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Pub Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana

Tap Turning

Location: Kingston upon Hull (East Riding of Yorkshire) - Whittington & Cat public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The ghost in the cellar turns the gas off, while the occasional vanishing figure is seen in other parts of the pub.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2026-01-10 | Last updated: 2026-01-10 | ID #16273

Breathing

Location: Kingston upon Thames (Surrey) - The Liverpool Arms public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1979
Further Comments: The ghost here has been heard breathing in several places around the building.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2002-06-26 | Last updated: 2002-06-26 | ID #1503

Old Man

Location: Kirk Deighton (North Yorkshire) - Bay Horse public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: January 2009
Further Comments: This elderly phantom gentleman, with receding hairline and long hair, is said to sit by the fireplace. He was last spotted by an employee.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2009-06-14 | Last updated: 2009-06-14 | ID #9506

Rearrangement

Location: Kirkby in Ashfield (Nottinghamshire) - Duke of Wellington public house
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1980s
Further Comments: Various landlords at the pub are said to have come down in the morning to find the furniture rearranged or thrown around, even though they heard nothing during the night.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2008-05-05 | Last updated: 2008-05-05 | ID #8492

Stable Lad

Location: Kirkham (Lancashire) - Bell and Bottle public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1960s / 1970s?
Further Comments: Trampled to death in the stable many years ago, this shade was said to have put in an occasional appearance after the building was converted into a restaurant.

Source: Historical Record, Published Media
First added: 2003-09-28 | Last updated: 2003-09-28 | ID #4615

Old Bill

Location: Kirton (Suffolk) - Village public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2004?
Further Comments: The ghost nicknamed Old Bill was once a regular at this public house. He believed that drinking ruined his life so returned to the building which he now haunts.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2005-02-03 | Last updated: 2005-02-03 | ID #5830

Deliberate Pacing

Location: Knaresborough (North Yorkshire) - Royal Oak public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The source of the slow and steady pacing footfalls that can be heard down an empty corridor has yet to be discovered.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2003-01-04 | Last updated: 2003-01-04 | ID #3482

Edwardian Chap

Location: Knebworth (Hertfordshire) - Brickmaker's Arms public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century?
Further Comments: The front room of this pub was once home to an Edwardian figure who sat on a sofa. He was exorcised by a local man.

Source: Needs Review
First added: 2003-10-25 | Last updated: 2003-10-25 | ID #4694

Annie Sarah Pollitt

Location: Knutsford (Cheshire) - Lord Eldon public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: Knutford's first May Queen is thought to haunt this pub, with many of the staff reporting sightings of her white ghostly form in the lower rooms.

Source: Published Media, User Submission
First added: 2003-08-03 | Last updated: 2003-08-03 | ID #4425

Old Lady

Location: Lacock (Wiltshire) - Sign of the Angel public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This OAP has been observed sitting patiently at a table.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2003-03-12 | Last updated: 2003-03-12 | ID #3973

No Night Shift

Location: Laindon (Essex) - Former printers (was previously Fortune of War public house), High Road
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Mid 1980s
Further Comments: A local story says that poltergeist activity at this building was so bad that staff refused to work at night. Footsteps were heard walking around and boxes in the storeroom would be thrown around.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2011-01-16 | Last updated: 2022-05-19 | ID #10155

Jacobite

Location: Lancaster (Lancashire) - Three Mariners public house, and lane outside
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A Jacobite man has been observed by the fireplace, and also wandering inside the pub and the lane outside. A blonde woman in a dress haunts the corridor outside the ladies' toilets, while other female forms also haunt the site. Mild poltergeist activity has been reported.

Source: Published Media, User Submission
First added: 2024-09-29 | Last updated: 2024-09-29 | ID #15648

Fred

Location: Langley Park (Durham) - Centurion public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: October 1974
Further Comments: After taking over the pub, George Fitzgibbon-Hall said that a family ghost had followed him around for many years, blaming the spirit for throwing ashtrays around the site and turning up the heating.

