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1:00

us on Facebook, we

1:02

have 233 of real life ghost stories.

1:05

And to kick things off this week, I would

1:07

like to say thanks to some of our newest

1:09

Patreon subscribers. I would like to thank, Teresa, Nicholas

1:12

Greenaway, Ressa, Night

1:15

Owl, and Jack

1:17

Lizzule Nicolini. Thank you

1:19

so much for subscribing to the Patreon. I

1:21

love you and appreciate you every single day.

1:24

And our film review this week, our

1:27

film review is Baghead. Baghead

1:29

was released in 2023. It

1:31

has 5.4 out of 10 on IMDB and

1:34

27% on Rotten Tomatoes. A

1:38

young woman inherits a run down pub

1:40

and discovers a dark secret within its

1:42

basement. Baghead. A

1:45

shape shifting creature that lets one

1:47

speak to lost loved ones, but

1:49

not without consequence. Oh

1:52

God. I

1:55

just, I've gotten to this point where

1:57

I'm like, stop, stop releasing.

2:00

films that aren't good. You

2:02

knew this film wasn't good and you released

2:05

it anyway. Okay, no sorry, let's stick to

2:07

the program. Let's stick to the program. We're

2:09

gonna start with the likes. So,

2:13

genuinely I really liked the concept of

2:15

this film. Right, I really

2:17

liked the concept this girl whose

2:19

father, she's estranged from her father,

2:21

her father dies and in

2:23

the beginning of the film you have you

2:26

have the father in his run-down

2:28

bar and this man comes in

2:30

and he's desperately trying to speak to

2:32

her. He's like I need to speak to her, I

2:35

need to speak to her and you're like, oh, intrigued.

2:37

What's what's going on here? What's what's

2:39

happening? And the

2:41

father dies and his estranged

2:44

daughter is left this

2:46

bar, this pub. She travels

2:48

to Berlin I believe and

2:51

she is like, whoa, imagine I've

2:54

just been bequeathed this

2:56

crazy old pub. This is wild and

2:58

the lawyer is like, maybe you should just get rid

3:00

of it. She's like, no, I'm gonna keep

3:02

it, I'm gonna keep it, I'm gonna keep

3:04

it. Guess what? There's a there's a ghoul

3:07

in the basement. There's a hag in the

3:09

basement. Okay, and you can use that spooky

3:11

bitch to like contact the date. You

3:13

give her a little token of the people,

3:15

the person who's passed away. She eats

3:17

it and then she becomes that person but you've

3:20

only got two minutes. Right, great, brilliant. What a

3:22

great concept for a film. Incredibly

3:24

similar to the film Talk to Me, which

3:27

I reviewed last year I think.

3:29

Incredibly similar in that it is pretty

3:31

much the very same concept except in Talk to

3:33

Me it's a hand that they

3:36

use to contact the dead. In this

3:38

instance it is a woman

3:40

affectionately known as Baghead or a

3:43

ghoul or an entity or whatever you want to call her. I think

3:46

Baghead is based on a short story

3:48

that was released a number of years

3:50

ago so I'm pretty sure if

3:52

I was the makers of Baghead when Talk to Me

3:55

came out I would have been like, oh

3:57

god damn it. That's really annoying.

4:00

In that regard, I kind of felt sorry

4:02

for the filmmakers of this particular film, but

4:04

like I said, I really enjoyed the concept

4:07

because as a viewer, you can absolutely

4:09

see how this has the potential

4:11

to go terribly wrong. You

4:13

know, you have this ability

4:16

to contact the dead, but not without

4:18

consequence. Of course, people are going to

4:21

want to contact the people

4:23

that they have lost. Of course, they are going

4:25

to want to do that. And I really do

4:27

think that this taps into a genuinely

4:30

interesting conversation

4:32

about grief that

4:35

it is important to speak about.

4:37

You know, there's a level of

4:39

absolute desperation when it comes to

4:41

grief, the desperation to speak

4:43

to that person one more time to get,

4:46

you know, to the 60 seconds with that

4:48

person to say the things that you want

4:50

to say. You could totally

4:52

see how people would become obsessed with

4:55

speaking to the people that they have lost.

4:57

And it's a very powerful thing. So in

4:59

that regard, I think it's

5:01

a really interesting concept for a film.

5:03

And I don't think I'd get sick of

5:05

watching the concept itself. Even though the film

5:07

was so similar in storyline to

5:09

talk to me, I was

5:11

kind of like, I'm here for it. I'm here

5:14

for this exploration of grief and the

5:16

sheer desperation of grief. I am happy

5:18

to sit and explore that. It's

5:21

a very, very powerful thing. And it's a

5:23

very important conversation. And look, the concept of

5:25

this film is a bit bananas, but also

5:28

I was like, okay, we're

5:30

rolling with this. We're doing this. This

5:32

is fine. But

5:34

that is where my likes ends.

5:36

I don't actually have any more likes about

5:38

this film. So we're going to move

5:41

swiftly on to the dislikes. I

5:43

really did not like the

5:45

script for this film. I thought it was

5:48

bad. I thought it was predictable. I

5:50

thought it was cringy. There were

5:53

multiple moments I found where characters

5:55

were talking out loud to

5:57

themselves in a purely expo-

6:00

positionary way, the only reason they

6:02

were doing it was because the

6:04

filmmakers wanted to make a point

6:06

clear to the audience and

6:08

instead of having it as a conversation between two

6:10

characters it was just one character being like, oh

6:13

you used to own this pub? While

6:16

looking at a photograph of a previous owner of the

6:18

pub. You know what I mean? Where you're just like,

6:20

oh god this adds nothing, only

6:23

cringe factor. Come on, work harder.

6:25

This, come on. And there were

6:27

moments where really bizarre things were

6:29

happening. When we first meet

6:31

Baghead, which is way too early in

6:33

the film, just as an FYI, we

6:36

first meet Baghead, this girl

6:39

who's just inherited this pub and

6:41

her best friend are standing there

6:43

with this random man who's like,

6:45

there's a monster in the basement

6:47

and this creature is crawling out

6:49

of the walls, clearly

6:52

some sort of entity from the

6:54

underworld and everybody's just standing

6:56

around being like, wow, well this

6:59

is strange. Didn't think

7:01

this was going to happen. And I

7:03

was watching it going, why is nobody

7:05

panicking? Because I personally, if I

7:07

was in that situation, I inherited a

7:09

pub and a creature crawls

7:12

from the walls, I'd be

7:14

panicking. Even if I thought that creature was

7:16

a real woman, I would still be like,

7:19

there is a woman in the basement of

7:21

this pub that I've inherited, she does not

7:23

look well. She does not look

7:25

well looked after. Was my father

7:28

harboring, imprisoning a woman in the basement of this

7:30

pub that I've now inherited because this is a

7:33

lot of shit that I have to deal with?

7:35

No, there was none of that. There

7:37

was none of that. And look why

7:39

we're on the topic, right? I don't

7:41

know who decided that Baghead was an

7:44

appropriate name for this film, but

7:46

it was definitely not the name that I would

7:48

have gone for. In a list of

7:50

names for this film, I don't think that would have

7:53

even made the top five for me to

7:55

be really frank. And

7:58

also, Baghead. means

8:00

having a serious drug habit in

8:03

some places. Although, I mean,

8:05

I would have a serious drug habit

8:07

if I was dealing with the morons

8:10

in this film and the terrible, terrible

8:12

script of this film. But I just, I

8:14

really thought Baghead was not a name

8:16

that I would have gone for. In

8:19

Annie's stretch of the imagination.

8:22

I mean, she has a literal bag on her head,

8:24

so I get where the name came

8:26

from. You know, I get it. But it's just

8:28

not a good name. And I really did

8:30

think that the big problem with this film, aside

8:33

from the terrible script, and

8:35

bizarrely the film feeling like it didn't really

8:38

have a proper direction, I thought it was

8:40

badly put together in general. You

8:42

see Baghead way too early

8:45

in the film. You see it, you see her

8:47

way too early. And there

8:49

isn't really anywhere to go after that.

8:52

And I guess so early on,

8:54

you see exactly what this

8:57

entity can do. You

8:59

see all of the bits that make her creepy.

9:01

You see all of her powers so early on,

9:04

you're like, OK, well, I've seen it now. Like,

9:06

skip to the end, because I don't really

9:08

need to know anything else. And I read

9:11

another review that kind of made

9:13

a really good point about this film, in

9:15

that they said that it was a originally

9:17

a short film, and I presume a good

9:19

short film. And when they

9:22

went to make it into a feature

9:24

length film, it was almost like they

9:26

didn't know how to expand the story.

9:28

And therefore they ended with a

9:30

story that was actually pretty weak,

9:33

and a lot of the characters

9:35

were fundamentally unlikable. And in

9:37

the end, I was rooting for Baghead.

9:41

I felt like she was the most likable character

9:43

in the whole Escapade, to be honest. In my

9:45

opinion, the whole thing was just very underwhelming.

9:47

And I just, just from the beginning,

9:49

I thought, if you're going to

9:52

bequeath your daughter something, don't

9:54

make it the haunted pub that

9:57

has ruined your life and has a

9:59

demon. living in the basement.

10:02

Leave her your like collection of DVDs

10:04

or something. I mean that is that

10:06

is far less soul-destroying

10:08

literally and figuratively than

10:11

a terribly, terribly ghoul infested pub.

10:13

I don't really know what stars

10:15

to give this. I think

10:17

it's a very interesting concept and

10:19

it had ideas around diving into

10:22

the horror of grief.

10:24

So in a way I was

10:26

like yeah I'm on board with this until I

10:28

got bored with this. So

10:31

I'm gonna give it I'm gonna give it one

10:33

and a half stars. That's one and a half

10:35

stars for Baghead. Hey,

10:41

I'm Ryan Reynolds at Mid Mobile. We

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like to do the opposite of what

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11:44

brings us to our story this

11:46

week or rather should I

11:48

say stories. Now this week things are

11:50

going to be a little bit different

11:52

on our main episode because we have

11:54

a very special guest. Now

11:56

some people dislike when guests

11:58

come on. but it is a

12:01

one-off. I don't do it very often on main

12:03

episodes. And today's

12:05

guest is my wonderful friend

12:07

Tim. Tim and I have known each

12:09

other for a very long time and

12:11

he has been on Patreon a

12:13

number of times telling various

12:15

stories. Tim is a

12:18

very talented historian and storyteller. I

12:20

had decided that I was going

12:22

to release one of his Patreon

12:25

episodes as like a bonus episode

12:28

and I spoke to him about it to make

12:30

sure that he was okay with me doing that.

12:32

And then he said, well, you know, I'm happy

12:34

to come on and do the main episode this

12:37

week if you want. So I thought, yes, actually,

12:39

why not? Tim works full-time as well. So when

12:41

he does this, I mean, it's incredible that he

12:43

puts a huge amount of effort into the research

12:45

that goes into these episodes. And I absolutely

12:48

love when he comes on. I also would

12:50

like to point out that there are very

12:52

few people in this world that could convince

12:54

me to drink a beer. And Tim

12:56

is one of those people that will make

12:59

sense when he listens to the episode. Tim

13:01

has a YouTube channel that is called Mr.

13:03

Cloak History. Obviously, I will leave the link

13:05

to everything in the description of

13:07

this video. But he is

13:10

a history teacher and

13:12

he does revision guides,

13:14

revision videos for GCSE

13:17

students in England. But

13:19

obviously, if you are somebody who is just interested

13:21

in history, in its

13:23

various forms, then there will be videos there

13:25

for you too that will be of interest.

13:27

So there's like medicine through time, things

13:30

like the Vietnam War, civil rights from 1954 to

13:32

1975, and

13:34

so on. So there is loads on his

13:36

YouTube channel for people to dive into.

13:38

And finally, before we get cracking into

13:40

the main body of the episode, Tim,

13:42

to add another string to his ever-expanding

13:46

bow. He also has

13:48

an Instagram page where

13:50

he draws famous

13:52

events in history. And

13:54

it's pretty amazing. His art is really good

13:57

and it's called At Dry Wipe

13:59

History. I said the links

14:01

to where you can find all of Tim's stuff

14:03

will be in the description of this episode

14:05

and just to point out as well

14:07

this episode is recorded remotely

14:10

so the sound is absolutely fine but it

14:12

might be a little bit different to the sound that you

14:14

are used to on these episodes so

14:16

this is my heartfelt and absolute

14:19

thanks to the lovely Tim

14:21

for preparing all of these stories and for

14:23

doing so many patreon episodes over the years

14:25

and for taking the big brave step to

14:27

come on and do a main episode it's

14:29

very exciting I'm gonna stop rambling

14:31

now let's get cracking let's get into

14:33

the episode and I hope you enjoy

14:35

it hello and welcome to this very special

14:38

episode of Real Life Ghost Stories I'm sure I've

14:40

done some sort of preamble before this that

14:42

will explain what is happening but I'm joined

14:44

in the virtual studio by the wonderful Tim.

