Pub Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana
Tommy
Location: South Shields (Tyne and Wear) - Scotia public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A local story says the cellar is home to a phantom named Tommy who can be heard moving around using his walking stick.
Sailor
Location: South Shields (Tyne and Wear) - Steamboat public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The resident spook in this pub was identified as a sailor who lost his footing and fell into the cellar.
George
Location: South Wraxall (Wiltshire) - Long Arms public house
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 2021
Further Comments: This public house's resident ghost, nicknamed George, was blamed for breakages and opening doors. In 2021, CCTV showed a glass spontaneously shattering.
Servant
Location: Southam (Warwickshire) - Olde Mint (now a public house)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This medieval building, and a neighbouring building, were said to be haunted by a servant who could be heard but not seen.
Chair of Despair
Location: Southport (Merseyside) - Oast House public house
Type: Curse
Date / Time: 2005
Further Comments: A chair in this public house has reported as being cursed after eight people who sat there died.
Woman
Location: Southport (Merseyside) - Sands Public House (no longer operating)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A local story says a female phantom haunted this public house and would try to push people down the main staircase.
Free Top Ups
Location: Southsea (Hampshire) - Apsley House public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: October 2009
Further Comments: The resident ghost was nicknamed 'Reedy' and was reported to add an 'extra inch of beer' to half empty glasses.
Barrel Problems
Location: Southwell (Nottinghamshire) - Bramley Apple public house
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: An unseen hand is said to periodically stop the flow from the barrels in the cellar.
Laugh
Location: Southwell (Nottinghamshire) - Hearty Goodfellow public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Two witnesses heard the laughter of a young boy in the pub, even though no one else was present at the time.
Woman
Location: Southwell, Portland (Dorset) - Eight Kings public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: November 2021 - January 2022
Further Comments: After the pub's refurbishment in November 2021, local press claimed a flurry of paranormal activity had broken out, including strange sounds and a woman spotted in the restaurant who would vanish.
Victorian Lost Boy
Location: Spalding (Lincolnshire) - Red Lion public house, Hillgate
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2004
Further Comments: A team of ghost hunters which stayed here one night claimed to contact a young boy wearing breeches and a flat cap. The entity claimed to have arrived at the public house by train and was now unable to leave. Another ghost took the form of an elderly gentleman dressed in grey.
Lady Clad in Blue Gown
Location: Spixworth (Norfolk) - Longe Arms public house and surrounding area
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A phantom lady in a blue gown was said to have escorted a man named 'Old John' back from the Longe Arms every night. After he died, she was never seen again, though it is said you can hear her crying on stormy nights.
Barrel Mover
Location: St Albans (Hertfordshire) - White Hart public house
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Unknown, prior to 2008
Further Comments: The entity here was blamed when heavy barrels in the cellar were found moved, even though no (living) person had been down there. Another story had a guest complain that the guests in the neighbouring room had been particularly noisy, even though no one else was staying in any other room on that night.
Sobbing
Location: St Albans (Hertfordshire) - Wicked Lady public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The sound of a lady's gentle sobs has been heard diffusing through the fabric of the pub. The common outside the pub is home to a highway woman on horseback, after whom the building is named.
Chef
Location: St Blazey (Cornwall) - Cornish Arms public house
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 2006
Further Comments: The poltergeist found in this establishment enjoys ringing a bell in the kitchen which then sounds a different tone. The bottoms of female staff are pinched by an unseen hand and voices have also been heard in an empty bar. A clairvoyant identified the entity as a former chef.
Drowned Sailor
Location: St Ives (Cornwall) - Outside the White Hart public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early nineteenth century, between midnight and 01:00h
Further Comments: On his way to a boat, a local man spotted a sailor standing by a post close to the pub. The man at first greeted the sailor, but being ignored, threw an insult at him. The sailor turned to face the man, who then realised that the sailor's beard was caked in seaweed and sticks, and his face and hands swollen. The man quickly walked away, but the sailor followed, only vanishing when the man reached his destination. The following day, the man fell ill, and was bedridden for six months.
Elderly Lady
Location: Stalybridge (Lancashire) - Q public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Short in stature, this ghostly, elderly figure wears Victorian clothing. A labourer is also said to haunt the premises.
Mrs Hall
Location: Stanton Harcourt (Oxfordshire) - Gardens of the Harcourt Arms public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This woman took her own life when she discovered her husband was having an affair with the landlady. The ghost has been successfully exorcised.
Moaning
Location: Staplehurst (Kent) - The Kings Head public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1972
Further Comments: After a headstone in the garden was removed, phantom noises came from the bar area once it was devoid of human life, and the guest room. The latter area is supposed to terrify animals.
Naked Gypsy
Location: Staxton (North Yorkshire) - Public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1980s
Further Comments: A gypsy girl was rumoured to have been killed by a landlord here during the 1600's - bones found in the pub in the 1980s were said to be hers, and once disturbed, a state of ghostly occurrences occurred.
Allan Mair
Location: Stirling (Stirling) - Tolbooth Theatre / public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2002
Further Comments: Allan Mair was a prisoner held at this former jail. He died on site and was buried within the grounds. Manifesting in eighteenth century clothing, Mair is also held responsible for smashing bottles of alcohol and creating noises where the cells once held him.
John
Location: Stockport (Greater Manchester) - Gardener's Arms public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: A former member of staff claimed the pub's cellar was haunted by a ghost named John - failure to say 'good morning' to the ghost would result in him wolf whistling in your ear. The phantom would also object it the cellar was rearranged and would move things around and turn taps on.
George
Location: Stockport (Greater Manchester) - Star and Garter public house and surrounding area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A young boy murdered nearby in 1861, George is still said to play with living children.
Woman
Location: Stockport (Greater Manchester) - Thatched House public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Lurking in the cellar, this female shade is said to horrify anyone who encounter her. Another ghost, Doctor James Briscall, is said to sit at the bar - the doctor set the building up as the town's first infirmary.
Back Slapper
Location: Stockport (Greater Manchester) - White Lion public house
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 2003
Further Comments: A DJ reported feeling someone slap his back and head, although there was no one close by. Reporting it to the landlady, he was told that other DJs had told her similar stories.
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