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Pub Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana

Runner

Location: Marchington (Staffordshire) - Dog and Partridge public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: One night in April (reoccurring), 1993 - 2001
Further Comments: One occupant of this building reported that every April a 'spectre' ran from an upstairs bedroom, descending through the landing and stopping by the front door. Local folklore claimed that when the building was separate cottages, a man fell asleep while smoking and set himself on fire; running down the stairs which are now covered by the landing, he died trying to open the front door.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2025-04-26 | Last updated: 2025-04-26 | ID #15882

Victorian Man

Location: Marford (Clwyd) - Trevor Arms public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twenty-first century?
Further Comments: Several ghosts are said to haunt this establishment, including a Victorian man with mutton chops who spoke to a visitor, and Margaret Blackbourne (who also haunts other parts of the village).

Source: Published Media
First added: 2016-04-24 | Last updated: 2016-04-24 | ID #12154

Pale Woman

Location: Margate (Kent) - Northern Belle public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The phantom woman in this public house is said to be deathly pale and wears a shroud.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2008-10-05 | Last updated: 2008-10-05 | ID #9013

Jilted Maid

Location: Market Drayton (Shropshire) - Corbett Arms public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A chambermaid who hanged herself in room 7 after her boyfriend ran away remains trapped there. Single men staying in the room have been awoken to find the bedcovers thrown to the floor.

Source: Needs Review
First added: 2005-05-30 | Last updated: 2005-05-30 | ID #6282

Kitchen Worker

Location: Market Drayton (Shropshire) - Loggerheads public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: It has been reported that this pub has three phantoms. A female form is said to work in the kitchen, a man has been observed in the garden, and a dog.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2012-10-20 | Last updated: 2012-10-20 | ID #11134

Misty Figure

Location: Market Drayton (Shropshire) - Sandbrook Vaults public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2011?
Further Comments: During building work, joiner Eddie Chapman Smith witnessed a 'misty outline'. Fearing he had fired a nail into the pipes, he rushed to the spot, but the mist had vanished.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2012-10-20 | Last updated: 2012-10-20 | ID #11133

Hanged Man

Location: Market Harborough (Leicestershire) - The Sun public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: The cellar is reported to be haunted by male criminal hanged many years ago. When the Northants Haunted team investigated the building, they reported shouting coming from the empty cellar, as well as contacting the spirit of a twelve year old boy.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2007-11-18 | Last updated: 2007-11-18 | ID #8059

Scissors

Location: Marown (Isle of Man) - Highlander public house (closed 2012), Douglas to Peel
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Pre-2012
Further Comments: The scissors which were used by Timothy Clucas, the tailor who defeated the buggane at St Trinian's Church, were said to be on display at this pub before it closed. The scissors' current whereabouts are unknown.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2019-03-05 | Last updated: 2019-03-05 | ID #13104

Overpopulated

Location: Marsden (Tyne and Wear) - Marsden Grotto public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: A team of investigators claimed that this was the most haunted public house in England, with seven ghosts being 'detected' by their electro-magnetic apparatus. One of the shades is reportedly the ghost of a smuggler who tried to inform the authorities of his gang's actions - they found out and locked him away, allowing him to starve to death. A secret tunnel is said to run to another nearby haunted pub, the Jolly Sailor.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2003-06-25 | Last updated: 2003-06-25 | ID #4361

Pilot

Location: Martlesham (Suffolk) - Red Lion public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Post-Second World War
Further Comments: This pub is said to be haunted by the ghost of a pilot who crashed en route back to his airbase located at Martlesham.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2008-05-26 | Last updated: 2008-05-26 | ID #8635

Crying Child

Location: Mauchline (Ayrshire) - Poosie Nansies public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 2008 / 2009
Further Comments: A young girl has been heard crying on the site, and owner Marion Young felt someone walk into her office, even though no physical person was there. Other people have felt a tap on their shoulder, while sometimes glasses fall to the floor for no explainable reason.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2009-02-07 | Last updated: 2026-05-14 | ID #9127


The Horse and Groom pub, Melton.

Large Black Tomcat

Location: Melton (Suffolk) - The Horse and Groom Public House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s
Further Comments: The pub (particularly room number 3) has been home to a ghostly cat. The phantom feline has a habit of laying across the throat of people sleeping, only to jump off and vanish once they awake.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2000-09-02 | Last updated: 2000-09-02 | ID #822

Small Man

Location: Menai Bridge (Powys) - Anglesey Arms public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The pub is reputed to be haunted by a short older man.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2019-12-28 | Last updated: 2019-12-28 | ID #13484

Headless Man

Location: Meopham (Kent) - Route between public house and church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Walking the route, this ghostly figure has been observed with no head.