14:46

Tim who are you? Why are you here?

14:49

Hello well first of all Emma I'm your

14:51

friend aren't I? So that's how we know

14:53

each other. I used to live in Canterbury

14:55

with Emma that's how I got to know

14:57

her but I've moved down to Devon now

14:59

where I work as a history teacher and

15:02

very kindly Emma sometimes let's become on and

15:04

do some historically themed episodes for

15:06

her patreon listeners but this is my first time

15:08

in this brave new world of the

15:10

main episode. I know it feels

15:12

like a massive step doesn't it it's like oh

15:15

I'm unleashing you onto the into the

15:17

wild. I know I've seen some of

15:19

the names that preceded me and I'm starting to think you

15:22

do realize I am just basically a bloke

15:24

who teaches history in Devon but hey people

15:26

have been very kind about my stories in

15:28

the past so hopefully the listeners will love

15:30

what I've got to tell you today. You

15:33

are absolutely doing yourself a disservice there because people

15:35

adore your stories they love it when you come

15:37

on to tell stories and also just to be

15:40

clear Tim is like you know Emma sometimes

15:42

lets me do stories on the patreon. Tim

15:45

is a great storyteller but a huge amount

15:47

of effort and research into these stories and

15:49

is an all-around wonderful person. When I said

15:51

earlier about like I'm sure I've done a

15:53

preamble I have done a preamble where I've

15:55

said all this before so the first sort

15:57

of you know opening five minutes of this

16:00

has just been me being like, Tim is great, and

16:02

he does loads of research, and he works full time.

16:05

And I just need you to know how much work

16:07

he puts into this. It

16:09

was a bit of a surprise to me, because I looked back

16:11

through the back catalogue, if you like, I think this is what,

16:13

the 11th or 12th episode I've done with you? Yeah.

16:16

Double figures now, that's quite a bit, isn't it? That

16:18

is a lot. I was thinking about it today too,

16:20

because I was sent out on a special mission by

16:23

Tim before this episode, which we will get

16:25

into later. And when I was on my mission, I

16:27

was thinking about how many episodes we had done, and

16:29

I was like, oh, it's definitely like seven or eight.

16:31

But yeah, 11 or 12 seems, yeah. And

16:35

the thing is, the way I try and do things

16:37

is as a historian, I try and give the historical

16:39

context to what we're looking at. So I love a

16:41

ghost story where there's a real bit of history that

16:43

you can hook it onto. I think it adds so

16:46

much credibility to it. And I think that the historical

16:48

stories really go with it. So I'm really hoping that

16:50

everyone enjoys that today as well. But we've done all

16:52

sorts of diverse things. We've done talks

16:54

about my walks around Dartmoor and the folklore

16:56

there. We've done pixie folklore

16:59

or piscis, as I know, down here in Devon.

17:01

We've looked at ghosts on the railways

17:04

and in aviation. But we got something

17:06

a little bit different today, haven't we? Yes,

17:08

we do. Now, all I know, just for

17:11

context for the listeners, the only thing I

17:13

know about this episode is the title. That's

17:15

all I know. So I know

17:17

roughly what this episode is

17:19

about, but I have no idea what stories

17:21

Tim has researched or put together. So I'm

17:24

hearing all this for the first time, just as

17:26

you are. Well, also pressure on me to get it

17:28

right, hey. Yeah, no pressure, babe.

17:30

No pressure. Well, shall we get

17:32

into my introduction then, where I can lay out what we're

17:34

going to be looking at today? And

17:36

I'll go on to today's

17:38

title, which is Beers, Wines,

17:41

and Spirits, Ghosts of the

17:43

English Village Pub. Anyone

17:46

who knows me knows that I love

17:48

a traditional pub. My favorite

17:50

ones tend to have roaring fires,

17:52

sleeping dogs, a selection of traditional

17:54

ales, and centuries of history. The

17:57

more crooked the door, the better. The more likely

17:59

I am. to give myself a significant head injury

18:01

on a low beam the better too. In

18:04

summer I love a pint of beer in

18:06

the beer garden with friends. No dear listeners,

18:08

English ale isn't really warm. Kept right, it's

18:11

as cool as the deep cello in which

18:13

it's kept. Full of flavour and

18:15

with a mild fizz. It comes

18:17

on as many varieties as there are

18:19

names for pubs and, speaking of which,

18:21

the odd names of English pubs date

18:23

back to a pre-literate age when public

18:25

houses and ale houses would advertise their

18:27

presence with a distinctive image on a

18:29

sign outside. It might be the

18:32

royal coat of arms or a picture of the then

18:34

monarch for the king's arms or the king's head. It

18:37

could be an animal like a black horse or a red lion.

18:39

It might be something utterly nonsensical like an

18:42

elephant in castle or a bull and dragon.

18:44

Whatever the name, generations of people have looked

18:47

forward to a chatter to drink in their

18:49

local. While pub numbers and

18:51

patronage decline and increasingly they evolve away

18:53

from old fashioned boozers to include quality

18:55

food, for centuries they were the centre

18:58

of social life in the village. Is

19:00

it any wonder that some of these ancient

19:02

long dead drinkers are reluctant to leave even

19:04

when last orders have been called on their

19:06

very life? In previous

19:09

episodes this admitted skeptic, me, has

19:11

confessed to witnessing odd things late

19:13

at night in his local pubs.

19:16

The much missed black horse in my

19:18

home town has twice left me speechless.

19:20

Once when a glass flew off the shelf onto

19:22

a tiled floor with a loud BUNK but did

19:24

not break. And then another

19:27

time only last year when I saw the colourless

19:29

reflection of a woman in the window of a

19:31

closed door. Electricians working in

19:33

that pub behind the bar have complained

19:35

of shadows lingering by them as if

19:37

inspecting their work. Various landlords

19:39

over the years have told of footsteps

19:42

upstairs and opened doors. One

19:44

or two terrified guests even woke to

19:46

the sight of a royalist cavalier soldier

19:48

standing by their bed, witnesses reporting a

19:51

finger missing on one hand. A very

19:53

curious coincidence at best. At

19:55

another pub, formerly a townhouse and a hotel, I

19:57

have stopped mid-conversation as a friend of mine. and

20:00

I have both heard someone clear their throat, as

20:02

if to get our attention, only to see that

20:04

there was no one else at the bar, not

20:06

even the staff. When the bar maid

20:08

turned up again and we asked her who was

20:10

still here in the pub, she just nonchalantly replied,

20:12

Oh, you heard someone coughing, right? Yeah, it happens

20:14

all the time. I saw a shadow

20:16

on the CCTV screen earlier whilst looking up. I

20:19

just ignore it. Surely

20:21

these things can't all be attributed to

20:23

the admitted potency of West Country cider.

20:26

In today's stories, I have tried to

20:28

avoid the most famous haunted pub stories.

20:31

I won't be reminding you of the

20:33

ancient Ram, the Jamaica Inn or York's

20:35

Golden Fleece as engaging as those stories

20:37

are. You've probably heard them all before.

20:39

Instead, I gone for the smaller,

20:42

more remote village puffs. In

20:44

fact, let's be specific about my criteria now. I've

20:46

made this much more difficult than I need to

20:48

have done. The pub that I'm going

20:50

to talk about must be English, the

20:52

pub must be in a village, and it must be

20:54

a pub that I've actually been to. Yes, this

20:57

will likely give these stories a distinct bias

20:59

towards places where I have lived, but to

21:02

me, authenticity meters. These will

21:04

be the kinds of stories that landlords and landlady

21:06

delight in telling as they polish glasses and the

21:08

cozy low light of the snug. The

21:11

kinds of stories told by locals as

21:13

they perch on barstools or ruffle their

21:15

old dog's fur as they join in

21:17

overheard conversations. The kinds of stories

21:19

that all too often start with the words,

21:22

I don't believe in ghosts, but...

21:25

So pull up a chair by the fire,

21:27

take a sip of your pint of best

21:29

bitter, and drink in your measure of spirits

21:31

of a different kind. Yeah!

21:35

I was hearing during your introduction, I was

21:37

watching you where you couldn't see me. I

21:39

couldn't go. I was muted, but I had my

21:42

fist in the air. I was like, go on

21:44

Tim, what an introduction. Well,

21:46

we are going to shamelessly rip off another

21:48

podcast now though, yes we are. So

21:51

at this point, when I've said take a sip of your pint

21:53

of best bitter, I've made a request and I've sent you out

21:55

to the shops haven't I? Yes, so

21:57

I would like to caveat this

21:59

out. by saying that I generally

22:02

don't drink. I'm partial to a margarita every

22:04

now and then but I

22:06

don't drink and I especially do not

22:08

drink beer and I feel like Tim is probably

22:11

the only person in the world, aside

22:13

from Nick Gordon, that could

22:15

convince me to buy and drink

22:18

a beer. So this is for experimental

22:20

purposes isn't it? So I'm not

22:22

expecting you to finish it if you really do hate

22:24

it but I've sent you out to get the most

22:27

ridiculous sounding beer that you could get because one of

22:29

the wonderful things about English Ales is every region has

22:31

got their own flavours and varieties and different styles and

22:33

so I've gone for some Devon beers of which I'm

22:35

going to give you a choice out of three and

22:37

then I'll probably only just have one otherwise I won't

22:40

be able to finish this episode and then you can

22:42

tell me what you've got and we'll see what we

22:44

think of them. After all we met at a pub

22:46

didn't we? Yes we did. A

22:48

pub called the Duck and Bastard. Yes

22:51

we met at the Duck and Bastard

22:54

which is underneath my stairs which typically

22:56

isn't strictly speaking a licensed premises is

22:58

it? But then we also

23:00

used to go to socials at the unicorn in Kansas

23:02

and the monument. I mean you don't have

23:04

to be a drinker to love a pub they've just got an

23:06

atmosphere all their own haven't they? No

23:08

that is true and as somebody who doesn't drink and

23:11

spends a lot of time in the pub I love

23:13

a pub. It's such a

23:15

gorgeous social occasion it's lovely to

23:18

sit around the table and just

23:20

chat. I find pubs to be

23:22

very comforting and very

23:24

cathartic and very therapeutic even

23:27

as a non-drinker. And there's a

23:29

pub for everyone isn't there? If you don't like a

23:31

pub that you're going to just leave there'll be another

23:33

one two or even ten down the road that you'll

23:35

absolutely love. So who's going to

23:37

go first with their bottle? I think

23:39

you should go first. Right I'm going to give

23:41

you a choice here. Now Emma can see this

23:43

on the webcam but I'm going to tell you

23:45

what the names of them are. We have one

23:47

which is from Exeter this one's called Abasset named

23:49

after a very long-billed wading bird. I

23:52

do like a bird so that's a good start. That's

23:54

a good start. We've got one which is

23:56

called Devon Dumpling. Oh I'm holding it away

23:58

from the camera. So there's

24:01

Devon Dumpling, which I mean could be a pet name for

24:03

me perhaps. And

24:06

one harking back to the first episode I ever did

24:08

with you and Dan, which is Dartmoor IPA.

24:12

Oh, the famous IPA style but given

24:14

a Dartmoor twist. What

24:16

are we going to go for? Oh, I'm really tied

24:19

between all of them actually.

24:21

But I think it has to be

24:23

the Dartmoor IPA because the first episode

24:25

you ever did on Patreon was all

24:27

about your trekking around Dartmoor on your

24:30

own and I think it's

24:32

fitting to have a Dartmoor IPA. Let's

24:34

go for it then. So there's going to be a certain

24:36

amount of ASMR content now as I open

24:39

the bottle and pour it

24:41

into my D&B duck and bastard

24:43

themed handle glass here. And

24:46

now I'd love to know what you've picked up from the

24:48

shops. Emma, what have you gone for? So

24:50

for context, I had to pick

24:52

mine up from Tesco's because

24:54

I was on

24:57

a time limit today and

24:59

I was also post rehearsal. I had

25:02

an early morning rehearsal and then when

25:04

the rehearsal was finished, I went straight

25:06

into town in a full tracksuit wearing

25:09

a fur coat. This is a

25:12

great look. And a pair of

25:14

crocs that are covered in

25:16

ridiculous gibbets. So

25:20

I looked absurd, which I

25:22

often do. So that's not really a problem.

