Fancy going on a spooky pub crawl? Check out our most haunted pub guide where you can read about all manner of spine-tingling supernatural events!
DRUIDS HEAD, BRIGHTON
THE BELL IN, THETFORD
Thought to be one of the most haunted places in the UK, the Bell is so renowned for its ghosts that the hotel regularly hosts ghost tours. One spirit is thought to be Elizabeth Radcliffe, a landlady who was murdered in the 19th century when she was pushed out of the window of Room 10, a room which enjoys its fair share of ghostly goings on. The hotel is popular with paranormal investigators given the substantial amount of supernatural activity and many sightings have also been reported from Room 11. Staff have heard children playing in empty rooms, rattling keys in the night and seen the ghost of a hooded monk.
A hooded Monk was last witnessed in 2002 by a cleaner in the Priory Bar. Records show that the Bell was owned by the College of the Virgin Mary in 1493 and it is thought that the Monk may have been associated with the nearby ruined Priory.
THE SUN INN, EASTWOOD
This old building contains many old garages and outhouses which are reported to be very spooky. There is a tunnel in the Sun Inn, blocked off in the cellar, which is believed by staff to lead to the church opposite the pub.
It is known that a resident hung themselves in one of the rooms many years ago. The pub has regularly had psychic mediums visit the building and a ghostly presence has always been detected. The chambermaids are said to frequently report that items move around in room 9. Shadows have passed over their heads; guests’ feet have been tickled during the night and some have said that they have heard whispering in their ears.
THE MOUNT, ORRELL, WIGAN
The Mount holds regular ghost walks and hosts psychic groups. Customers and staff alike have all reported that a little girl lives in the pub, with one account claiming that she likes to play hide-and-seek with those using the meeting rooms. Members of staff at the pub have also spoken about the ghost of a barrow boy named Charlie, who will barge into you if you are in his path.
Chris, the manager, reported that after placing some high frequency recording equipment in one room that apparently saw a nasty death, they picked up a crying noise pleading for help.
Parts of the cellar of this haunted building previously served as a mortuary and the hotel attached to the pub was built on top of an old graveyard.
YE OLDE STARRE INNE, YORK
Ye Olde Starre Inne is the oldest and best loved pubs in York, dating back to at least 1644. The pub is also one of the best known in the country due to its many ghostly goings on, such as lights turning on, chairs moving by themselves, and strange noises that keep the landlord awake at night. During the English Civil War, the cellar was commandeered by Royalist troops to serve as a makeshift hospital and morgue for the wounded, dying soldiers. It is from this cellar that the bloodcurdling screams of dying soldiers can still be heard echoing throughout the pub.
Three hundred years later a soldier about to be sent to the trenches during World War I, wrote to his sweetheart, promising to meet her at Ye Olde Starre Inne on his first night home; although she waited, he never came. The two star-crossed lovers have both been seen roaming the bar, looking for one another for eternity.
Additionally, two black cats are often seen running from room to room playing. The cats date back to when the custom was to entomb two live cats inside a building to protect it from fire and bad luck. Dogs visiting the pub growl and snarl at the spot the cats were walled in, with one dog even throwing itself at the spot and knocking itself out! Many visitors have been seen to bend to stroke one of the cats only to find nothing there.
THE RED LION, AVEBURY
Regularly in the top ten of Britain’s most haunted pubs, the Red Lion is unique in that it is the only pub in Britain to be surrounded by a stone circle. Originally a farmhouse dating back to the early 17th century and turned into a coaching house, this pub has been voted as one of the top ten most haunted pubs in the world.
There are said to be at least five ghosts at the Red Lion, with the most famous being a girl named Florrie who was killed by her husband after he discovered her unfaithfulness. She can be found by a well inside the pub and it is thought that she is responsible for throwing small items across the bar.
Some other ghosts seen include two children and a woman, possibly related, as well as a ghostly horse and carriage that pulls up outside the pub.
THE EAGLE, CAMBRIDGE
A window above the beer garden at the Eagle in Cambridge is permanently fixed open, and it is written in the lease that the window must remain so. Why? Around three hundred years ago, three children were unable to escape from the building during a fire and continue to haunt the pub today. The open window allows these young ghosts to leave the pub as they wish and it is reported that strange things have happened in the past when the window was shut. One account has said that should anyone dare to try and close the window, everybody inside the pub will experience a powerful feeling of suffocation.
THE SCOTIA, GLASGOW
Established in 1792, the Scotia is Glasgow’s oldest pub and reportedly has several ghosts that live inside the building. An alleged 20th century prostitute, named Annie, lives in the Scotia. During an investigation at the pub, Annie communicated with a Scottish group named Spirit Finders. She ‘answered’ questions by moving a glass placed on a table, and made the phone ring when the Spirit Finders asked her to prove her presence.
The manager of the Belhaven pub has also reported a young child who runs in and out of a door, a lady in a white wimple who sits in the snug and a lady in a green velvet dress who parades up and down the pub. These ghosts have been subject to several paranormal investigations, and have only been made visible to mediums.
Manager Mary Rafferty said, “There have been phones ringing, temperatures dropping and all sorts of strange goings on.”
THE CHEQUERS, BROMLEY
The Chequers is said to be haunted by at least three ghosts and is one of the most haunted pubs in the UK.
The notorious Highwayman, Dick Turpin, is the Chequers’ most famous ghost and has been seen on many occasions late at night by both staff and customers. The other ghosts include a French soldier or policeman who by goes by the name of Barnard. It is said that he was brutally knifed to death as he awoke to find people in the middle of a robbery. A lady in stilettoes also haunts the building, slamming doors as she moves.
Some visitors to the pub have had some frightful experiences. One was knocked to the floor and forced to crawl out through the door in order to escape; a member of staff staying the night felt her door unlock by itself, followed by the sound of someone whispering “who are you?”
There is also a young boy who lives at the Chequers, although not much is known of his past. He likes to show himself to other children, who tell their parents about playing with the little boy upstairs.
GOLDEN LION, ROMFORD
The Golden Lion is on the site of Britain’s oldest operating public house. At the end of the century the church brought it to replace with a coaching tavern for pilgrims and travelers and in 1402 the Lyon – as it was then known – first opened its doors. There are about 23 ghosts that have manifested themselves including a female ghost named ‘the white lady’. She was murdered in nearby Harold Hill in the 1890s who celebrated her wedding reception in the pub. Several people have seen her over the years and a psychic recently claimed she could feel her presence and said she’s here in a picture, and sure enough a photograph was found of the ghost lady standing in the nearby market place
“Never has an exorcism been required. The Golden Lion ghosts are nice ghosts”, said a local historian.
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