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Examining folkloric, paranormal & cryptozoological locations in the UK and beyond

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Inn Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana

Tall Man

Location: St Neots (Cambridgeshire) - Coach House (was The New Inn)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1960s
Further Comments: The ghostly figure of a tall man, thought to be the Earl of Holland, has not been reported for quite a while.

Source: Published Media, User Submission
First added: 2005-02-20 | Last updated: 2005-02-20 | ID #5865


The devil at work.

New Shoes for the Devil

Location: St Nicholas (South Glamorgan) - Dusty Forge Inn
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This inn was once a forge, where the Devil was caught making new shoes for himself.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2005-01-08 | Last updated: 2005-01-08 | ID #5779

Woman in Black

Location: Stamford (Lincolnshire) - London Inn (closed in 2010)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Tuesday evening in December, early 1990s, around 19:30h
Further Comments: Together with a friend working behind a bar in an otherwise empty inn, this witness reported watching a young woman in black walk from the back of the pub and enter the toilets. They waited for her to emerge, wanting to comment to her not buying a drink but using the facilities, but after fifteen minutes one witness grew concerned and went to see if she was okay, but the toilets were empty...

Source: User Submission
First added: 2011-06-26 | Last updated: 2011-06-26 | ID #10483

Cat Lover

Location: Stanbury (West Yorkshire) - The Old Silent Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The rear of this public house is reportedly frequented by a spectral old lady who fed all the local stray cats. The ringing of phantom bells has been heard coming from nearby moorland.

Source: Historical Record, Published Media
First added: 2002-10-18 | Last updated: 2002-10-18 | ID #2727

Party

Location: Stanley (Durham) - South Causey Inn
Type: Other
Date / Time: 15 October 2009, around 23:45h
Further Comments: While in this pub with her friend, this witness heard a large group of people enter the building. The witness turned and noticed the group were wearing bright clothing, with one woman sporting a turquoise coloured outfit with lots of feathers. The witness briefly turned to her friend intending to point at the crowd, but when she turned back, the colourful group had vanished.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2009-12-29 | Last updated: 2009-12-29 | ID #9748

Gassy Ghost

Location: Stapleton (North Yorkshire) - Bridge Inn
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1993
Further Comments: The poltergeist here managed to terrify the landlord by turning the cooker gas taps on during the night. Disembodied footsteps could be heard late at night.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2002-11-12 | Last updated: 2002-11-12 | ID #3162

Henry Trigg

Location: Stevenage (Hertfordshire) - National Westminster Bank, High Street (once Old Castle Inn)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s
Further Comments: Trigg lived in the building in the early eighteenth century, and requested that after he died, his body be concealed in the loft. This happened, but over the next 250 years, dozens of morbid souvenir hunters removed the bones from the coffin, leaving only a lonely ghost that seeks his remains.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2003-08-10 | Last updated: 2003-08-10 | ID #4465

Turpin

Location: Stilton (Cambridgeshire) - Bell Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1960s
Further Comments: It was once believed that the ghost of Dick Turpin passed by this inn on Wednesday nights - the thud of horse's hooves could be heard, and some people reported seeing a man on horseback just outside of the building.

Source: Historical Record, Published Media
First added: 2005-08-02 | Last updated: 2005-08-02 | ID #6468


A medieval cat.

Piano Cat

Location: Stoke on Trent (Staffordshire) - New Inn, Basford (no longer open)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: When the piano keys could be heard striking without human intervention, a ghost cat would be blamed. The phantom feline was said to be appeased when a small amount of beer would be left out for him.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2019-08-21 | Last updated: 2019-08-21 | ID #13316

Alice

Location: Stoke Prior (Worcestershire) - Navigation Inn
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: Alice either committed suicide or was murdered during the nineteenth century, in the old kitchen which is now the ladies' toilets. People have heard the breaking of plates, though nothing is ever found broken, and thuds and bangs in one of the toilet's cubicles. The disturbances stop if Alice is acknowledged.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2009-09-02 | Last updated: 2009-09-02 | ID #9654

Smart Man

Location: Strood (Kent) - Three Crutches Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Dressed in fine clothing, this phantom gentleman is said to walk through a wall in the dining room. Another ghostly figure has been observed sitting at an upper floor window.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2008-10-14 | Last updated: 2008-10-14 | ID #9033

Sailor

Location: Strumpshaw (Norfolk) - The Goat Inn (currently the Huntsman)
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1960s?
Further Comments: A supposed haunting caused by the spirit of a drowned sailor from the Second World War, at least one previous landlord has reported seeing ghostly figures and hearing the piano playing by itself. One story connects the phantom sailor to a goat's head once kept in the pub, considered cursed after ill-fortune befell owners and anyone who touched the object. The location of the goat's head is currently unknown.

