List of paranormal events reported in Wiltshire, England

Wiltshire has a long history of association with paranormal activity, having an unusual number of ghost sightings,[1] UFO sightings,[2] Crop circles [3] (with as many as 80% of the UKs crop circles being found in Wiltshire [4]) as well as a number of stone circles, including Stonehenge, which themselves have a strong association with paranormal activity and occultism [5]. Salisbury plain has long been used for testing experimental aircraft, and the presence of Porton Down has lead to comparisons being made to Area 51, which also could lead to similar explanations for UFO phenomenon with experimental military craft being misidentified as UFOs [6] , it is also worth noting many of the crop circles have been proven to be hoaxes.[4]

Ghost Sightings

The following is a list of reports of encounters and sightings of ghosts and spirits that have occurred in Wiltshire:

Date Location Description Source
Various Chapmanslade Various sightings and stories can be found around the "dead maids crossroads" which are supposedly haunted by a black dog and a dead woman. [7]
Various Malmesbury Abbey Malmesbury Abbey is said to be haunted by the ghost of a monk. [1]
Various Longleat house It is said that Longleat house is haunted by the ghost of Alice, the young daughter of the then marquess of Bath who died in 1847 at age 11 of tuberculosis [8]
Various Avebury/Red lion pub The Red Lion pub in Avebury is considered one of the most haunted pubs in the UK, with five different ghosts being said to live in the building going back to the 17th century [9][10]
October 1888 Aldbourne While returning from business in Portsmouth, Reverend H C Lambert, Vicar of Baydon, encountered a headless spirit which he believed to be the ghost of a local man named Dore who had committed suicide. [11]
September 1972 All Cannings The resident of a cottage in the village saw a woman in green, or grey, appear in the corner of their room. [1][12]
2011 Box Tunnel Workers inspecting the tunnel claim to have seen a wailing woman who disappeared in front of them. [13]

UFOs and Crop Circles

The following is a list of reports of encounters and sightings of UFOs and related phenomena, it is worth noting in 2009 the MOD shut down its UFO special desk as it was considered a low priority and many reports could not be verified or had mundane explanations[14] [15] :

