Last Orders for the Living: 10 UK Pub Ghost Stories Based on Reported Encounters

There is something particularly unsettling about a ghost story set in a pub. These are places built for company: conversation at the bar, laughter around a table and the reassuring clink of glasses. An unexplained footstep sounds different when the last customer has gone home.

Across the UK, pub staff and overnight guests have reported strange figures, moving objects and noises coming from empty rooms. Some accounts have appeared in news reports; others survive through local folklore and stories collected by the pubs themselves.

The ten stories below concern real establishments and published paranormal claims. That makes them reported hauntings, rather than proof of ghosts—but it leaves plenty to discuss over a pint.

Jamaica Inn, Cornwall: The Customer Who Never Finished His Drink

An unfinished drink is at the centre of Jamaica Inn’s best-known ghost story.

According to the inn’s account, a stranger was drinking at the bar when someone called him outside. He left his ale behind and walked into the night. His body was subsequently discovered on the moor.

The legend says he still returns to finish what he started. Previous landlords reportedly heard footsteps approaching the bar and associated them with the murdered customer.

Other reported disturbances give the story a wider soundtrack. Staff and guests have described horses’ hooves, rolling wheels and footsteps in bedroom corridors, sometimes followed by the discovery that nobody is there. The inn also records sightings of a cloaked man wearing a tricorne hat who apparently passes through solid doors.

The murder narrative remains a pub legend. The published reports of unusual experiences, however, are a real part of Jamaica Inn’s reputation.

The Mermaid Inn, Rye: A Duel Behind the Bedroom Door

Most overnight guests hope for an uneventful room. At the Mermaid Inn, one bedroom comes with a story of armed combat.

The inn’s own history recounts an experience attributed to a former owner, Mrs Aldington. Staying in the Elizabethan Bedchamber with a woman who described herself as psychic, she allegedly woke to see two men fighting with rapiers. Their clothing belonged to another age.

The encounter reportedly ended when the victor disposed of his opponent’s body through an opening in the corner of the room.

The Mermaid also describes a guest’s night-camera recording that supposedly captured sword movement and a shadowy figure. According to the inn, subsequent attempts to reproduce the shadow were unsuccessful.

These are claims preserved by the establishment, rather than independently authenticated evidence. Even so, a bedroom apparently replaying a violent encounter makes an unusually vivid addition to Britain’s pub ghost stories.

The Skirrid Mountain Inn, Monmouthshire: The Shadow on the Stairs

At the Skirrid Mountain Inn, the staircase has become the focus of some particularly disturbing stories.

The Abergavenny Chronicle has reported accounts of a tall, dark apparition on the stairs, traditionally identified as a hangman. Other visitors have described an oppressive sensation around their throats.

The pub’s broader folklore includes courtroom proceedings and executions inside the building. Those dramatic historical claims should be treated cautiously, rather than repeated as established fact.

A gentler presence is also said to linger here. Fanny Price, a woman associated with the inn, has reportedly appeared around the building, especially in Room 3. Some accounts connect her appearances with the scent of lavender.

It is that contrast which gives the Skirrid’s stories their character: a threatening shape on the staircase, then an unexpected fragrance in a bedroom. Both belong to the inn’s reported haunting tradition.

The Golden Fleece, York: The Woman Accompanied by Perfume

Some ghost stories begin with a noise. At York’s Golden Fleece, one begins with a smell.

Historic England’s account of the pub’s folklore describes sightings of an elderly woman identified as Lady Alice Peckett, whose husband was a Lord Mayor of York and an owner of the establishment. Her appearances in different rooms are reportedly accompanied by a sweet perfume.

The same account includes the story of a Second World War airman said to haunt the building after a fatal fall.

Neither identification establishes who—or what—witnesses encountered. They are explanations attached to the pub’s ghost stories.

Alice’s reported presence is nevertheless memorable for its quietness. There is no need for a crashing door or a shattered glass: simply the impression that someone has entered a room, leaving a fragrance behind her.

The Grenadier, London: Footsteps in Empty Rooms

The Grenadier’s resident ghost is traditionally called Cedric, a soldier allegedly killed after cheating at cards.

Londonist records claims of footsteps in unoccupied rooms, objects moving or disappearing, and prolonged cold sensations. Visitors also attach banknotes to the ceiling in the hope of settling the soldier’s supposed debt.

The reported disturbances remain unexplained anecdotes; Cedric’s identity belongs to the legend surrounding them.

The Flask, London: A Breath Against Your Neck

At the Flask in Highgate, reported activity includes moving glasses, swaying lights and sudden cold. Some customers have supposedly felt someone blowing against their necks.

Tradition attributes these disturbances to a Spanish barmaid. Another apparition, a man in Cavalier clothing, is said to cross the room and disappear into a pillar.

The stories turn an ordinary pub interior into somewhere visitors might watch a little more closely.

The Bow Bells, London: The Séance That Allegedly Broke the Glass

The Bow Bells’ ghost has an unusually specific reputation: flushing the ladies’ toilet while someone is using it.

Londonist recounts a more dramatic episode during a reported séance in 1974. When the presence was asked to reveal itself, the toilet door supposedly swung open violently enough to break a pane of glass.

It is a distinctly unglamorous haunting, with an unexpectedly theatrical climax.

Ye Olde Man and Scythe, Bolton: The Figure on CCTV

A brief piece of security footage brought this Bolton pub’s ghost stories to a much wider audience.

In February 2014, ITV reported on a recording from Ye Olde Man and Scythe that appeared to show a flickering, humanlike shape. The footage circulated as a possible ghost sighting.

The useful distinction is between the recording and its interpretation. A strange image appearing on CCTV does not establish that a spirit was present. What is documented is that the footage existed, was presented as potentially paranormal and attracted news coverage.

For a pub ghost story, it offers a modern variation on a familiar moment: someone notices an unexpected figure, then looks again to find it gone. This time, there was a recording to replay.

The Drovers Inn, Inverarnan: The Mystery of Room Six

At the northern end of Loch Lomond, the Drovers Inn has ghost stories that extend beyond the drinking rooms.

In an October 2026 report, STV described claims of sudden cold, unexplained nighttime thuds and objects coming away from walls. Staff member Wendy Dickson discussed rooms associated with unusual experiences, while particular attention fell on Room Six.

Local legend connects that room with a young girl called Annabelle, said to have drowned in the River Falloch. Her body was supposedly brought to the inn before burial.

STV also interviewed psychic medium Lily Sharp, who reported that a motion-activated device triggered while she was staying in the room. That activation does not demonstrate a supernatural cause, but it is a specific, attributed claim within a dated news report.

The older story supplies a possible identity. The newer accounts show how the inn’s haunting reputation continues to develop.

The Red Lion, Avebury: The Well Beneath the Table

The Red Lion’s most unsettling feature is something customers can actually look into: a well covered with glass and incorporated into a bar table.

Its ghost story centres on Florrie. According to the legend recorded by Historic England, her husband returned from fighting during the Civil War, discovered her with another man and killed them both. Florrie’s body was allegedly thrown down the well.

Her ghost is subsequently said to haunt the pub. Another reported apparition takes a different form: a phantom carriage passing through the yard.

The violent backstory should be understood as folklore, rather than a verified account of a murder. The well gives that folklore a powerful physical focus, placing an everyday pub conversation directly above the setting of an extraordinary tale.

A pub changes character when it falls quiet. Sounds that disappear beneath conversation become noticeable, and a familiar corridor can suddenly feel unfamiliar. These ten establishments have collected stories around precisely those moments—when someone heard another footstep, felt an unexpected touch or thought they saw one customer still lingering after closing time.