Pub Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana
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.
First added: 2008-05-27 | Last updated: 2008-05-27 | ID #8649
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.
First added: 2015-03-02 | Last updated: 2015-03-02 | ID #11759
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.
First added: 2022-01-15 | Last updated: 2022-01-15 | ID #14354
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.
First added: 2004-07-11 | Last updated: 2004-07-11 | ID #5238
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.
First added: 2000-08-17 | Last updated: 2000-08-17 | ID #790
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 that night.
First added: 2020-06-06 | Last updated: 2020-06-06 | ID #13830
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.
First added: 2002-11-12 | Last updated: 2002-11-12 | ID #3135
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.
First added: 2006-04-23 | Last updated: 2006-04-23 | ID #6860
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.
First added: 2020-04-03 | Last updated: 2020-04-03 | ID #13647
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.
First added: 2008-10-14 | Last updated: 2008-10-14 | ID #9036
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.
First added: 2003-02-12 | Last updated: 2003-02-12 | ID #3813
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.
First added: 2002-06-17 | Last updated: 2002-06-17 | ID #1285
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.
First added: 2002-07-11 | Last updated: 2002-07-11 | ID #1690
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.
First added: 2002-08-11 | Last updated: 2002-08-11 | ID #2123
Feelings
Location: Stockport (Greater Manchester) - Duke of Clarence public house (demolished 1979)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre 1979
Further Comments: After the discovery of an old skeleton in the basement during demolition work, the former landlord recalled 'sensing' he was not alone in the pub. A cleaner had also claimed to feel something touch her shoulder when alone in the bar.
First added: 2026-05-25 | Last updated: 2026-05-25 | ID #16621
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 if the cellar was rearranged and would move things around and turn taps on.
First added: 2012-04-08 | Last updated: 2012-04-08 | ID #10832
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.
First added: 2008-10-14 | Last updated: 2008-10-14 | ID #9037
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 encounters 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.
First added: 2008-10-14 | Last updated: 2008-10-14 | ID #9038
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.
First added: 2016-06-26 | Last updated: 2016-06-26 | ID #12196
Red Head
Location: Stockton (Warwickshire) - Blue Lias public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Between March and November (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Seen walking through the pub after opening hours, this red headed male is thought to have been killed long ago after being discovered in bed with another man's wife.
First added: 2002-10-30 | Last updated: 2002-10-30 | ID #2974
Antisocial Woman
Location: Stockton-on-Tees (Durham) - Manhattan's public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2017
Further Comments: North Yorkshire Paranormal Investigations' claimed this building to be one of Teesside's most haunted, home to a phantom child, and a woman who instructed visitors to leave.
First added: 2017-10-28 | Last updated: 2017-10-28 | ID #12587
Esmeralda
Location: Stoke Golding (Leicestershire) - Three Horseshoes public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s onwards
Further Comments: In the early twentieth century, Esmeralda fell into the well at this pub and drowned. Nothing supernatural occurred until renovations took place in the 1970s, after which poltergeist activity was experienced in the kitchen, footsteps were heard around the site, and occasionally a young woman in a long skirt was seen walking through a wall.
First added: 2014-05-18 | Last updated: 2014-05-18 | ID #11544
Unknown Woman
Location: Stonham (Suffolk) - Magpie Public House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2007
Further Comments: Newly arrived owners Mark and Belinda Rudderham reported windows opening themselves and the television switching itself on and off. A figure was spotted by Belinda and a member of the bar staff, who at first thought it was Mark, though he was asleep upstairs at the time. A former landlord had previously encountered a phantom woman on site.
First added: 2007-05-29 | Last updated: 2007-05-29 | ID #7491
Bella
Location: Stourbridge (West Midlands) - Badgers Sett public house (was Gypsy's Tent pub)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s onwards
Further Comments: Nicknamed Bella, the phantom woman said to haunt the cellar and bar area is said to be connected to the body of a female which was found in Wych Hazel nearby. A ghostly male in uniform has also been spotted on the road outside the pub.
First added: 2011-04-26 | Last updated: 2011-04-26 | ID #10296
Pie Eating Madman
Location: Stow Bardolph (Norfolk) - The Hares Arms public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Capon is believed to be one of the first landlords to run the pub, and he killed himself after eating a pie that his wife made for him - some think she spiked her baking with a heavy metal, which drove him mad.
First added: 2000-08-17 | Last updated: 2000-08-17 | ID #45
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