25:24

But it's the first time I think I've

25:26

ever gone into a shop and bought a bottle

25:28

of beer. And I thought to myself, I was

25:30

buying this individual bottle of beer, nothing else. And

25:33

I was in a full tracksuit, a fur coat

25:36

and some crocs. And honestly, I never felt like

25:38

more of a lad. This is excellent.

25:40

I'm not going to make you down it or anything.

25:43

I think I might down it anyway. Just

25:45

like points. Because I feel so tired. So

25:48

I went for I took

25:50

some time over what I was going to

25:52

get. Good. And one of the

25:55

one of the options was an IPA

25:57

called life or death, which I

25:59

thought was the theme. That's very

26:01

fitting. Yes and but I

26:03

did instead go for a ghost ship.

26:06

Oh Adnan's excellent

26:08

brewery and a very good choice. An

26:10

Adnan's ghost ship

26:13

which is described as a hauntingly

26:15

good beer. Mmm. And

26:17

it has bold citrus flavors from

26:21

Citra hops. I've no idea what that means. Yeah they

26:23

just sort of got that kind of lemony taste to

26:25

them. They're good though. Yeah but

26:27

that's... I decided that

26:30

ghost ship was the way to

26:32

go. Well I used to drink that

26:34

stuff in the lady luck in Canterbury when I lived there and it

26:36

always went down very well. I think actually you've

26:38

chosen well if you're ever going to like a beer it

26:41

would probably be one like that because

26:43

it's not overly bitter. You're still

26:45

probably gonna hate it though aren't you? Yeah probably. I

26:48

did consider getting... there was one that was

26:50

like a raspberry and vanilla ripple beer

26:52

which I very much considered getting because

26:54

I was like this this feels like

26:56

it I might be able to drink

26:59

it but I decided instead to go

27:01

for the ghost ship which says

27:04

inspired by the tales of

27:06

old smuggling ships along the

27:08

Suffolk coast this hauntingly good

27:10

pale ale is full of

27:12

citrus and biscuit aromas with

27:15

a spookily hoppy bite. What's

27:17

spookily hoppy mean? What does that mean?

27:19

I think it'd be fairly spooky if you can

27:21

taste any biscuit in there to be honest with

27:23

you. I might as well read mine now since

27:26

you've done the same. So it says there on

27:28

mine Dartmoor IPA is a highly drinkable which is

27:30

you know helpful light golden pale ale with a

27:32

unique blend of English and Australian hops creating a

27:35

subtle tropical and grapefruit flavor. Dartmoor brewery is the

27:37

highest brewery in England situated at 1465 feet above

27:39

sea level in the heart of

27:43

the beautiful National Park of Dartmoor

27:45

and I've seen it the brewery is in Prince

27:47

Town just behind where I parked my car when

27:49

I go on my walks so that's

27:51

a nice little bit of symmetry there

27:53

I suppose. I'm going to use some ASMR. You

27:56

ready? Okay let's hear it. Good

28:00

technique. Oh, it's not going well. Oh,

28:02

I could barely, I could barely get to

28:05

the top of it. This is your first

28:07

rodeo, isn't it? This is my first rodeo.

28:11

I hope the microphone picks that up. Okay.

28:16

I have to say Australia is not what

28:18

I think of when I think of Dartmoor. No,

28:20

it isn't. But I suppose the IPA style, the

28:23

India Pale Ale, they're originally brewed with lots of

28:25

hops at a higher strength so that the beer

28:27

could make the journey to India during the time

28:29

of the British Empire without going off. But

28:32

these days they tend to make them a lot weaker and

28:34

it just means a hoppy pale ale basically. So

28:36

should we tuck in? Yes, yes

28:39

we shall. Well you pulled that very quickly,

28:41

didn't you? Yes I did. I'm glad

28:43

nobody can see me because I've got a giant

28:45

head on my beer. What

28:47

does yours smell like? It smells

28:49

like beer really. Yeah mine too. It

28:52

just smells like I'm not going to like it. This

28:54

is not going to be like... I never think

28:56

that smelling beer is too much of a good idea if you

28:58

don't like beer. Mine smells sort of fruity I suppose. It's got

29:00

a slight citrus smell to it anyway. I'm going to get stuck

29:02

in. I mean I knew it was

29:05

going to be good because I've had this beer so many times

29:07

before but that is lovely. It's

29:09

not offensive. That's

29:11

better than I could have hoped for. Yes,

29:14

so you're right. I see what you

29:16

mean if you're going to enjoy... if

29:19

you're going to try a beer and not

29:21

hate it then this is one that's worth

29:23

trying. It's not as...

29:25

I'm trying to think of a good word.

29:27

It's not as bitter as I find beer

29:29

to be. No, you got a nice light one there. Yes,

29:32

which I'd like to think is because

29:35

I made... I chose a light

29:37

one. You made an informed decision as a

29:39

consumer there didn't you? Yeah no I went

29:41

for the name and the name alone. But

29:43

it's not... I mean it's... I wouldn't be

29:45

rushing out to ever drink a beer again but

29:49

it's not offensive. If

29:51

you can try and sip a couple more bits you never

29:53

know it might even get better. I mean

29:56

I didn't need all that blurb on the back of the bottle.

29:58

I would just say it's a pain. that's

30:00

quite hoppy. There you go. That's all you need

30:02

to know about it. But what people who aren't

30:05

used to English beers might not realise though is

30:07

they're not that fizzy. And I quite like that

30:09

fact because you don't feel all kind of gassy

30:11

and bloated when you're drinking it. You just sip

30:13

away and enjoy, usually with good company. And

30:15

I think in this case we can count you as good company as well, I'm glad

30:17

to say. And some good stories. I

30:20

like it, I have to say. It

30:23

can be quite refreshing. Yeah. But

30:25

I just can't assume too much of it personally. No,

30:28

I get that. I get that. But it's

30:30

I mean, it's fine. I've just I've just had another hit

30:33

by choice. Is it growing on

30:36

you at all? No. Keep

30:38

trying. I'll

30:41

keep trying. Who knows? Maybe maybe by the end of

30:43

the bottle, I'll be like, my God, that

30:45

tastes very Moorish. I've changed your life.

30:48

Yeah, that could well be it. Moorish beer. It could

30:50

be what we're going for. I mean, you should have

30:52

gone for mine. You said it was very drinkable, which

30:54

is I think as a baseline for what you expect

30:56

of a drink. That's as

30:58

much as it says really.

31:01

However, shall we get into some spooky

31:03

stories? Let's get into some stories.

31:06

I'm excited. Now, remember, I set

31:08

myself the difficult criteria of making sure that these

31:10

were English pubs in villages. So none, none in

31:12

towns and cities. And they all had to be

31:14

ones that I've been to. Now, the last time

31:16

I spoke to you on an episode, I said

31:18

that in about three hours time, I was actually

31:20

going to one of the parts I was going

31:22

to mention today. And we're going to kick off

31:24

with that very pub. I should

31:27

point out, although some of these might

31:29

sound a little bit like reviews for these pubs, I've

31:32

not been paid anything for this at all. This

31:34

is not affiliated with any sort of tourist board.

31:36

These are just genuinely pubs I've been to and I've

31:38

loved that have ghost stories attached to them. So who knows?

31:40

They've got a bit of free advertising here. They've got to

31:42

be grateful for that. Our

31:46

first stories come from one of my

31:48

favorite local pubs, the Coach

31:50

and Horses in Buckland Brewer, North Devon.

31:53

It's one of the oldest pubs in the country

31:55

and possibly even predates the church in the village

31:58

established sometime in the 13th. century it

32:00

has had several uses in addition to a

32:02

pub in its almost 800 years

32:05

of existence. When one enters

32:07

to the cozy main bar one is

32:09

struck, sometimes quite literally, by the low

32:11

beams of the ceiling, warped by age

32:13

and still showing the ancient axe marks

32:16

of the medieval carpenters. No

32:18

sooner have you stooped through the door than Ollie the

32:20

Landlord brightly welcomes you with a, what can I get

32:22

you folks? and offers to put the cricket on the

32:24

telly or a log on the fire. Oh

32:27

and the chips are the best I've ever had in any pub,

32:29

full stop. Anyway, I digress. With

32:32

its thick cob walls and high-fatched

32:34

roof it is the picture-perfect country

32:36

pub, but allegedly with

32:38

a somewhat turbulent past. Rebuilt

32:41

several times over the centuries the low

32:43

ceiling suggests that in an early guise

32:45

it perhaps lacked the upper floor instead

32:47

likely being a hall open for the

32:49

rafters. Such a building would have been

32:51

used as a courthouse and a meeting place as well as

32:53

a pub. In the 17th

32:56

century this part of the world was staunchly

32:58

royalists as England was riven apart by civil

33:00

war. It is likely that,

33:02

as with the case of the Black Horse

33:04

and nearby Torrington, the pub would have been

33:07

garrisoned with soldiers, or more likely officers, of

33:09

the army of King Charles I fighting

33:11

the armies of Parliament. The

33:14

mantelpiece today has a small cannonball mounted in

33:16

a brass stand, found locally and likely a

33:18

relic of this time. Attached

33:21

to one of the beams of the

33:23

pub is a large hand-forged iron hook.

33:26

Normally such hooks are where the pub would

33:28

hang game animals ready to be made into

33:31

pies and stews for act-hungry patrons, but this

33:33

one is bigger than that, and repeatedly it

33:35

had a darker purpose. It

33:37

is said that at this time trials and

33:39

even executions were carried out here. Condemned

33:42

men would be hanged from the hook

33:44

by their arms in an agonising and

33:46

slow death, or otherwise kept here awaiting

33:48

the hanging by neck until dead. Indeed

33:51

the seller, now cool and perfect for

33:53

keeping local ails and ciders, was adapted

33:55

into a jail. More

33:58

gruesome still, the ceiling above the pub was a bit of a bar

34:00

was once converted into a hangman's drop. Knowing

34:03

this makes one stoop all the lower on

34:05

entering. In the same

34:07

room as the now blocked trap

34:09

door, two Cavalier officers have often

34:11

been seen facing the hook. Are

34:13

they watching or guarding a condemned

34:15

man, or are they discussing the

34:17

latest reversals against their army as

34:19

Fairfax's new model army advanced from

34:21

Exeter to Torrington? But

34:24

the ghostly occurrences don't end with

34:26

these two royalist officers. It

34:28

seems the armies of Parliament may have advanced

34:30

through the village and taken possession of the

34:32

pub, as in one of

34:34

the Gesterans a Parliamentarian soldier, complete

34:36

with distinctive love-sotail cavalry helmet, has

34:38

been seen as well. There

34:41

are no reports as to whether the Cavaliers and

34:43

roundhead soldiers continue their fight from beyond the grave,

34:46

however. Despite its

34:48

undoubtedly cosy atmosphere, one

34:50

shivers at the thought of the woman

34:52

dressed in mourning black who walks sorrowfully

34:54

in the upstairs corridors, only to disappear

34:56

before she could be approached. So

34:59

what are my recommendations for this haunted

35:01

pub of North Devon? Well, I'd

35:04

go for this. Grab the table by

35:06

the fire with the cannonball on the mantelpiece.

35:08

Have the deep-fried brie as a starter. Treat

35:10

yourself to a pint of golden pig pale

35:12

ale, and try not to think

35:14

of the hangman's noose that once hung through a

35:16

trap door over the bar. The

35:19

idea of hanging somebody

35:21

by their arms for an extended

35:23

period of time, or until they

35:25

were dead, is absolutely barbaric.

35:28

It's unbelievable, isn't it?

35:30

I know that in years gone by, me and

35:35

you always talk about this,

35:37

that you can't judge past

35:40

actions by modern sensibilities, right?

35:42

Because we're like, how could they do

35:44

that? But my words...

35:47

Even for them, that was pretty

35:49

extreme. I mean, it was quite deliberately almost

35:51

an imitation of crucifixion. So they would have

35:53

had a real understanding of that. Yes. And

35:56

I can't even imagine the pain and

35:58

the suffering. And anyway, I could... I could

36:00

go on about it all day. But

36:02

it is amazing that you have these little pubs,

36:04

like this was you said the oldest

36:07

pub in the village and

36:10

potentially even out is

36:12

older than the church. Yeah I mean the church

36:14

was probably there before it but the existing church

36:16

building is there now is a

36:18

good 200 years more recent than this pub building.

