Essex ranks 4th in the UK for paranormal activity: See the list

It has seen 499 paranormal sightings, only being beaten out by Lancashire, Greater London and Yorkshire.

PsychicWorld.com analysed online paranormal databases to determine a total figure for paranormal sightings for 59 counties across the UK.

In total they worked out that there had been 12,157 known sightings.

As mentioned previously Yorkshire came out on top with a total of 790 sightings, which is 303 per cent higher than the UK average.

Map of UK counties ranked by number of paranormal sightings (PsychicWorld.com)

In addition to a rich history spanning 10,000 years, Yorkshire is home to what are known as the ‘Ghosts of the Greatest Longevity’ and was the first city in Europe to host ghost walks.  

Greate London was in second place with 685 sightings.

Home to the ‘Red Lady’ and the ‘Highgate Vampire’, London is not only bustling with the living, but also the dead.

Lancashire was third with 529 sightings and is famous for Witches and Baggots (shapeshifters).

On the other end of the scale Rutland came bottom, with only 6 total sightings.

What type of paranormal sightings are there?

The most prevalent type of paranormal experiences in the UK consist of haunting manifestations, such as spirits or poltergeists.

These sightings account for 59 per cent of all UK reports with 7,185 known haunting manifestations across 59 counties.

Phantom Horses & Riders (526 sightings), Legends of Folklore (443 sightings), Headless Ghosts (366 sightings) and Shucks and Hell Hounds (363 sightings) are among the most prevalent paranormal sightings, respectively ranking second, third, fourth and fifth.  

The ten counties with the most paranormal sightings

1. Yorkshire - 790 sightings

2. Greater London - 685

3. Lancashire - 529

4. Essex - 499

5. Sussex - 438

6. Dorset - 433

7. Devon - 415

8. Suffolk - 411

9. Somerset - 397

10. Norfolk - 392