by her insane husband. A private house in the same area is home to the benign presence of an elderly woman.

The King & Queen Pub in Brighton.

Shouting

Location: Brighton - King & Queen Public House, Marlborough Place
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1980s-2000s
Further Comments: Windows have been known to open themselves and shouting has been heard coming from an empty bar.