36:21

It's amazing that you know the pub was

36:23

given such importance even in small

36:25

villages even back then as a meeting place, as

36:27

a you know as a place where you could

36:29

go and get fed and you could probably do

36:31

lots of wheeling and dealing in the pub and

36:34

all of those things. And

36:36

I do think it's amazing the importance that

36:38

the pub had this even in small villages

36:40

back in those days. If you're wondering where I

36:42

got these stories well my opening moves here

36:44

were just simply talking to the landlord and when

36:46

you get to know a friendly landlord when you

36:48

get on First Names terms it's great

36:50

sometimes to just say come on then we got

36:52

any ghost stories. Because almost always

36:55

when I speak to a landlord who's in a really

36:57

old pub and say have you got any ghost stories

37:00

a lot of the time they'll say oh absolutely and they'll

37:02

enthusiastically tell you all about them. They kind of know as

37:04

well that can be a quite tempting

37:06

thing to get people from the door. But

37:08

even those who are a little bit less

37:10

enthusiastic will often just go well yeah strange

37:13

things do happen I don't really think about

37:15

it and they might be quite casual about

37:17

it. But I want to speak to Ollie

37:19

about this. He's seen the woman

37:21

upstairs his daughter has also seen the woman in

37:23

black upstairs going around the corners. She's

37:26

not a threatening presence apparently it's just a bit weird

37:28

when you're not used to it. And then eventually you

37:30

kind of get used to it as you do when

37:32

you move into a new house and

37:34

you're moving around and you get used to

37:36

the creeks and the different lights and shadows

37:38

that form in that house she's just a

37:40

part of it. The bit I

37:42

find so much more alarming though is that sense of

37:45

having the hangman's drop over the bar. Obviously

37:47

this place wasn't a pub for a long time but

37:50

when you've got such awful darkness

37:52

and those those heights of emotions that would

37:54

have been there as people were sentenced to

37:56

death for example when it was being

37:58

used as a courthouse. Is there any wonder

38:00

that there's some sort of energy that's left behind there? And

38:03

the pub itself is cosy as you like. It

38:05

could not be a more cosy pub. It's ridiculously

38:08

low ceiling though I'm six foot two and I

38:10

genuinely can't stand up in there at all and

38:14

It's so cosy and yet it's got this horrible dark

38:16

history as well And I do wonder what it'd be

38:18

like once all the lights are off at night and

38:20

you just sat there in the quiet I

38:22

imagine your mind would start seeing things wouldn't it? Oh,

38:25

definitely, especially if you know the history that at

38:27

one point like you said, this is a

38:29

courthouse This is a place where people were

38:31

sentenced to literal death like the

38:34

amount of emotional turmoil

38:36

that would have gone on there.

38:38

Yeah, it's pretty staggering And

38:40

I mentioned as well the english civil war in there for

38:43

listeners who don't know about it. England's civil war was

38:45

between 1642 and 1649

38:47

off well, you know The first one was

38:49

anyway and it even resulted in the execution

38:51

of our king Charles the first in parliament

38:53

one It's one of the reasons why democracy

38:55

in Britain exists today because parliament did win

38:57

that fight But it genuinely tore

39:00

the country apart in the same way that the

39:02

american civil war Pits states against

39:04

states. This was even

39:06

more divisive in the sense that it turned

39:09

Members of the same family against each other.

39:11

We have plenty of records of father

39:13

fighting son Um, and for

39:15

the emotions attached to that must have been absolutely shocking

39:17

as well But this part of

39:19

the world in north devon was very very royalist

39:21

absolutely back charles the first and so they backed

39:23

the losing cause Um, and you do

39:26

wonder as well how much of that energy would be tied

39:28

up in these sorts of places Yeah, must

39:30

have been a dreadful time. Not absolutely dreadful.

39:32

Indeed. We think about the world wars and

39:35

how dreadful they were proportionally the english civil

39:37

war is the most destructive

39:40

And deadly war in british history

39:42

and english civil war is not a good

39:44

term for it Really because there was plenty

39:46

of fighting on the borders of wales involving

39:48

scotland and of course involving island And like

39:50

you said whole families that were driven apart

39:52

and so and that's reflected within the ghost

39:54

that you have distinctively royalist

39:57

looking ghosts and distinctively parliamentarian

39:59

like a The division

40:01

was that substantial that in a time before

40:03

military uniforms you could tell often one side

40:06

from another from how they dressed and the

40:08

sort of cultures and manners that they were

40:10

adopted. So a bit of a darkness to

40:12

that one there but a very cosy pub.

40:15

The next one I've got for you is much more related

40:17

to folklore though and we always love a bit of devil

40:19

lore don't we? Yes I love a bit

40:21

of devil lore. Shall we get into the next one?

40:24

Yes. Alright well our next

40:26

pub isn't too far away from the

40:28

last. It's in the hilltop village

40:30

of Shebier also in North Devon. For

40:32

over four centuries travelling folk have rested

40:35

and slaked their thirst at the Devil's

40:37

Stone Inn. But what of this

40:39

name? Well on the green opposite,

40:41

near to the old schoolhouse and the

40:43

neat lich gate of St Michael's Church

40:45

lies a boulder and next to that

40:47

a partially bare patch of discoloured grass.

40:51

English towns and cities reverberate to the sound

40:53

of fireworks and revelry each November the 5th

40:55

as bonfires and effigies commemorate the foiling of

40:57

Guy Fawkes and the Catholic plot to blow

41:00

up King James the 1st in Parliament. Remember,

41:03

remember the 5th of November, gunpowder

41:05

treason and plot. I see

41:08

no reason why gunpowder treason should ever be

41:10

forgot. Or so the rhyme goes. But

41:13

in Shebier the people gather for a

41:15

very different reason. It is

41:17

said that centuries ago the Devil himself appeared

41:19

on the village green, hoping to tempt the

41:22

good people of the parish into sin. His

41:25

plot was foiled when St Michael himself,

41:27

defending the church of which he was

41:29

patron, miraculously dropped the granite boulder onto

41:31

the Devil crushing him and sending him

41:33

back into the abyss. Certainly

41:36

the rock is in congress, a

41:39

granite mass where no other similar stones can be

41:41

found. But with this

41:43

deliverance came a superstition. The

41:46

Devil cursed the village to damnation

41:48

and eternal misfortune in revenge for

41:50

his defeat. But

41:52

the wily folk of Devonshire are not

41:54

so easily scared. They vowed

41:56

that every November the 5th they would join

41:58

together and turn over. over the stone and trapped

42:01

the devil in hell for another year. So

42:03

determined are these people to keep the elves above

42:05

at bay that even as England entered another lockdown

42:07

in November 2020, two

42:10

men with a wooden plank turned the stone as

42:12

the rest of the village watched on, either from

42:14

their windows or at a socially distant space. Naysayers

42:17

will tell you that the rock was dropped by a

42:19

glaceo in the last ice age, that may be, but

42:22

has anyone seen the devil in Shebia any

42:24

time lately? The answer is no, and so

42:26

the stone journey goes on. But

42:29

as for the inn that bears the name of

42:31

the devil's stone, it seems that that place is

42:33

far from spiritually deserted. Originally

42:35

built as a farmhouse, handsome stone walls

42:37

and having burnt down and been rebuilt

42:39

at least once in its eventful history,

42:41

the pub sits on the village square

42:43

outside and opposite St Michael's Church. On

42:46

entering one is struck by the rabbit warren-like

42:48

layout. I once dipped to the gents after

42:51

an elegant sufficiency of Dartmoor Legend Ale and

42:53

was lost for six to seven days, or

42:55

so it felt. The beer garden looks out

42:57

over the Devonian Hills and patrons are often

42:59

joined by inquisitive goats from the farm over

43:01

the hedge. The inn retains

43:03

its guest rooms, popular with tourists

43:05

and ghosts alike. One

43:08

repeated tale involves guests in the upper rooms

43:10

hearing little footsteps running down the corridor. Others

43:13

have heard giggles and turned around to see the

43:15

cheeky face of a small girl darting back around

43:17

the corner as if playing hide and seek. She

43:20

is described as wearing a white night dress

43:22

and her appearances are often accompanied by the

43:24

smell of smoke despite the fires upstairs not

43:26

being in use. Is it

43:28

possible that this is a little girl who is

43:31

thought to have died when the original farmhouse burned

43:33

down? Other guests have spoken to an empty

43:35

chair at the bar or apologised as they brushed

43:37

past it. Don't swear that it

43:39

wasn't empty at all and that a grumpy

43:41

looking man with a grey beard is sitting

43:44

there looking disapprovingly but not malevolently at them,

43:46

only to find that nobody else at the bar can see him.

43:49

Most pubs have at least one grumpy but harmless old

43:52

local. It seems this one just doesn't want to call

43:54

time on his trip to the boozer. At

43:57

the same time, but less frequently reported, is the

43:59

spectre of a... Second World War Airmen in

44:01

a smart blue uniform, waiting patiently to order

44:03

a drink that will never come. Certainly

44:06

an inn like this would have had Airmen

44:08

on leave visiting as they made their way

44:10

back to coastal air bases, who often sadly

44:12

fell foul of the treacherous Southwest weather and

44:14

hills, or succumbed to the withering fire of

44:16

U-boats and ships that they attacked. This

44:18

man though seems to be the echo of

44:21

that traumatic time, but one suggestion is that

44:23

he died unexpectedly in one of the guest

44:25

rooms rather than dying in action. Perhaps

44:28

most distinctively, the owners and several guests over

44:30

the years have seen a man in a

44:32

big red cat wearing a tricorn hat. He's

44:36

been seen in one of the dining rooms. Such

44:38

a character would make sense, this being the typical

44:40

attire for an 18th century coachman. And they would

44:42

have regularly frequented the old inn as they conveyed

44:44

people on the roads through to Cornwall and South

44:46

Devon. He doesn't speak or

44:48

interact, but is apparently distinct and in

44:50

full color rather than being misty or

44:52

colorless. Other activity seems

44:55

more poltergeist like in nature. Taps

44:57

are turned on and lights switched on and

44:59

off. Doors and windows are flung

45:01

open and pictures tossed from the walls. While

45:04

this may be a result of the strange gusts

45:06

of wind and air pressure in such an old

45:08

maze like building, guests in roommates are well advised

45:10

to wrap up warm. Some have

45:13

reported having the bedsheets whipped off for them in

45:15

the middle of the night and housekeeping sometimes after

45:17

remake the bed when guests complained that the room

45:19

hadn't been prepared. When in truth, it had been.

45:22

Despite the fright that this spirit is, the

45:25

current owners, Lee and Susie, consist there isn't

45:27

anything nasty about any of their paranormal guests.

45:29

They're just a part of the building and

45:31

a part of its charm. My

45:33

recommendation, a pint of Dartmoor JLL

45:36

and a very retro style prawn cocktail in the

45:38

beer garden. And if the bar seems

45:40

busy with people waiting to be served, it might well

45:43

be worth asking if the staff can see them there

45:45

too. God, you can't go wrong with a prawn cocktail

45:47

though, can you? You really can't.

45:49

Oh, it's just so refreshing. Oh, I just love

45:51

a prawn cocktail. And I want, like

45:53

you just said, I want a retro prawn cocktail.

45:55

Like I don't want it to be, I

45:57

don't want it to be deconstructed. I don't want it to be any.

46:00

anything newfangled I want a retro

46:02

prawn cocktail. You know

46:04

those glass bowls you get with the stem on

46:06

them that everyone's my dad seems to have they're

46:08

served in those so you really can't go wrong

46:11

it's the perfect thing. Prawn cocktail is also really

46:13

good with mango. Is it? Yes if you add

46:15

a mango to your prawn cocktail it is very

46:17

good this is such this is

46:19

such like cricket commentary talk. That

46:24

makes sense to me. I

46:26

love devil folklore. Oh

46:28

it's great isn't it? I just love it. I love how

46:31

much devil folklore there is and I love

46:33

how sort of easily vanquished the devil

46:35

seems to be in all of this folklore.

46:37

You know I know he should be beaten.

46:40

But St Michael obviously Archangel Michael bopping

46:42

down dropping a boulder on the devil.

46:44

Brilliant. You love that and then the

46:46

townsweeper are like fuck it if

46:48

we just turn it over every year do you think do

46:51

you think that'll keep them down there and

46:53

then they're like yeah well have you seen the

46:55

devil around? No so obviously it's working. Love it.

46:58

Okay it's that's proof isn't it?