Source: Historical Record, User Submission
First added: 2000-08-17 | Last updated: 2026-01-18 | ID #404

Suicide

Location: Sturminster Newton (Dorset) - Swan Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s
Further Comments: An inn keeper who took his own life in the late eighteenth century is said to keep an eye on his former establishment.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2008-08-10 | Last updated: 2008-08-10 | ID #8729

Woman

Location: Sturminster Newton (Dorset) - White Hart Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The White Hart is said to be haunted by a woman who quietly goes about her business in the bar area.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2008-08-10 | Last updated: 2008-08-10 | ID #8728

Green Lady

Location: Sunderland (Tyne and Wear) - Jolly Sailor Inn, Whitburn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: The ghostly green lady that walks the hallways is said to have pined away after failing to impress her suitor. There may also be a smoke-like grey lady on the site, and a pink lady. A piece of folklore says there is a secret passage from this inn leading to the Marsden Grotto, a little over two miles to the north.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2022-02-17 | Last updated: 2022-02-17 | ID #14423

One Man and his Dog

Location: Surlingham (Norfolk) - Ferry House inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The ghostly man and his dog were said to empty any half-finished glasses of beer if left out overnight.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2020-06-06 | Last updated: 2020-06-06 | ID #13840

Mary McDonnagh

Location: Sutton Cheney (Leicestershire) - Hercules Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: Mary McDonnagh had her hands cut off for stealing brandy. She has been reported to be seen wearing a white cap, wandering through the restaurant area. Staff to this day report sightings, and objects have been seen to move from place to place.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2005-08-29 | Last updated: 2005-08-29 | ID #6504

Man in Red Cloak

Location: Sutton Coldfield (West Midlands) - The Gate Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s
Further Comments: This brightly cloaked figure is one of two figures which haunt this building - the other is named as a lost cavalier.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2002-11-12 | Last updated: 2002-11-12 | ID #3140


The Ship Inn, Swanage.

Shadowy Figure

Location: Swanage (Dorset) - Ship Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: November 2011
Further Comments: A shadowy figure briefly appeared on the CCTV, but could not be seen in the corresponding area within the pub.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2023-08-20 | Last updated: 2023-08-20 | ID #15040

Shadowy Figure

Location: Swinton (South Yorkshire) - Ship Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1980
Further Comments: A dark insubstantial figure was blamed when the landlord moved his family out. Glasses would also break without reason, and doors would lock and unlock themselves.

Source: Published Media, User Submission
First added: 2002-12-04 | Last updated: 2002-12-04 | ID #3239


A headless ghost.

Cromwellian Victim

Location: Tarvin (Cheshire) - Bridle path near The Headless Woman inn, running from Hockenhull Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: An old servant woman was decapitated by agents of Cromwell, after she refused to hand over the location of her master's fortune. The woman's ghost made so many appearances that they named the nearby public house after the entity.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2002-06-25 | Last updated: 2002-06-25 | ID #1462

Argument

Location: Taunton (Somerset) - Naval and Military Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: A group of three ghost hunters were apparently scared away from the haunted room here, when the sounds of a phantom argument grew too strong.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2002-11-12 | Last updated: 2002-11-12 | ID #3154

Hugger

Location: Tavistock (Devon) - Whitchurch Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1979
Further Comments: Feeling someone hugging her, the landlady turned to see who it was - but found no one there. The spirit is also blamed for moving bottles and personal items.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2002-06-26 | Last updated: 2002-06-26 | ID #1501

Lady in Blue Dress

Location: Tebay (Cumbria) - Cross Keys Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s - 2020s
Further Comments: This ghostly entity has been seen in a bedroom (where they move makeup and toiletries around) and in other parts of the building. Staff have reported being touched by something unseen and heard unexplained knocks and running footsteps. One piece of folklore named her as Mary Baynes, a local witch who died circa 1811, upset with a former landlord after his dog killed Mary's cat. Dogs bark while looking at an unremarkable corner of the ceiling.

Source: Published Media, User Submission
First added: 2003-01-18 | Last updated: 2024-09-21 | ID #3643

Chained Figure

Location: Tewkesbury (Gloucestershire) - Ye Olde Black Bear Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: As well as being chained, stories also state that this tragic figure has no head. It has been speculated that he is a Lancastrian soldier executed near to the inn.

Source: Historical Record, Published Media
First added: 2003-08-09 | Last updated: 2003-08-09 | ID #4445

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