The Paranormal Database

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.

Older Man

Location: Brighton - Montague House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Mid 1980s (or mid 1990s)
Further Comments: An older man was seen by several witnesses as he materialised in a chair.

Moulsecoomb Rail Station in Brighton.

Heavy Breathing

Location: Brighton - Moulsecoomb Rail Station
Type: Other
Date / Time: Animal in 1986, phantom train in 2013
Further Comments: Two women reported hearing animal grunts, snarls, and feeling the breath of an animal close to their faces, although nothing could be seen. A phantom steam train was also heard at the station, and an older man who vanished suddenly. It is said some locals have voiced concern about using the station after dark.

Elderly Man

Location: Brighton - NHS site (exact location withheld)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1980s
Further Comments: A ghostly older man was said to occasionally manifest sitting in a chair at this site.

Brighton's Nightingale Theatre.

Emily Coalthorpe

Location: Brighton - Nightingale Theatre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Fourteen year old Emily died here in the late nineteenth century when this building was a hotel. Her ghost is supposed to haunt a staircase.

Nile Street in Brighton.

Hooded Man

Location: Brighton - Nile Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Thought to be a monk from the small chapel of St Bartholomew which stood here before being destroyed in 1514, a hooded figure is reputed to haunt the street.

Footsteps

Location: Brighton - Northern Lights (no longer open)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: Disembodied footsteps were once heard in the bar by the former owners.

Brighton's Odeon Cinema, West Street.

George

Location: Brighton - Odeon Cinema, West Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s onwards
Further Comments: Local legend says George was killed during the construction of the cinema and now makes his presence felt. He was once seen standing on the top of a flight of stairs by a manager and has a habit of tapping customers on their shoulder.

Off the coast of Brighton.

The Good Ship Nicholas

Location: Brighton - Off coast
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Returning from Constantinople in the 1100's, the Nicholas sunk with all hands on board. She is still occasionally seen on the horizon.

The Old Ship pub in Brighton.

Couple

Location: Brighton - Old Ship public house, King's Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A maid who entered one west wing room which she thought was empty started to apologise after meeting a man and woman sitting on the bed. Before the words could leave her lips, the couple vanished. One member of staff claimed to have seen a shadowy figure move across the ballroom.

The Old Steine thoroughfare in Brighton.

John Robinson

Location: Brighton - Old Steine
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1969
Further Comments: Robinson was an eighteenth century adventurer and soldier of fortune whose luck ran out in Persia - his eyes were burnt out with hot irons after supporting a failed rebellion. A sympathetic merchant helped Robinson return to England; the adventurer finally made it back to his hometown of Brighton, only to die along Old Steine. John's phantom was seen lying in the road by a police officer who was physically sick after looking at his face, and by a woman who was so shocked by the appearance of the entity she spent a night in hospital.

The Olde Cottage Tea Rooms, Brighton.

Grey Woman

Location: Brighton - Olde Cottage Tea Rooms, Rottingdean
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A phantom grey woman was reported by a former member of staff as being seen in the garden.

Hug

Location: Brighton - Outside Sussex Stationers, East Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: October 2009
Further Comments: While on a Halloween ghost walk, one witness was unable to remove his hands out of his pockets - he said it was as if he was being hugged very tightly.

The Park View pub in Brighton.

Modern Man

Location: Brighton - Park View public house, Preston Drove
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown - late twentieth century?
Further Comments: One witness is said to have fainted after spotting a male phantom on the staircase - he was said to be wearing modern clothing. Another ghost, a glowing ball containing the face of a young girl, was seen in the same area.

Parochial Offices in Brighton.

Ringing

Location: Brighton - Parochial Offices, Princes Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s, evenings
Further Comments: The sound of a ringing bell would be heard on the top floor of this building, normally by a caretaker who was alone on site. Another witness claimed to have seen a woman on the staircase waving a handbell.

Patcham Place in Brighton.

Anthony Stapley

Location: Brighton - Patcham Place
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1980s
Further Comments: The ghost of Stapley was said to wander the hallways after dark. A malevolent sensation is said to occasionally be felt in the ground floor restaurant.

The Pavilion Tavern in Brighton.

Bright Light

Location: Brighton - Pavilion Tavern, Castle Square
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: 1997
Further Comments: A witness watched a large ball of light pass along a wall on the upper floor of this building before it faded from view. There were no light sources in the room other than a small lamp.

The ruined Brighton Pier.

Victorians

Location: Brighton - Pier
Type: Environmental Manifestation
Date / Time: January, early 2000s, around 23:00h
Further Comments: While walking along the seafront, two sisters watched Victorian figures walking around and listened to the sound of music and laughter. The seafront was lit up as if daytime, and a young man and a boy walked out to sea along a rope bridge. As the sisters walked away, they realised the scene they had watched was impossible, and turning back they saw only the darkness over the sea. One sister later discovered that there was a chain bridge on the spot which led to the pier, but it was destroyed in 1896.

Piano

Location: Brighton - Planet (club)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: A former member of staff reported that they and other staff have heard a piano being played when the club is quiet and no one else is around.

The Plough Inn in Brighton.

Footsteps

Location: Brighton - Plough Inn, Vicarage Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1977-1991
Further Comments: The former manager of this inn claimed he heard footsteps at night, sometimes moving slowly, other times running. Each time he investigated, no one would be found.

Crusader

Location: Brighton - Port Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The hall was once thought to be haunted by a crusader.

Preston Circle Fire Station, Brighton.

Strangeness

Location: Brighton - Preston Circle Fire Station
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Little is known about the ghost said to haunt this fire station, although it may be connected to the next door cinema's ghost 'Tim'.

Preston Manor in Brighton.

Lady Ellen Stamford

Location: Brighton - Preston Manor
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Mostly unknown, ledger in December 2015
Further Comments: This white figure, believed to be a former owner of the building, was seen by a group of witnesses as she walked through a wall on the outside of the building. Other supernatural visitors to the building include disembodied hands seen on bedposts and a doorknob, strange noises emerging from a cupboard, and a grey lady who would descend the main staircase before vanishing. In December 2015, a 1915 shop ledger was donated to the manor, after the book's former owners declared it to be haunted.