47:00

Absolutely. And I love the fact that the devil sewn in

47:02

is so named after it because you go up there you

47:04

see the sign on the outside there's a picture of the

47:07

devil being crushed by stone because of course it is. Obviously.

47:10

And it's a beautiful village as well. I mean I'm biased

47:13

because this is where I'm from this is home

47:15

to me but the rolling hills and the green

47:17

if you were to picture an English village as

47:20

you might see on TV or in a film

47:22

this is genuinely what these places are like. Yeah.

47:24

I'll keep on saying this to you Emma but when are you

47:26

coming down to visit? I'll take you to all of these places.

47:29

Never. No I will be coming down. I

47:32

just have to get my devil fighting my

47:34

devil fighting gear in tow and then I'll be ready to

47:37

go you know. The people of Chevy are going to be

47:39

covered don't worry about it. It's fine

47:41

I'll be there I'll be there front row ready ready

47:43

to rock and roll with the devil. I

47:45

am yeah I love devil folklore and I

47:47

love how much of a big part of

47:49

English folklore devil folklore is you know we've

47:52

talked on patreon numerous times about

47:54

churches who have the devil attached

47:56

to them and where the devil

47:58

is trapped or he's you underneath

48:00

the church or in either stone or whatever

48:02

it is or in the basement and I

48:05

think it's really fascinating that so

48:07

much devil folklore exists and in

48:09

this instance is still recognized to

48:11

this day. That's the really nice

48:13

thing about this one in particular. Oh

48:16

absolutely and the fact that it's

48:18

the origin of a really charming local tradition, let's face

48:20

it, just an excuse for everyone to go out and

48:22

party and go to the pub. It's just all the

48:24

better isn't it? Who doesn't want an excuse

48:26

to go out and party and go to the pub and

48:28

have a big celebration and have everybody get together. I love

48:31

it. I couldn't agree more. The thing

48:33

is though both of the pubs and stories that I've

48:35

told you so far have been down minding the woods

48:37

down here in Devon. I thought it was only fair

48:39

for us to come back to Kent for you next.

48:42

Oh I hope it's the pub that I've been in. I'm

48:44

not sure it will be because I've actually only been in

48:46

this one a couple of times but it's a really interesting one

48:49

and so if you've not been to it Emma it's not far

48:51

away from you. I think it's worth the journey but maybe

48:53

you have been to it. As

48:55

I've already hinted at, our next pub is over at

48:57

the other end of the country in the historic county

48:59

of Kent. In centuries past the

49:02

market town of Faversham was a major

49:04

port but the river gradually silted up

49:06

until only small barges could use it.

49:09

Nevertheless, Faversham Creek still has a variety

49:11

of modern and historic vessels based there.

49:14

Kent is often called the Garden of England

49:16

and its countryside is covered by orchards and

49:18

hot fields. Faversham itself honors

49:20

the hot picking tradition with an annual

49:22

festival of folk music and local beers

49:25

at the Hot Festival, harking back to

49:27

the celebrations as the hot harvest was

49:29

completed. Revelers go from pub

49:31

to pub with hot flowers in their hair

49:33

enjoying the best of the late summer sun.

49:35

One of the biggest traditional brewers in the

49:37

country, Shepherd Neem, has brewed ales in the

49:39

town since 1698 and is still going strong.

49:43

On certain days the inviting sweet smell

49:45

of malting barley wafts through the streets

49:47

which I remember well when I worked

49:49

there. But did I not

49:51

say that these stories were all about village pubs? It

49:54

so happens that Shepherd Neem not only makes

49:56

the beer but also owns many of the

49:58

pubs. While they do

50:00

a marvellous job of keeping them viable, they can

50:02

all become a little bit similar, and while shepherdine

50:05

beers are delicious, having no choice other than ships

50:07

can be a little limiting to the discerning pub

50:09

guy. This is why it

50:11

might be worth the journey of travelling out

50:13

through the lanes and the marshes north of

50:15

the town of Phamisham to a small village,

50:17

or rather a hamlet, that of Hollowshore. There,

50:20

gleaming in white-painted timber-clanning is

50:23

the historic shipwright's arms. On

50:26

entering, one is greeted by a generous

50:28

central brick hearth and wood panelling. Unsurprisingly,

50:30

maritime paraphernalia fill every nook and

50:33

shelf of the building, with fading

50:35

photographs of elegant sailing vesicles and

50:37

steely-eyed bearded mariners staring back at

50:39

you. Dating at least

50:41

since the early 1700s, and located

50:44

right on the coast, it is no surprise

50:46

that tales of smugglers and revenue men abound.

50:49

Little doubt too, of the stories of weary

50:51

sailors who might take a room for the

50:54

night, and who for a few shillings more

50:56

could perhaps have some company into the bargain.

50:59

But the haunted history of this quirky free

51:01

house, i.e. not attached to any particular brewery

51:03

and therefore free to stock whatever beer they

51:06

like, concerns a tragic incident

51:08

in the 19th century. One

51:10

stormy night, very late, and well after the

51:12

landlord had bolted the door to keep out

51:14

in trumours, there came a great hammering at

51:16

the door. The landlord shouted

51:18

that they were closed, fearful of the unseen

51:21

visitor. The hammering carried on, accompanied

51:23

by shouting now and swearing and demands to

51:25

be let in. The

51:27

landlord, fearful, refused and retreated

51:30

back inside, and eventually

51:32

the hammering abated. As

51:34

dawn broke, the landlord opened the door

51:36

and reeled back in horror. There

51:39

on the step, soaked through and wearing a

51:41

sealed skin coat and peaked cap, was the

51:43

body of a man who had

51:45

knocked on the door, apparently dead

51:47

from hypothermia and exposure. That

51:50

night a small ship had founded on

51:52

the mudflats and this man, the captain,

51:54

had been, or perhaps should have been,

51:56

the only survivor. Racked

51:58

with guilt, the landlord could only arranged for

52:00

the unfortunate mariner to be taken away for

52:03

burial nearby. However, in

52:05

the almost 200 years since, the

52:07

spirit of the sea captain has not given

52:09

up finding hospitality in the pub. On

52:12

stormy nights, landlords and landlady down the

52:14

ages have again been awoken by the

52:16

frantic hammering on the front door. Often,

52:19

the door is open to reveal that there is

52:21

nobody there. At other times,

52:23

drinkers have noted a sudden chill in the

52:25

air, and the pungent reek of rum, ship's

52:28

tar, and tobacco fills the air. However,

52:30

sometimes this spirit manifests in such a

52:32

way to be visible. He

52:34

walks in heavily towards the bar, dripping

52:36

wet, only to disappear before

52:39

people's very eyes. One

52:41

landlady some years ago awoke horrified to find him

52:43

staring at her from the foot of her bed,

52:46

eyes reddened from the salt water, and clothes

52:48

still dripping wet, only for him

52:50

to disappear once more. Perhaps

52:52

the most alarming story, though, is that of

52:55

a former landlord's son who awoke in the

52:57

middle of the night to find the bearded,

52:59

salt-crusted face of the captain resting on the

53:01

pillow in bed next to him. Coastal

53:05

pubs are no strangers to old mariners, with

53:07

a life at sea etched into the deep

53:09

creases of their faces, but this

53:11

character is perhaps one to avoid. My

53:14

recommendation? A pint of old dairy blue top ale

53:16

and a seat near to the door, booking

53:18

early is advisable to avoid disappointment and to

53:20

avoid being left out under step all evening.

53:24

The thought? Of waking

53:26

up with a fucking sea captain

53:28

on the pillow next to you, an

53:31

old tiny sea

53:33

captain. Hello Captain

53:35

Birdseye. Can you

53:38

imagine? I'd be like, please, dear

53:40

lord, let me be dreaming, because I'm

53:43

not dealing with this. Is

53:45

this where we have to have another conversation about

53:47

spirits and consent and personal space? Yes,

53:50

yes we do, Tim, because you know I feel

53:52

very strongly about consent and personal space even

53:54

in the afterlife. It's

53:56

important. I mean, admittedly,

53:58

when these in- were in operation it

54:00

was absolutely normal to share a bed with a complete

54:03

stranger, it just was. Did

54:05

you not know that? No. No, medieval

54:08

ends and into the kind of early modern

54:10

period, you paid for the room, you didn't

54:12

pay for an individual bed. So

54:14

often you would just hop in to where someone

54:16

else had just got out and it was still

54:18

warm and you just sort of say evening

54:20

and then you're just getting next to the person who was

54:22

already there. Absolutely true, you would

54:24

be paying extra for a private room. The face

54:26

you're pulling right now. I

54:29

am shocked, I'm

54:31

shocked but I'm not shocked because I

54:33

can't imagine doing that now, I just

54:35

can't imagine it. I have seen people

54:38

though who have booked seats on 24-hour

54:40

bus journeys in various parts of the

54:42

world where you rent, you book a

54:44

double bed and guess what,

54:46

there's somebody already in it and you have to share that bed

54:48

with that person for 24 hours. So

54:51

I'm not in

54:54

disbelief that it happened and that it

54:56

happens but I just

54:58

can't imagine it. Is

55:00

there any wonder they needed a drink before heading to bed? Oh

55:03

my god, is there any wonder they

55:05

needed a drink is right? And then

55:07

you don't know if that person is alive or

55:09

the ghost of an angry sea captain? Which

55:12

is, to be fair, I think he's got a point this

55:14

sea captain though, I don't condone the getting into bed but

55:16

the hammering on the door when you know you're next

55:19

to an area which suffers from shipwrecks. That landlord, I

55:21

mean he must have suffered with guilt for the rest

55:23

of his days, the up-to-date must have done. But

55:26

you'd have thought that they would

55:28

have let someone in if they sounded that desperate. I mean

55:30

in times since we know that the Coast Guard has used

55:32

this pub and the upper rooms there as a lookout. So

55:35

it's got a connection to the safety at sea as well.

55:38

But the idea that this man wasn't let in

55:41

and this one tragic occasion, it cost him

55:43

his life. I'd be going back demanding

55:45

a free pint as well to be fair. Yeah,

55:48

I'd be going back for all eternity

55:51

shitting people up in that pub. Absolutely.

55:54

I will hold a grudge. I think

55:56

we should have a little pilgrimage over there next time.

55:58

I think so too. I think

56:01

it's not that far away. Well,

56:04

I suppose it's probably two, three mile walk from

56:06

the station if we wanted to get the train

56:08

there so we could have a drink while we

56:10

get there or if someone fancy is driving, it's

56:12

not too far either. It's just down the end

56:14

of the little lanes that go through the salt

56:16

marshes and the flats north of Fabersham. I mean, we

56:18

both know the area so well, don't we? I

56:20

used to teach in Fabersham before I moved down

56:22

here for a different job. It's a wonderful little town

56:24

that these little villages around the outside, most of

56:26

them have got their own pubs and this one is

56:28

an absolute belter. I've been there twice, but it's

56:30

a really good one. And what a great

56:33

story. And do you know what it feels to me when

56:36

I was listening to you and I was

56:38

writing my notes while also admittedly doodling

56:40

because there's a mix of both on

56:42

my notes. I was thinking about the

56:47

telltale house. That's what it

56:49

reminds me of, that banging on the

56:51

door being the guilt on

56:53

the landlord echoing through eternity.

56:55

I've very much had Edgar

56:57

Allan Paul vibes. It

57:00

totally does, doesn't it? But this spirit here actually seems

57:02

to be sentient. It seems

57:04

to know what it's doing and interact with people as

57:06

well. But to

57:08

be honest, there's that mind's

57:10

eye image that I've got of

57:13

his reddened eyes and his furious features.

57:15

There's that look of a 19th

57:17

century mariner, isn't there? With the priest

57:19

face and just the world weariness of

57:21

them. I mean, they probably looked about

57:24

60 when they were 30, didn't

57:26

they? No, definitely. What a life

57:28

is right. They just lived such

57:30

a grim existence that was so

57:32

weather beaten and full

57:34

of labor and hardship. And

57:36

then somebody doesn't even open the door for you

57:38

when you're dying. Oh, listen. Talk

57:41

about adding insult to injury or perhaps salt in the wound

57:43

would be a better phrase there. Ooh,

57:47

I think he's gonna haunt you for that one. I

57:49

think he might do. Yeah, that was possibly a mistake. Maybe

57:53

I'll go in disguise next time. Look though, this

57:55

is the thing though. We've been talking about all

57:57

this hard labor that people are doing. People were doing back breaking stuff

57:59

back then. trip to the pub was as much

58:01

a part of your diet as anything else. I mean

58:03

the calories that you get in beer were such an

58:05

important component of what you had within the day. That

58:08

is again, it's something that we've sort of lost now, isn't

58:10

it? I really think

58:13

it is that actual, the

58:15

lifeline literally and kind of

58:17

figuratively that the pub was for the people

58:19

in that village. I don't know if this

58:22

is, this might be not a true fact. So

58:24

you with your historical brain can correct

58:27

me. What's your point in history where

58:29

in England in particular people drank

58:32

beer more so than water

58:34

or anything else because it was safer? Yeah,

58:37

there's some truth to that. It's been a little bit corrupted.

