The paranormal
Paranormal cases, sorted by what the evidence shows
The paranormal is the set of reports that science has not explained. That includes ghosts and poltergeists, UFOs, possessions and animals no zoologist has found. This archive holds 5,483 of them, each with a date, a place, its sources and the sceptical reading. Start with the kind of case that interests you, or jump to the strongest evidence.
Six kinds of paranormal report
Hauntings
939 cases
A place where people keep reporting the same sights, sounds or presences over years. The claim is about the building, not one night.
Start with Borley Rectory, The Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, The Amityville Horror. See all hauntings.
Poltergeists
110 cases
Thrown objects, knocks and moving furniture, usually centred on one person, often a child. Investigators have caught fraud in some of the best known cases.
Start with Enfield Poltergeist. See all poltergeists.
Apparitions
314 cases
A figure seen once or many times that is not there when approached. Grey ladies, phantom soldiers and shadow figures all sit here.
Start with The Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace. See all apparitions.
Possession and exorcism
165 cases
Cases where a person, or an object, is said to be controlled by an outside force. Medical and legal records exist for a few and tell a harder story than the films.
Start with Anneliese Michel Exorcism, Annabelle. See all possession and exorcism.
UFOs and UAP
3,118 cases
Unidentified objects in the sky. This is the one area with a large body of official government paperwork, which we archive in full.
Start with The Tic Tac UFO, The Belgian UFO Wave, The Varginha Incident, Betty Hill Star Map. See all ufos and uap.
Cryptids
376 cases
Animals that science has not recognised, such as Bigfoot and the Mothman. Most reports turn out to be known animals, hoaxes or misreadings, and the page for each case says so.
Start with Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot Film, The Mothman of Point Pleasant, Flatwoods Monster. See all cryptids.
Is any of it real?
Some of it is. Not every report is a ghost or a spacecraft, but not every report is a hoax either. A small number of cases carry instrument records, trained witnesses and official files that are still open. Most of the rest have a plain explanation once someone checks the wiring, the weather or the witness.
We try to keep those two groups apart. The Best Evidence page ranks the cases that survive scrutiny, and the Alien Proof Index scores each UAP incident on a fixed scale, with a ceiling that shows how far the field is from proof. For the official record, the PURSUE releases hold the declassified Department of War files.
Where to look next
If you want a place near you, try cases near me, or browse the United Kingdom and United States pages. For the people behind the research, read about the famous paranormal investigators, from Harry Price to the Warrens. To see what happened on today's date, open This Day. Unfamiliar words are explained in the paranormal glossary, and you can send us your own experience through the submission form.
Common questions
What counts as paranormal?
The word covers any report that science cannot yet explain, from ghosts and poltergeists to UFOs and unrecognised animals. It describes the claim, not the cause. A case is paranormal until someone finds a normal explanation for it.
Is there scientific proof of the paranormal?
No claim has passed repeated, independent testing so far. Some cases are genuinely unexplained, and many others have been traced to fraud, building faults, infrasound or misidentified aircraft. Each case page gives both sides.
What is the most convincing paranormal evidence?
The strongest material is instrumented and officially documented, such as radar and infrared records of unidentified aircraft. Our Best Evidence page ranks the survivors and shows the explanation that comes closest to ending each one.
How do you check these stories?
We name the sources, date the event, mark what is lore and separate witness claims from records. When a case falls apart on checking, we say so on the page.