Pub Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana
Jack Stevens
Location: Swanage (Dorset) - Royal Oak public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2010s onwards
Further Comments: After Rachael Aplin took over this pub, haunting manifestations began, with ghost hunters naming Jack Stevens as one of the phantoms. The site featured in the TV series Paranormal Lockdown.
Waiting Wife
Location: Swanbridge (South Glamorgan) - Captain's Wife public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This public house is named after a local tale which says a phantom fisherman's wife haunts the area, awaiting the return of her husband lost at sea during a storm. Another legend says when the captain's wife died, her body was kept in a box - the box was stolen, mistaken for treasure.
Sky Ship
Location: Swanscombe (Kent) - Church and nearby Blue Anchor public house
Type: UFO
Date / Time: 1211
Further Comments: A group here for Sunday service watched a strange ship drop anchor from the heavens, which became entangled around a gravestone. One of the crew jumped overboard and headed towards the anchor, moving as if swimming. Witnesses grabbed the stranger as he reached the ground; he struggled briefly before drowning, even though on dry land. The remaining crew in the ship severed the rope of the anchor and sailed away; the strange artefact was melted down and used to make the hinges on the local church doors.
Elizabeth
Location: Sweattenham (Cheshire) - Sweattenham Arms public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Summer 2013
Further Comments: A visitor sitting with their back to an alcove spotted something black behind them. Expecting to see someone standing there, the visitor turned around, but there was nothing there. A member of staff told the visitor that the site was once a nunnery and that the pub was haunted by a nun by the name of Elizabeth.
Returning Items
Location: Swindon (Wiltshire) - Boundary House public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2013
Further Comments: Manager Dave Howells called in a paranormal investigation team after he noticed items which had vanished turn up again years later. The team claimed to have found five ghosts in total; Catherine and James in the bar, Amy and Tilly in the upper part of the building, and Alf in the basement.
Attack in the Cellar
Location: Swinton (Greater Manchester) - Bull's Head public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1980s
Further Comments: Two men were attacked in the cellar by an unknown presence, one requiring several stitches to a head wound. Phantom voices have also been heard on the telephone, and footsteps have been heard echoing around.
Maggie Stobbart
Location: Talkin (Cumbria) - Blacksmith's Arms public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Mid twentieth century?
Further Comments: Stobbart was the landlady at the pub at around the Victorian era - her form has been reported since her death.
Judge Jefferys
Location: Taunton (Somerset) - Tudor Tavern
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Spotted in the inn, Jefferys' shade still haunts the town where he held the Bloody Assizes.
Lady in Blue Dress
Location: Tebay (Cumbria) - Cross Keys public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s
Further Comments: This ghostly entity has been seen in a bedroom within the inn, and often moves makeup and toiletries around. Some have named her as Mary Baynes, a local witch who died circa 1811, upset with a former landlord after his dog killed the Mary's cat.
Footsteps
Location: Tewkesbury (Gloucestershire) - Berkeley Arms public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: The sounds of a person walking on the staircase are often heard, though the figure is never seen.
Woman
Location: Thorney (Cambridgeshire) - Dog in a Doublet public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A phantom woman is said to walk past just outside the pub. The building is also home to the traditional poltergeist which moves small items around.
Hooded Figure
Location: Thurgoland (Yorkshire) - Wortley Arms public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: August 2011
Further Comments: Photographer Paul Cocker claimed to have caught a phantom hooded figure in a doorway of this public house, although the image published online by a local newspaper looks slightly suspect.
Lady May
Location: Tipton (Staffordshire) - The Park public house
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Lady May was the young daughter of a squire who suffered a major haemorrhage and died in the attic. Since then, the loft has been home to bangs, crashes, and a light switch which insists on turning itself on.
The Captain
Location: Toddington (Bedfordshire) - Bedford Arms public house
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: More often heard walking in the upper parts of the building than seen, the few witnesses who have spotted 'The Captain' say he is a large man with a beard who wears a seafaring uniform.
The Landlord's Daughter
Location: Toddington (Bedfordshire) - The Bell public house
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: Poltergeist activity in the kitchen is blamed on a former landlord's daughter who died in the room after a fit. It is reported that one landlord left in 1995 after being repeatedly woken at night by an unseen presence, and his replacement actually spotted the girl's apparition.
Woman
Location: Tonbridge (Kent) - Lodge Oak Lane, outside Cardinal's Error public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A phantom woman would wander along the lane outside the pub, although it may be many years since she last appeared.
Lady with Large Hat
Location: Tonbridge (Kent) - The Cardinal's Error public house, Lodge Oak Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Seen sitting at the base of a bed by two different ladies, the true history of this ghost is unknown.
Civil War Horse
Location: Towcester (Northamptonshire) - Brave Old Oak public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Several ghosts are said to haunt this pub, including a horse from the Civil War, a child, and something in the cellar.
Footsteps
Location: Tralee (County Kerry) - Osborne public house (no longer operating)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Despite two previous exorcisms, The Osborne remained haunted by footsteps running up the staircase and the sounds of things being thrown around.
John and Lucy
Location: Trefriw (Clwyd) - Fairy Falls public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 2007
Further Comments: The landlord of this pub reported that two ghosts haunted the property, going by the names of John and Lucy.
Reduction in Numbers
Location: Tremeirchion (Clwyd) - Salusbury Arms public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2010s
Further Comments: It was claimed that this pub once had seven ghosts, but an exorcism reduced the number to three.
Screaming Children
Location: Trowse (Norfolk) - White Horse public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2004
Further Comments: As well as the upset children, witnesses have reported hearing footsteps along deserted corridors in the pub, and pictures have fallen from the walls without reason. The landlord claims to have managed to capture 'orbs' flying around the building on CCTV.
Young Girl
Location: Truro (Cornwall) - The Star public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Said to have been murdered close by, this forlorn shade now occasionally pops up in the pub.
Friar
Location: Truro (Cornwall) - William the Forth public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Built on the site of a friary, the former occupants of which appear reluctant to leave.
Cowboy
Location: Tunstall (Staffordshire) - Ancient Briton Public House (no longer operational)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 2006
Further Comments: A video recorded on a mobile phone was said to contain the image of a ghostly cowboy, though the 'ghost' resembles light flare. A previous landlord claimed his child spoke to the phantom cowboy, who would move the child's socks.
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