58:40

Most villages had a pretty safe water source

58:42

as well. The problems with drinking water really

58:44

start to crop up in towns. So

58:46

it's certainly true in medieval towns. It's definitely true in

58:48

the towns of industrial revolution. You know what, funnily enough,

58:50

I'm not going to get too much into that because

58:52

that does crop up in one of our latest stories.

58:55

Oh, okay. It absolutely does. But

58:58

what you do have is this sense of beer

59:00

being liquid bread. It was much more treated as

59:02

part of your food intake than it was part

59:04

of your drink, if you

59:07

like, because of the calories within it, because of the

59:09

fact that you needed it. So certain varieties of beer

59:12

were actually brewed to be more calorific, things like porter

59:14

and stout. Porter in the

59:16

sense that porters have to do

59:18

a lot of heavy lifting and carrying. They

59:20

need the extra calories of that thick, dark

59:22

beer to get them through the working day.

59:25

But also the fact that beer was brewed in such a

59:27

variety of strengths. You have small beer, for example, which might

59:29

only be half a percent or 1%. You literally give that

59:31

to the kids because you're given

59:34

calories and it wouldn't get them drunk or anything.

59:36

Our attitude towards beer as a drink has really

59:38

changed. And you've got this divide in Europe, perhaps

59:41

some listeners across the Atlantic

59:43

won't be aware of this, but there is

59:45

a very distinct divide in Europe between the

59:47

beer drinking countries and the wine drinking countries.

59:50

And it really depends on the climate. So

59:52

you get places which tend to be wet and

59:55

grey and often lacking a lot

59:57

of sunshine, places like, dare I

59:59

say, Germany, Belgium, Britain and

1:00:02

the culture is for beer and in this country

1:00:04

until the last couple of hundred

1:00:06

years beer wasn't hot to make it bitter it

1:00:08

was a very different drink but we know that

1:00:10

beer has been brewed in this country since before

1:00:13

the Romans arrived so it's a very very long

1:00:15

heritage that it's got there. And here I

1:00:17

am complaining about it. I know. You

1:00:20

should think yourself lucky shouldn't you? Mind you this

1:00:22

is in danger of becoming beer life ghost stories

1:00:24

isn't it rather than the fact that

1:00:26

you should perhaps move on to some more spooky

1:00:28

content again. Let's go for it. Well

1:00:31

I'm happy to tell you this is another pub

1:00:33

that perhaps we can visit when next time I'm

1:00:35

visiting you because we're returning back to Kent once

1:00:37

more. Our next visit staying in

1:00:39

Kent and this time having a meal as

1:00:41

well as a drink we are heading to

1:00:44

the perfectly picturesque village of Chinnum. This

1:00:46

might be the absolute archetype of an English

1:00:49

village so much so but it is regularly

1:00:51

used as a filming location for just that

1:00:53

reason. It boasts a medieval

1:00:55

castle, a manor house and a village

1:00:57

square surrounded on all sides by medieval

1:00:59

and Tudor wood framed houses. Like

1:01:02

all the best villages it has not just one

1:01:04

but two lovely pubs, the wild horse

1:01:06

and the wall pack in. The

1:01:09

village is just a few miles outside the city

1:01:11

of Canterbury and when I lived there I once

1:01:13

walked to the ancient North Downs way turning round

1:01:15

at Chinnum to head back before setting off again.

1:01:19

However before I decided to head back to Canterbury

1:01:21

it seemed rude not to take advantage of the

1:01:23

hospitality of one of the pubs so I headed

1:01:25

into the wall pack in where water bottle and

1:01:27

belly were both filled by the friendly staff who

1:01:29

really could not have been more helpful in welcoming.

1:01:32

It seems that being helpful and welcoming is a

1:01:34

long tradition at the wall pack and

1:01:36

this well describes the mood and

1:01:38

activities of the pubs longest serving

1:01:41

and most mysterious residents, the

1:01:43

grey lady. Nobody

1:01:45

knows who she is or why she stays at

1:01:47

the wall pack. Although the

1:01:49

front of the pub looks distinctly Victorian nestled as

1:01:51

it is in a fork in the road the

1:01:53

oldest parts of it date back to the 15th

1:01:55

century and it is in these oldest parts of

1:01:57

the building that the grey lady is seen. She

1:02:00

is apparently a very pleasant presence, if

1:02:03

a trifle alarming for those who encounter

1:02:05

her unexpectedly. She wanders the

1:02:07

corridors calmly and quietly, smiling at and looking

1:02:09

fondly towards those she comes into contact with.

1:02:11

It is almost as though she is checking

1:02:13

on the rooms and making sure that all

1:02:15

the guests are comfortable, and then, once she

1:02:17

is satisfied that all is well, she disappears

1:02:19

again to repeat her kindly rounds the next

1:02:22

day. When I visited the

1:02:24

warpack, I didn't encounter the Grey Lady, I'm sorry

1:02:26

to say, but I can recommend the pub. It's

1:02:28

a shepherd's name pub, so you'd best like their beers,

1:02:31

but I'd recommend a pint of early bird if visiting

1:02:33

in springtime, a pint of late red if visiting in

1:02:35

autumn, or a pint of Bishop's finger at any other

1:02:37

time of the year. That's not to ask about that

1:02:40

name. The Haggamagan ships were very

1:02:42

reasonably priced, and fuel enough to get me

1:02:44

back to Canterbury just before nightfall, and

1:02:46

perhaps just before the return of the Grey

1:02:49

Lady that evening. I was in Tillham the

1:02:51

other day. You were? Did you see the warpack? I

1:02:54

did not go into the warpack, but I

1:02:56

was talking to the barman in the white

1:02:58

horse, because the barman in the white horse

1:03:00

used to be the barman in the unicorn,

1:03:02

which is a post that me and Tim

1:03:04

frequented, and I still frequent, and

1:03:07

I said, oh, I'll call in and see you soon.

1:03:09

I haven't seen you in ages, and how's the new

1:03:11

job going bad, bad, bad? He's like,

1:03:13

don't bother. You only ever drink lime and

1:03:15

soda, so what's the

1:03:17

point? And I was like, okay, sorry. Well, you

1:03:20

can give the lie to that now, because you've

1:03:22

got proof that you've drunk a beer now. I've

1:03:24

got audio proof. I couldn't think of the word

1:03:26

audio there. I've got audio proof that

1:03:29

I drank a beer. Well, I've

1:03:31

had a couple of mouths full of beer,

1:03:33

but still, it's audio proof. While my

1:03:35

back's been turned, you've been tipping it down the sink, haven't you? Just

1:03:38

throwing it over my shoulder, hoping for the best. Tillham

1:03:41

is really picturesque. It

1:03:43

is almost unreal how

1:03:45

picturesque it is, and beautiful it

1:03:47

is. It's almost like

1:03:49

someone's just created it as a film set, isn't it?

1:03:52

Literally, that is what it feels like when you're there.

1:03:54

I've not been in the wool pack, but

1:03:56

I do find it interesting that so many

1:03:58

of these pubs have a lady. attached to

1:04:00

them whether it's a grey lazy, a black lazy, a

1:04:02

white lazy, a lady in red. There's

1:04:04

so many of them. But there's probably

1:04:06

a historical reason for it, you know. Yeah. So

1:04:09

brewing was a woman's profession. Was it actually? Back

1:04:11

in the day, medieval times, brewing was very much

1:04:13

a woman's possession. So while men were more likely

1:04:16

to be killing the fields and working with the

1:04:18

animals and things, the housewife would

1:04:20

be brewing as an extra form of income. So

1:04:23

what we understand today as a pub,

1:04:25

there were originally places called ale houses

1:04:27

where it wasn't somewhere you'd necessarily stay

1:04:30

for your drink or have a meal or anything.

1:04:32

But there might be a woman in the

1:04:34

community who had a really good reputation for the quality

1:04:36

of her beer. And it would be checked, by the

1:04:38

way, there would be sort of government officials

1:04:40

who would check this sort of thing and make sure that it was

1:04:42

up to scratch. And when they

1:04:44

realised, we know what, we can make some more money

1:04:47

from this, they would hang a distinctive sign outside their

1:04:49

house. And so yeah, very much a woman's tradition. Go

1:04:52

on the girls. There we

1:04:54

are. We love a bit of women's history, don't we?

1:04:56

Yeah, we do. That's amazing. I never knew that

1:04:58

I did not know it was traditionally a

1:05:01

woman's, a woman's job. Oh, didn't

1:05:03

that explain all the sightings, though, wouldn't it?

1:05:05

Because of course, it was hers. It was her

1:05:07

empire. It was how you brought money in. Exactly

1:05:10

right. I mean, I think some of these sort of

1:05:12

tourist traps, especially in the cities, they

1:05:14

go very much down the route of talking about

1:05:17

brothels and sex workers and saying, Oh, well, we

1:05:19

have this ferocious madam who was in charge here.

1:05:21

And yeah, there is a certain amount of truth

1:05:23

to that in the towns. But actually, it obscures

1:05:26

a much more mundane, but I think,

1:05:29

even more important fact that actually many

1:05:31

of these hostries, because that

1:05:33

sort of thing was considered

1:05:35

within a woman's sphere, housekeeping,

1:05:38

good cooking, good brewing,

1:05:40

and being hospitable was seen as part of

1:05:43

the woman's role within the household, even if

1:05:45

you weren't at a public house, if you

1:05:47

were just a private house, that was part

1:05:49

of a wife's responsibilities. It explains

1:05:51

why we get so many matriarchal characters and

1:05:53

let's face it, matriarchal ghosts and spirits within

1:05:55

these places. I think you've

1:05:57

solved a mystery. I think you've solved. We've

1:06:00

solved ghosts. Well, I mean you have in

1:06:02

this episode. I've just been

1:06:04

along for the ride. The less sort of

1:06:06

out the having to share beds and inns the better. Yeah,

1:06:09

let's not. Yeah. We're

1:06:11

learning and we're enjoying ourselves. I

1:06:14

can't help myself. It's the history teacher

1:06:16

of me. It just, I can't, I

1:06:18

can't not give the lesson when it

1:06:20

comes out. I hope

1:06:22

people are enjoying it though. I'm about halfway through

1:06:25

my beer, by the way, if you want to

1:06:27

just check your levels, because we are going to

1:06:29

be doing a lot of work. Your levels, because

1:06:31

we are heading into our final haunt now. So

1:06:33

we're, we need to be ready. You've actually done

1:06:35

very well. That's such a patronizing thing to say,

1:06:37

but you have, I'm impressed. I'm drank

1:06:39

about a third of my beer just to let everybody know. You've

1:06:42

done very well. I'm going to have a sip now just to get

1:06:44

myself ready for the next stories. To get yourself pressed

1:06:46

and primed and ready. I'm enjoying this

1:06:48

and I'm pretty, I'm really enjoying

1:06:51

the history. That's good. I hope

1:06:53

the listeners are as well. Well, the last

1:06:55

place we're going is really famous for a completely

1:06:57

different way. There's also not a place that I've lived.

1:06:59

So I doubt either of us have been there,

1:07:01

but you might correct me there given that you

1:07:04

do like yourself a bit of literature, don't you? I do.