Date Location Description Source
25th of December 1964-1980 Waminster/Cley hill and surrounding areas Beginning with a sighting by Mrs. Mildred Head a huge number of UFO sightings would be reported, with peaks in the summers of 1965 and 1966, this would later be described as the "Warminster thing" [16][17][18][19]
1960s-1973 Warminster Newspaper editor Arthur Shuttlewood who had previously been sceptical of the sightings claims to have seen as many as 800 UFOs in the Warminster area. [20]
1976 Cley hill David Kingston claims to have seen UFOs make a crop circle while on a night walk [21]
1996 Stonehenge a crop circle appeared near Stonehenge that seemed to display a Julia set. [4]
15th of February 1997 Westbury Object landed near the Westbury White horse. [22]
26th of February 1997 Near Marlborough Low flying green object with a tail. [22]
12th of April 1997 Warminster Metallic disc with a diameter of 15-20 meters. [22]
7th of May 1997 Calne Triangular object making a buzzing sound followed the witness. [22]
21st of May 1997 Bradford-on-Avon Loud, blue flashing lights. [22]
9th of June 1997 Calne Bright cylindrical object. [22]
22nd of June 1997 Malmesbury Large orange object flying vertically. [22]
3rd of July 1997 Swindon Green balloon shaped objects. [22]
11th of July 1997 Swindon Lights flying in circles [22]
20th of July 1997 Marlborough Low flying static orange orbs. [22]
2nd of August 1997 Wootton Bassett Very bright round white object. [22]
3rd of August 1997 Swindon Vertically moving cylindrical object. [22]
12th of August 1997 Corsham Two Triangular objects. [22]
26th of August 1997 Trowbridge Small circular object with red and green lights. [22]
4th of October 1997 Chippenham Dark flat object [22]
5th of October 1997 Salisbury High flying Triangular object with red and green lights [22]
25th of December 1997 Froxfield Large possibly burning disc shaped object [22]
5th of January 1998 Calne Large elongated object, described as larger than a Hercules [23]
14th of January 1998 Calne White and green cylindrical object. [23]
2nd of June 1998 Melksham Two distant red objects seen. [23]
25th of June 1998 Warminster/Westbury A flying saucer [23]
3rd of July 1998 Bradford-on-Avon Grey coloured oval object [23]
9th of September 1998 Trowbridge Bright lights, bright enough to be seen through curtains [23]
14th of September 1998 Salisbury Low flying car sized yellow luminous object [23]
10th of November 1998 Salisbury Red/Green star like object [23]
16th of November 1998 Marlborough Vertically moving white flaming object [23]
17th of November 1998 Chippenham Colourful shooting star like objects [23]
8th of June 1999 Marlborough Private pilot reported a colourful circular object making rapid movements [24]
11th of June 1999 Salisbury Rotating reflective object [24]
12th of July 1999 Wiltshire Three orange objects in a line [24]
19th of September 1999 Marlborough Fast moving, car sized, tubular object [24]
9th of October 1999 Calne Two lights seen moving rapidly [24]
10th of October 1999 Foxham Singular bright light [24]
17th of December 1999 Swindon Two bright white objects seen making circles [24]
28th of December 1999 Swindon Fast moving circular object. [24]
5th of January 2000 Wootton Bassett Singular object that changed colour from white to green-orange. [25]
3rd of February 2000 Melksham Four large orange objects flying in formation. [25]
27th of July 2000 Salisbury Triangular formation of objects [25]
2nd of December 2000 Stonehenge/Salisbury Bright green and blue flashing sphere. [25]
14th of February 2001 Salisbury Triangular red and purple object. [26]
3rd of April 2001 Chippenham Pair of bright red lights. [26]
June 2001 West Wiltshire, Trowbridge Multiple Witness' describe a slow moving bright light flying overhead. [2]
15th of September 2001 Swindon Vertically moving bright white object [26]
28th of July 2002 Near Salisbury Bright red light [27]
26th of June 2003 Melksham Silvery white object [28]
16th of August 2003 Amesbury Flying saucer [28]
24th of September 2004 Devizes Fiery ball coming down from the sky [29]
24th of September 2004 Swindon Silent orange disc [29]
2005 Lockeridge a man claims to have seen three metallic craft flying over a field. [20]
10th of February 2006 Marlborough Hovering light that changed from red to orange to green and blue. [30]
2007 Boscombe down A stationary very bright light [31]
3rd of February 2007 M4/Swindon An object with a green halo fell from the sky [31]
28th of June 2007 Swindon A UFO was seen for a short time [31]
5th of September 2007 Wroughton An object was seen that was said to resemble an object during re entry [31]
5th of September 2007 Wootton Bassett Arc shaped object with 10-12 white lights [31]
6th of October 2007 Trowbridge A Bright white light followed by 20 flickering orange lights [31]
2008 Wroughton a crop circle appeared which seems to show the first 10 digits of pi. [32]
9th of February 2008 Ashton Keynes 20 slow moving orange lights. [33]
4th of July 2008 Wroughton White triangular object [33]
20th of September 2008 Calne Five silent bright orange/pink objects [33]
10th of December 2008 Devizes A small fast moving golden coloured orb. [33]
2009 Silbury hill An off duty police sergeant reported seeing 6ft tall blonde figures in all white making a crop circle and hearing an electric crackling sound before the figures disappeared [34]
1 January 2009 Chippenham A UFO sighting was reported. [35]
13 February 2009 Bradford-on-Avon An orange orb was seen flying in a deliberate manner. [35]
22 February 2009 Swindon 80 bright lights where seen flying. [35]
26 February 2009 Malmsbury Two objects where seen shining light horizontally above the clouds. [35]
4 March 2009 Swindon Various star shaped lights where seen. [35]
4 April 2009 Swindon a large orange object was seen flying over RAF Lyneham. [35]
5 April 2009 Swindon a peculiar object was seen. [35]
12 April 2009 Swindon Four glowing objects where seen changing direction and brightness [35]
14 June 2009 Wroughton a Black disc like object was seen flying over crop circles near Barbury Castle [35]
27 June 2009 Swindon 12-13 orange lights flying in a line [35]
24 August 2009 Swindon Three lights forming an isosceles triangle which made no sound seen flying. [35]
29 August 2009 Lyneham Orange lights seen following each other [35]
1 October 2009 Chippenham Lights seen in sky. [35]
31 October 2009 Westbury a bright circular light seen. [35]
11 September 2016 Swindon a resident saw and reported to the police a UFO in the sky and Alien in their living room. [36]
20 September 2016 Salisbury a resident woman claimed to have been abducted by Aliens. [36]
May 2017 Cley hill a local resident spotted and filmed a UFO flying over the hill. [37]
19 August 2017 Cley Hill Frome resident Jeremy Le Fevre Spotted a green and red object flying over the hill. [37]
13 August 2018 Cley hill Objects where spotted flying in a line over the hill. [37]
5 April 2019 Chippenham a resident man claimed to have been abducted by Aliens. [36]
10 October 2019 Trowbridge a resident reported a UFO sighting [36]
17 January 2021 Chippenham a resident informed police than an ex friend had knowledge about aliens. [36]

References

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