Source: Historical Record
First added: 2002-06-16 | Last updated: 2002-06-16 | ID #1247

Cavalier

Location: Middleton (Greater Manchester) - Ring O'Bells public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: The remains of several bodies were found under the floor of the basement, dating back to the civil war. The forlorn ghost seen lurking about the site is believed to be the spiritual echo of one of the corpses. A more contemporary shade is one of a man in a grey suit, of whom little is known.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2003-08-23 | Last updated: 2003-08-23 | ID #4479

Long Snake

Location: Milford Haven (Dyfed) - Off coast, viable from the Shipwright public house
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 06 March 2003
Further Comments: A small group at the pub watched a snake-like creature, between 10 - 15 metres in length, a short distance off the shoreline.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2003-06-01 | Last updated: 2003-06-01 | ID #4310

Dragging Sounds

Location: Millom (Cumbria) - Commodore public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The sound of heavy dragging likened to that of furniture being moved has been reported here.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2003-12-31 | Last updated: 2003-12-31 | ID #4978

Fertility Tree

Location: Milton Keynes (Buckinghamshire) - Elm tree near the Swan public house
Type: Legend
Date / Time: New tree now present
Further Comments: Tradition said that if this elm tree died, no one would give birth in the village. When the tree caught Dutch Elm Disease in 1974 it was cut down to a stump and then, in 1989, a car crash destroyed the remains. The following year a resident planted a replacement elm.

Source: Historical Record
First added: 2025-10-18 | Last updated: 2025-10-18 | ID #16119

Rolling Barrels

Location: Milton Keynes (Buckinghamshire) - Old Bull public house, Fenny Stratford
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: A former landlord who would enter the cellar and find barrels and other stored items moved around decided to sprinkle powder across the floor - the barrels continued to be moved, but no footsteps were left.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2024-03-23 | Last updated: 2007-06-10 | ID #7575

Grey Lady

Location: Minster Lovell (Oxfordshire) - Mill and Old Swan public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Grey Lady unknown, other activities 2008 - 2011
Further Comments: The grey lady is said to be a former landlady who finds it hard to leave. Another woman haunts this site, after hiding in a chest and remaining undiscovered for several years (a la Thomas Haynes Bayly's The Mistletoe Bough). Staff have also reported a knife flying across the restaurant, footsteps and bangs from a locked room, and a man who stood by the bar after closing time who then vanished. Just outside the pub a black figure with no features other than white eyes was spotted.

Source: Published Media, User Submission
First added: 2012-05-07 | Last updated: 2012-05-07 | ID #10872

Rosalind

Location: Minster Lovell (Oxfordshire) - White Hart public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A Victorian lady, it is believed that Rosalind took her own life, hanging herself from the staircase. She now sheds tears, though her face is covered by a veil, in remorse for her rash course of action.

Source: Historical Record, Published Media
First added: 2002-11-12 | Last updated: 2002-11-12 | ID #3164

Prioress of Kirklees

Location: Mirfield (West Yorkshire) - Three Nuns public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1985 onwards, investigated by GCUK in 2013
Further Comments: Doors have opened unaided and shadowy figures spotted in this building. Ghost Chasers UK reported that the building was haunted by two spirits; a nun named Katherine Grice who killed herself on site, and the Prioress of Kirklees, who bled Robin Hood to death.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2013-12-08 | Last updated: 2013-12-08 | ID #11448


The Waggon & Horses pub, Mistley.

Face in the Window

Location: Mistley (Essex) - Waggon & Horses public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1921
Further Comments: A photograph taken in 1921 shows a strange face in one of the pub's windows.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2001-08-14 | Last updated: 2001-08-14 | ID #832

Misty Shape

Location: Mold (Clwyd) - Boar's Head public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late 1990s
Further Comments: A photograph taken by the Cheshire Paranormal Society purports to show a misty figure standing in the bar area, though some argue that the image shows nothing more than lens flare.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2004-05-31 | Last updated: 2004-05-31 | ID #5162

Grey Lady

Location: Moneyrow Green (Berkshire) - White Hart public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This phantom woman is sometimes seen along with her young child. The road outside the pub is haunted by a racehorse which occasionally gallops by, more often heard than seen.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2004-08-21 | Last updated: 2004-08-21 | ID #5353

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