1:07:06

All right. Well, let's get into it then. Our

1:07:08

final haunts on this paranormal pub

1:07:11

crawl are both located in the village

1:07:13

of Haworth in West Yorkshire. Today,

1:07:16

Haworth is a Mecca for literary tourism,

1:07:18

being the home of the famous Bronte

1:07:20

sisters. It is a

1:07:22

charmingly preserved village with steep cobbled streets

1:07:25

and handsome buildings constructed from the local

1:07:27

sandstone, seeming to cling precariously to the

1:07:29

hills. My last visit

1:07:31

to Haworth had a rather less artistically

1:07:33

justified motive. It was my brother's stag

1:07:35

do or bachelor party. Knowing

1:07:38

his love for old steam trains and also knowing

1:07:40

that the Kiefley and Worth Valley Railway have a

1:07:42

pub carriage on every train, we

1:07:45

alighted merrily, or should I say very

1:07:47

merrily, at Haworth and ascended the steep

1:07:49

slope in search of further refreshments. We

1:07:51

stopped at a few pubs that afternoon,

1:07:53

but two I later learned had a variety

1:07:56

of ghostly activity. The Old White

1:07:58

Lion, a hotel, in

1:08:00

the village looks much like the other buildings

1:08:02

on the steep streets of Haworth. On entering

1:08:05

one is struck by the interior, all false

1:08:07

beams and artex plaster with long red cushioned

1:08:09

benches against the walls and a wagon wheel

1:08:11

mounting lights in the ceiling. The impression

1:08:14

is far more 1970s than 1790s, but it has a charm nonetheless.

1:08:19

The bar itself seems reassuringly free of

1:08:22

ghostly encounters, but the same cannot be

1:08:24

said for one of the rooms in

1:08:26

the hotel. The tale

1:08:28

goes back to 1906 and a tragic

1:08:30

death. That summer, on

1:08:32

Saturday the 9th of June, the people of

1:08:34

Haworth flocked to the cricket and football fields

1:08:36

to see what should have been a death-defying

1:08:39

feat of daring. Sadly that day,

1:08:41

death would not be denied his prize.

1:08:44

Three days earlier, Captain Frederick Bedmead

1:08:46

and Miss Lily Cove had checked

1:08:48

into the old White Lion Hotel.

1:08:51

Lily had been booked into Room 7 and having

1:08:54

dropped off their luggage on the pier set

1:08:56

about fliering to advertise their big act at

1:08:58

the Haworth Gala that weekend. Certainly

1:09:00

this young woman travelling unshaperoned with a

1:09:03

somewhat older man was reason enough to

1:09:05

get tongues wagging, but the show

1:09:07

that they had in mind was even more the talk of

1:09:09

the town. When the Gala

1:09:11

day came, Lily was wearing her trademark

1:09:13

frilly bloomers as she climbed smiling and

1:09:15

waving into a dangling seat mounted

1:09:18

beneath a small hot air balloon. Her

1:09:21

trademark act was to ascend as high as

1:09:23

possible in the balloon before leaping out and

1:09:25

free falling, her skirts and bloomers fluttering as

1:09:27

she went. Then at the

1:09:29

last minute, she would pull the ripcord and

1:09:31

her parachute would open and she

1:09:33

would safely land among the admiring public. Tragically

1:09:36

that summer, her act would go

1:09:39

terribly wrong. The exact circumstances

1:09:41

will never be known for certain, but still

1:09:43

with about 100 feet to fall Lily Cove

1:09:45

seemed to struggle in her harness and then

1:09:48

it became unclipped. She fell with a sickening

1:09:50

crump onto the packed cricket field below. It

1:09:53

is thought perhaps that she had panicked, thinking that she

1:09:55

was about to end up in the lake where as

1:09:57

a non-swimmer wearing a heavy parachute, she was able to

1:09:59

get her would have likely drowned. Lily

1:10:02

Cove's broken body showed some weak signs of life

1:10:04

and she was quickly hurried back to the hotel

1:10:06

for the village surgeon to attend to, but

1:10:09

nothing could be done. She died on

1:10:11

the bed of Room 7. She was

1:10:13

just 21 years of age. Whether

1:10:16

she was a pioneering and liberated woman

1:10:18

before her time or an exploited and

1:10:21

vulnerable accomplice of Captain Bigmead leaves historians

1:10:23

divided, but apparently she is

1:10:25

reluctant to leave the old white line.

1:10:28

Guests in Room 7 report feeling the mattress of

1:10:30

their bed sink down as if someone is sitting

1:10:33

on it. Another guest swore blind

1:10:35

that he could see the face of a young woman staring

1:10:37

at him from the shadows. Initially

1:10:39

frozen in terror, he eventually pulled the

1:10:41

covers over his face until, as it

1:10:44

happens so often, he somehow fell asleep

1:10:46

again. Staff and guests

1:10:48

alike report seeing objects move or seeing

1:10:50

Lily's apparition in the corner of their

1:10:52

eye. Others report nightmares.

1:10:55

Nightmares with a particular theme. The

1:10:57

theme of falling. Not knowing

1:10:59

beforehand the manner of poor Lily's death.

1:11:02

Perhaps it is the violent and unexpected

1:11:05

nature of her sad demise that

1:11:07

makes her hang around this pub too. So

1:11:10

that's our first of two Howarth stories, the

1:11:12

tragic story of Lily Cove and the fact

1:11:14

that she refuses to leave Room 7. Can

1:11:17

you blame her? No, I've never been there. My dad

1:11:21

is a Yorkshire man, but I have never been

1:11:29

to Howarth and I

1:11:31

am not a fan of the

1:11:33

Brontes. There's

1:11:35

a little factoid for you. They

1:11:37

are a bit involved in the next story. Do you want me to just skip

1:11:39

it? No, no. It's not that

1:11:42

I don't like them as people. I'm sure they were

1:11:44

great and I'm all

1:11:46

for pioneering female authors.

1:11:50

But that style of

1:11:52

literature doesn't do it for me. It's

1:11:54

not your thing. Mind you, I bet there's loads of listeners who

1:11:56

love them. Oh my god, definitely. There's loads

1:11:58

of listeners who will act like that. absolutely loved them and

1:12:00

rightly so, very talented writers, all

1:12:03

of that jazz. Just not my vibe.

1:12:05

However, I just

1:12:07

don't quite know what to make of this story.

1:12:09

I just did not imagine

1:12:12

that we were going to go down the era

1:12:14

of balloons and stunt women. No, nor

1:12:16

did I until I was looking up these stories.

1:12:18

I discovered this story originally well after I'd done

1:12:20

that. I often, if I go visit

1:12:22

a new place, when I'm bored on the train and

1:12:24

I've got nothing else I do, I just start researching

1:12:27

stories on my way home. And that's when I first

1:12:29

heard this story of Lily Cove and the parachute accident.

1:12:31

The thing that really got me with these stories though is so

1:12:34

much of it is like a

1:12:36

thousand other mini episode stories that

1:12:38

you've done with the feeling of the bed sinking

1:12:40

down. Yes. Or the corner of the ice phenomenon

1:12:43

going on. The one that gets

1:12:45

me is the dreams about falling because I think

1:12:47

we've all had days. But when you realise that

1:12:49

there's a real specific link with that room and

1:12:52

that location and someone dying in that way, I

1:12:55

just then so much more power to it, I think. Definitely.

1:12:58

And I think that the

1:13:01

energy, I don't

1:13:03

know, exerted by a death like that, like

1:13:05

the really awful thing is that she would

1:13:07

have known what was

1:13:09

coming. Absolutely. She would have known

1:13:11

that this was the end. And I know

1:13:13

that when you're falling, obviously a million things can

1:13:15

happen before you hit the ground. I understand all of that.

1:13:18

But she would have known. And

1:13:22

she didn't die in the field. She died in that room.

1:13:24

She managed to make it back that far. And

1:13:27

I think this Captain Bidmead character, he's a very

1:13:29

suspicious sort of fella. By

1:13:32

the standards of the time, it would have been quite scandalous

1:13:34

then to be travelling around the

1:13:37

country with an unaccompanied woman. I

1:13:39

think the bee is kicking in. And

1:13:42

there were certain eyebrows raised at that. But

1:13:44

then on the other hand, for every account

1:13:46

that you read about that, there's very much

1:13:48

a sense that she's going, well, OK, yes,

1:13:51

I need his connections for me to get

1:13:53

these shows. But ultimately, I'm doing what I

1:13:55

want to do, because I'm

1:13:57

a kickass, pioneering stunt woman. that's

1:14:00

how I'm gonna make my money. It's tricky

1:14:02

isn't it because there's

1:14:04

an element of that of course and you can

1:14:06

imagine that she's like listen because she was from

1:14:08

a poor area you know and you'd

1:14:11

be thinking I can make money

1:14:13

doing this and I know it's

1:14:16

risky but a lot of people

1:14:18

love risk and adrenaline and all that

1:14:20

stuff but also

1:14:22

how much of it was him going

1:14:24

yeah go on yeah definitely this is

1:14:26

really empowering for you and it's making me

1:14:28

loads of money yeah and she's 21 she's

1:14:31

so young 21 and

1:14:33

you know I have a thing open here

1:14:36

because I was looking him up while

1:14:38

you were talking about him this kind of bit meat man

1:14:40

and you know there's there's

1:14:43

a conversation to be had about you

1:14:45

know more spectators would have wanted to see a woman going

1:14:47

up rather than a man there's that

1:14:50

the whole trademark act with the bloomers fluttering

1:14:53

in the breeze as she falls and things it's

1:14:55

it would have been very titillating for the time

1:14:57

yes absolutely have you got a picture of her

1:15:00

there because she's a pretty remarkable looking woman really

1:15:02

have I got a pic I've got lots of pictures of him hang on

1:15:05

yeah that sounds about right doesn't it

1:15:09

yes so in a in an article that

1:15:11

is about her demise the first pictures are

1:15:13

pictures of him oh I have got a

1:15:15

picture of her she is a remarkable looking really

1:15:17

striking isn't she yes she is and she

1:15:20

looks very and strong and

1:15:22

self-assured in the picture that I'm that

1:15:24

I'm looking at her

1:15:26

in so features

1:15:28

to her isn't there yeah so

1:15:32

although they're posed they

1:15:34

sort of suggest to me that she may have

1:15:36

been quite a feisty and formidable character but of

1:15:38

course it could just be an act as well

1:15:41

we just will never know and

1:15:43

I know I know that there is an

1:15:45

element of like titillation like you said with

1:15:47

the bloomers and the ribbon and all of

1:15:49

that jazz and she obviously can't do it

1:15:52

in a skirt because that's not safe and

1:15:55

but also for her in an age where

1:15:57

women were were meant to be so

1:16:01

repressed and covered all the time

1:16:03

and your sexuality was this sort

1:16:06

of this little gem that you

1:16:08

had to look after and that's that to be

1:16:10

able to be like I'm gonna

1:16:12

take my skirt off and I'll be in my

1:16:14

bloomers and I'm gonna you know do this crazy

1:16:16

stunt. Let me get into my

1:16:19

underwear and my parachutes and I'll wave goodbye to you as

1:16:21

I float up into the air because you've done it plenty

1:16:23

of times before then it's not some sort of one-off and

1:16:25

it's been tragically she'd done it loads of times she was

1:16:27

really well known for it so quite a random one that

1:16:30

isn't it but you didn't expect that at all. No

1:16:32

I didn't and I do think it's interesting that

1:16:34

people have these dreams of falling. Yeah

1:16:37

yeah without a doubt I mean you must have had

1:16:39

a dream like that before. Yeah of course and you

1:16:41

you jerk awake and you're like oh oh

1:16:43

that was weird. But these seem to be much

1:16:45

more almost like a narrative of oh I am

1:16:47

falling from a height here rather than a exploding

1:16:50

head syndrome or a oh jolting

1:16:52

yourself awake like you do sometimes

1:16:55

it's really interesting and it's the fact that so

1:16:57

many people are reporting it in this specific room.

1:17:00

And I'm sure I have had specific dreams of falling

1:17:02

but I couldn't I couldn't for it if you give

1:17:04

me a million pounds now I couldn't tell you the

1:17:06

narrative of one. No I don't remember them I remember

1:17:08

the feeling of you know jolting awake but

1:17:10

other than that I don't remember anything else about them. You're

1:17:13

probably a far bigger expert than me

1:17:15

I say probably you're definitely a far

1:17:17

bigger expert than me but maybe someone

1:17:19

who's listening who knows that the science

1:17:21

behind this or maybe there's some sort

1:17:24

of paranormal explanation for what

1:17:26

might bring on a an

1:17:29

encounter or a memory of this

1:17:31

nature I really don't know. Do you

1:17:33

want to pop down the road to the last pub now? Yes

1:17:35

last pub I'm ready. So when I say

1:17:37

pop down the road I really do mean

1:17:39

pop down the same road right next to

1:17:41

the the white lion hotel or the old

1:17:43

white lion I should say. So

1:17:46

literally just a few yards down the road from

1:17:48

the old white lion is our final pub of

1:17:50

this episode which I'm sure everyone agrees has gone

1:17:52

on long enough. The King's Arms

1:17:55

is the name of this pub. Immediately

1:17:57

next to St Michael and All Angels Church

1:17:59

and the of Charlotte, Emily

1:18:01

and Anne Bronte. The King's Arms

1:18:03

was known to be frequented by

1:18:05

the sister's bright but troubled brother,

1:18:07

Branwell. Though he is said

1:18:09

to haunt the black bull down the road. After

1:18:11

all, we all have our favorite pubs, even in

1:18:14

the afterlife. The picture

1:18:16

postcard streets of Haworth were not always

1:18:18

quite so charming. In

1:18:20

1850, Patrick Bronte, parson of the

1:18:22

church and father to the literary

1:18:24

family, invited scientist and politician Benjamin

1:18:26

Babbage to Haworth. His

1:18:29

motivation was simple, yet heartbreaking. He

1:18:31

was tired of leading the funeral services for

1:18:33

so many of Haworth's young people, many of

1:18:35

whom died before they were six years old.