Source: Historical Record
First added: 2025-08-30 | Last updated: 2025-08-30 | ID #16053

Woman in White

Location: Langstone (Hampshire) - Royal Oak public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1969
Further Comments: This female form was briefly seen before vanishing into the corner of a bedroom. At least one guest left suddenly after spending the night in the room.

Source: Historical Record, Published Media
First added: 2002-12-31 | Last updated: 2002-12-31 | ID #3305

Mrs Goodhew

Location: Lavenham (Suffolk) - The Angel public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: The ghost of an early landlady, Mrs Goodhew, has been seen standing around the building, smiling at any witness before vanishing.

Source: Needs Review
First added: 2005-05-30 | Last updated: 2005-05-30 | ID #6286

Grey Haired Lady

Location: Leeds (West Yorkshire) - Cardigan Arms public house
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: 13 October 2006
Further Comments: The ladies' toilets appear to be home to a phantom elderly woman with long, straight grey/white hair. The figure was briefly spotted in the reflection of a mirror by one witness, while others have caught a glimpse of a figure from the corner of their eye or felt uneasy in the environment.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2006-10-22 | Last updated: 2006-10-22 | ID #6997

Man in the Cellar

Location: Leeds (West Yorkshire) - Golden Lion public house, North Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1960s
Further Comments: Dressed in Victorian attire, this gentleman was often seen walking around under the pub. The upper part was said to be haunted by an old woman who appeared in the children's bedroom at night.

Source: Historical Record
First added: 2002-10-17 | Last updated: 2002-10-17 | ID #2704


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Man in Overcoat

Location: Leicester (Leicestershire) - Admiral Beatty public house, Wellington Street (no longer standing)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-1970s
Further Comments: The ghostly figure of a man wearing a long coat would be seen looking out a window. Even when not present, the area where he stood would be colder than the rest of the pub (although it could just have been draughty).

Source: Published Media
First added: 2019-12-04 | Last updated: 2019-12-04 | ID #13428

Hooded Monk

Location: Leicester (Leicestershire) - Crown & Thistle public house, Loseby Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Secret tunnels supposed to connect the pub to the cathedral and castle are reputedly haunted by a man who quickly vanishes if seen. More recently a witness reported observing a hooded monk kneeling as if in prayer, with a small posy of flowers laying on the floor, in the residential lounge above the public bar.

Source: Published Media, User Submission
First added: 2024-05-14 | Last updated: 2024-05-14 | ID #15370

Seated Child

Location: Leicester (Leicestershire) - The Talbot public house, Thurcaston Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Several shades have taken up residence here. A young child sits on a bar stool, a phantom woman vanishes into the wall, an old man in a large raincoat walks towards the bar before disappearing, and shadowy figures lurk in the car park.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2003-09-07 | Last updated: 2003-09-07 | ID #4572

Anne Boleyn

Location: Leigh-on-Sea (Essex) - Bellhouse public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A former hunting lodge, local legend says Boleyn occasionally returns as she favoured the site.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2023-10-11 | Last updated: 2023-10-11 | ID #15104

Old Woman

Location: Leighton Buzzard (Bedfordshire) - Bedford Arms public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This elderly entity is said to stand over people as they sleep.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2007-08-27 | Last updated: 2007-08-27 | ID #7850

Slammer

Location: Leighton Buzzard (Bedfordshire) - Buckingham Arms public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Doors are heard slamming shut, normally before phantom footsteps stomp up and down the staircase.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2007-08-27 | Last updated: 2007-08-27 | ID #7851

Exorcism

Location: Leighton Buzzard (Bedfordshire) - Ram public house (no longer operational)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s
Further Comments: An exorcism was carried out in this pub after staff and customers spotted a ghostly figure and experienced poltergeist-like behaviour, including one member of staff being grabbed.

Source: User Submission
First added: 2013-11-17 | Last updated: 2013-11-17 | ID #11439

Pilgrim

Location: Lenham (Kent) - Red Lion public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The pub is thought to be home to the ghost of an elderly man who once rested here during a pilgrimage to Canterbury.

Source: Published Media
First added: 2008-10-14 | Last updated: 2008-10-14 | ID #9023

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