News
24 December 2006
Published: 15th December 2006
Pub haunted by ghosts of Christmas present
GHOSTLY APPARITION... landlord Paul Whitmore says
festive spirits have returned to his pub in more ways
than one.
The apparitions of a man, a woman and a dog have been
seen by customers, the landlord Paul Whitmore and his
wife, Marlene. They say glasses are mysteriously thrown
from behind the bar when there is nobody there and a
former chef at the pub was singled out by the spirits
who constantly threw pots at her when she entered the
kitchen.
The ladies at the pub invited two mediums, who
announced that the pub was haunted by three spirits.
Curiously, the spirits only turn up around Christmas and
leave when the weather starts to get warmer.
Mr Whitmore said: "One night at 5.30pm I saw a woman
wearing a long coat walk through the pub into the
restaurant. All the tables had been booked and I asked
my business partner Henry Wakelin to have a word with
her, but when he got into the restaurant no one was
there.
"A customer saw what appeared to be a man walk
through a door which had been blocked off. The ghosts
are not frightening, they are quite playful. They throw
pots and glasses off the shelves. This only happened
last week.
"One of the theories as to why they always haunt the
pub around Christmas and not during summer, is that they
come inside out of the cold into the warmth of the pub.
"The ghosts are quite a talking point among regulars,
who say they are here again. One of the ghosts is that
of a dog. My wife Marlene said she had moved out of the
way of a dog and then realised there wasn’t a dog in the
pub. The customers aren’t frightened of the ghosts, but
they can be mischievous."
First published by the Rochdale Observer