1:18:38

The life expectancy in Haworth at the time was a mere

1:18:40

26 years of age. And

1:18:43

all but one of Patrick Bronte's children died

1:18:45

before the age of 31, including Emily,

1:18:47

Anne and Branwell. What

1:18:50

Babbage discovered horrified him. Haworth's

1:18:52

precipitous streets ran slick with human excrement

1:18:54

and blood from the slaughterhouse behind the

1:18:57

King's Arms pub. The

1:18:59

foul air hung about the town with barely a breeze

1:19:01

to move it. At this

1:19:03

time, miasma or bad air was thought to

1:19:05

be the cause of disease. But

1:19:07

now we understand differently. As

1:19:10

the death rate soared, the graveyard

1:19:12

overflowed and the putrefying remains seeped

1:19:14

into the town water supply, corrupting

1:19:17

it. Babbage's report would

1:19:19

eventually lead to improvements, but not

1:19:21

soon enough to prevent Emily, Anne

1:19:23

and Branwell-born Bronte succumbing to disease.

1:19:27

It is this age of filth and early

1:19:29

death that brings out the ghostly association with

1:19:31

the King's Arms. Being right

1:19:33

next to the church, it was also immediate

1:19:35

neighbors with the town mortuary. All

1:19:37

too often the mortuary was overflowing with the dead,

1:19:39

so some bodies had to be brought into the

1:19:42

cellar of the King's Arms for temporary storage. The

1:19:45

cold that kept the beer a pleasant temperature

1:19:47

helped buy some time to bury the dead

1:19:49

before decomposition set in. Think of

1:19:51

that next time you sip your pint. As

1:19:54

a result, the pub is said to be filled with

1:19:56

unexplained phenomena. While few can

1:19:59

be specific, most... seem to be

1:20:01

poltergeist activity, and most of it

1:20:03

happens in the cellar. Staff working

1:20:05

to change barrels from in taps knocked to

1:20:07

the floor and mallets tossed aside. Others

1:20:09

see shadows or hear whispers in the dark.

1:20:12

In the dead of night when the pub is

1:20:14

shut, loud bangs and heavy footsteps emanate from the

1:20:16

cellar door, and yet nobody is there when a

1:20:18

brave barkeep goes to look. Perhaps

1:20:21

strangest of all are the objects that go

1:20:23

missing from the guest rooms, only for them

1:20:25

to reappear in the strangest of places, including

1:20:28

down in the cellar. Perhaps

1:20:30

the King's Arms' Howarth still echoes with

1:20:32

the lost songs of the unfortunate victims

1:20:35

of the village's unsanitary past. A

1:20:37

cleansing of a different sort may now be needed.

1:20:40

For all this though, the pub itself

1:20:42

has a very pleasant atmosphere, crowded with

1:20:44

pretty paintings and comfy chairs. My

1:20:47

recommendation? A pint of Timothy Taylor's

1:20:49

Boltmaker ale waft to wash down the steak and

1:20:51

kidney pie. Just be sure that your

1:20:53

beer is mortuary cold when it's served. I'd

1:20:55

love a steak and kidney pie right now.

1:20:58

Who wouldn't? Yeah, I'd love

1:21:00

one. It is amazing, the shocking

1:21:02

past that a lot of these pubs have. And

1:21:04

you think about the amount of people that go

1:21:06

into these pubs for a casual drink, cosy drink,

1:21:09

and they're like, oh, this is lovely.

1:21:11

Isn't this great? And they have

1:21:13

no idea that, you know, years ago, this

1:21:16

place was a literal cesspit. And

1:21:19

like you said earlier about did people really drink

1:21:22

more beer back then because the water was dangerous? Well, this is

1:21:25

one of these 19th century Industrial

1:21:27

Revolution cases where yes, that is absolutely

1:21:29

the case. But they didn't know

1:21:31

that it was carried in the water. And

1:21:34

it was years before that was accepted. It

1:21:36

was actually in London, there was a man called Dr.

1:21:38

John Snow did a bit of sort of investigative journalism

1:21:40

of going around the towns of the Broad Street cholera

1:21:43

outbreak, which is probably not really

1:21:45

yet one for a ghost stories podcast. But

1:21:47

it's fascinating to know that what he noticed

1:21:49

was that people who were drinking from the

1:21:51

well were dying, and they were absolutely dying

1:21:54

in their drapes. And then pretty much immediately

1:21:56

next to this well or pump that people

1:21:58

were dying from was a brewery. and

1:22:00

the brewery workers all drank beer and they

1:22:02

were all surviving. The workouts down

1:22:04

the road, they were drinking from their own private

1:22:06

well and they were all surviving and yet they

1:22:08

were all breathing the same air. So clearly the

1:22:11

problem was the water and not the

1:22:13

air. And of course the real kicker in this

1:22:15

one was there was a woman who died in

1:22:17

Hampstead which was a good few miles away from

1:22:19

Broad Street. Turned out every morning she got a

1:22:21

bottle of that water brought up because she liked

1:22:23

the taste and I shudder to

1:22:25

think of what was giving the distinctive taste to that

1:22:28

water. Oh that gives me the heebie jeebies.

1:22:31

Doesn't it just? Sometimes history is way more

1:22:33

scary than ghosts, doesn't it? Yes it is.

1:22:36

Like 100% without any doubt

1:22:38

history and humans and real life is

1:22:40

way more scary than ghosts. At least

1:22:43

here they did get it sorted but other people have

1:22:45

to pay their best. That's true

1:22:47

but that's the reality is that in order to

1:22:49

get it sorted lots of people die first and

1:22:51

then they go, oh hang on a

1:22:53

second, hang on something's

1:22:55

happening here, something's not right and we need

1:22:57

to figure out how to fix this. You

1:23:00

know I said this to Sinead and Nick

1:23:02

on the Poisonous Cabinet just the other day. All

1:23:04

the time kids ask me at work say, so if

1:23:06

you could live at any time in history when would

1:23:09

it be? And most of the time my answer is

1:23:11

very simply, well right now. For all the things that

1:23:13

are wrong with the world, for all the many things

1:23:15

that upset me about how the world is today it

1:23:17

would have been so much more miserable at

1:23:19

virtually any other time in the past. And

1:23:21

I think that's really worth remembering. We are

1:23:23

all the products of a

1:23:25

lot of people, some of whom are brave, some

1:23:28

of whom are cowards but all of whom

1:23:30

ultimately survived long enough for us

1:23:32

to be here today. And we owe them

1:23:34

at least that don't we? Oh that's better. I

1:23:36

think I might raise a glass for them. Oh

1:23:38

let's raise a glass. I still am still

1:23:40

on the third of my plane strike. But

1:23:42

I've raised a glass to all

1:23:45

the people that have gone before both brave and stupid.

1:23:47

Well that was my last pub story and I really

1:23:49

hope everyone enjoyed them. I know this has been a

1:23:51

longer episode than you normally do. But

1:23:53

it tends to be women on Patreon. We've got that little bit

1:23:55

more freedom to go off on tangents and

1:23:57

things. So I hope people have reminded that.

1:24:00

But of course this is technically the second in a

1:24:02

three-part series, isn't it? Yes, it is.

1:24:04

So last two weeks ago we did

1:24:06

an episode on village churches.

1:24:10

And this week was obviously

1:24:12

village pubs. And what's the

1:24:15

next instalment for Patreon? Well,

1:24:17

it's going to be called To the Man of Born and Died.

1:24:19

It's going to be ghosts of the grand

1:24:21

English houses. So that's what we're going to

1:24:23

conclude with. But even if the only episode

1:24:26

people listen to is this one here, you

1:24:28

can count this as my little personal love letter

1:24:30

to the English village. Because

1:24:32

I think there are so many fascinating and

1:24:35

wonderful stories about them. And is it any

1:24:37

wonder that so many of them are so

1:24:39

desperately, desperately haunted? With all that history,

1:24:41

babe, absolutely not. It is no wonder. And

1:24:44

I think we've maybe mapped out a day out

1:24:46

for ourselves next time I come up and visit.

1:24:48

Yes, we have. I think we should walk or

1:24:50

run, whichever, which I know that you're cylinders, when

1:24:52

you're feeling up to it. Run

1:24:54

to chillum. We'll do that. Have

1:24:57

a pint and some ham, egg

1:24:59

and chips. Yep.

1:25:01

Run back to Canterbury day one. And then Grey

1:25:03

Lady before we go. Yes. And

1:25:06

then Faber-Schum. Absolutely ideal. And

1:25:08

in fact, I had my first run in three months

1:25:10

this week. Oh, well

1:25:12

done. He's back, baby. I'm

1:25:14

back. I mean, this is not going to mean a lot

1:25:16

to so many listeners. But yeah, I had a nasty back

1:25:18

injury. Actually, it might mean something to some of them. Because

1:25:20

you did mention the fact that Lily, my cat sat on

1:25:22

my lap when I was badly injured. That's

1:25:24

what it was. It was a back injury. I'm a

1:25:26

bit disappointed in Lily, actually. I was hoping that

1:25:29

my own personal pub cat was going to make

1:25:31

an appearance in this episode. And she's no, I've

1:25:33

had some food. I'm going to go and sleep

1:25:35

on the sofa. She's a cat. She knows. She's

1:25:37

like doing what you want me to do. That'd

1:25:39

be ridiculous. She wouldn't shut up next episode, though,

1:25:41

would she? No, she was meowing the whole last

1:25:44

episode. This time she's like, you want

1:25:46

me there? No, absolutely not. In fact,

1:25:48

before we press record, we did discuss that there's a

1:25:50

pecking order here, isn't there? And Lily is very much

1:25:52

the most popular out of all three of us. So

1:25:55

people know her. She

1:25:57

absolutely is. Tim, where

1:25:59

can people find you? Well, if

1:26:01

they're not going to find me in a lovely country

1:26:03

pub down here in Devon, they can find me online

1:26:05

at Mr. Cloak History, which is my YouTube channel. I

1:26:08

made this as a way of delivering lessons in

1:26:10

lockdown, but my revision videos I've made for British

1:26:13

history exams, many of which are actually on American topics

1:26:16

as it happens, apparently make a rather

1:26:18

nice podcast too. So although I didn't make it for

1:26:20

that, go and check it out. You might enjoy it

1:26:22

and hopefully you'll learn something as well. Alternatively,

1:26:25

you can find some of my whiteboard

1:26:27

drawings from my classroom at dry wipe

1:26:29

history on Instagram as well. And

1:26:32

just finally, thank you very much for letting me

1:26:34

do yet another episode, Emma. I

1:26:36

feel genuinely kind of honored to

1:26:39

be on a main episode following

1:26:41

the footsteps of many much bigger,

1:26:43

brighter names than my own. So thank you for

1:26:45

that. I really appreciate it and I've really enjoyed

1:26:47

it. It's been an absolute joy

1:26:49

to have you, Tim. Thank you so much.

1:26:51

And thank you so much for listening. If

1:26:54

you'd like to send in your story, you

1:26:56

can do so by emailing it to reallifegorestoriespodcastatfemale.com.

1:26:58

You can also check out the website, reallifegorestoriespodcast.com.

1:27:01

And if you are desperate for some extra content and

1:27:04

more extra content with our lovely Tim, as

1:27:06

we said, there's like 11 or 12 episodes,

1:27:08

you can subscribe to the Patreon, that is

1:27:10

patreon.com/real life ghost stories, where for $5 a

1:27:12

month or $2 a month, you

1:27:15

get a fresh content as well as every

1:27:17

single main and video episodes ad

1:27:19

free. And on that note, I shall

1:27:21

see you next time. Cheers. Planning

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