A new book lifts the lid on some of the region’s haunted inns. Stuart Arnold takes a peek and talks to its author

Mr Stuart, 75, was cycling along a narrow lane in Cambridgeshire one afternoon when he saw a woman in Forties clothing on an old-fashioned push bike come towards him.

“I looked away for a second and when I looked back she had disappeared,” he says.

“There was nowhere for her to go, there was only a tall hedgerow beside her.”

Mr Stuart, who now lives in London, travelled more than 8,000 miles by train and bike to research his book, which features 600 haunted pubs across the country.

His interest in the subject began when he worked in the Northallerton office of the Thirsk Times (then the Echo’s sister paper) in the early Fifties and was sent to report on ghostly goings on at the Busby Stoop pub in Carlton Miniott, near Thirsk, North Yorkshire.

“I have a completely open mind as to whether ghosts exist,” he says. “People who say they have seen them are quite clear in their own mind and you have to accept what they are saying.

“The reason for so many pubs being haunted is unclear, but what we do know is that many of them are very old and all sorts of dramatic things have happened in them, like brawls and murders.”

Here are edited extracts from a selection of the pubs featured in the book:

The Busby Stoop, Carlton Miniott, near Thirsk, North Yorkshire

IN 1702, local man Tom Busby was hanged on the gallows opposite the pub for murder and coining, an offence which involved scraping the gold off coins with a file and scissors.

In the years since, his ghost has been seen wandering through the pub and village with a rope around his neck and his head low on his chest. Another story surrounds an “evil” chair at the pub, which it was believed had been influenced by the ghost of Busby.

A number of men died in mysterious accidents after sitting in the chair from the Fifties onwards. Later, the chair was taken away to Thirsk museum and placed where no one could sit on it again.

Ancient Unicorn, Bowes, County Durham

THE ghosts of two young lovers, Roger Railton (also known as Edward) and Martha Wrightson (also known as Emma) are said to haunt this four centuries old coaching inn.

In the 18th Century, the Wrightsons had the former King’s Head pub and the Railtons the George, now the Ancient Unicorn.

Their families were opposed to their love affair and they had to meet in secret.

On Shrove Tuesday, 1713, Roger had a serious fever and died three days later. Martha died shortly afterwards from a broken heart. Both were buried in one grave at St Giles’ Church.

A third ghost, an unknown boy aged about 12, has also been seen in the beer cellar.

Ancient Unicorn

Boot and Shoe, Darlington

THE Boot and Shoe is thought to take its name from a time when Darlington was once a centre of tanning and leather making.

It is believed to be haunted by a young domestic girl who died in the attics many years ago. One bar is also reported to be the home to the ghost of a large man in a leather apron who may have been a local blacksmith.

Boot and Shoe

King’s Head Hotel, Darlington

AGAIN, a former coaching inn, it used to host parish council meetings in the 18th Century and the beer was paid from the rates.

It has a friendly ghost, known as Albert the Butler. He has a curious need to help guests with their packing and unpacking. He has even been known to leave a night cap of whisky in guests’ rooms without it being ordered.

The George Hotel, Piercebridge, County Durham

IN 1875, two brothers named Jenkins ran the George Hotel. They had a grandfather clock in the hall. When one died, the old clock started losing time and then finally stopped when the other brother died. This gave rise to the song My Grandfather’s Clock, by American songwriter Henry Clay Work. Since then, the clock has been renovated and keeps perfect time.

Over the years, there have been stories of people hearing voices coming from an empty bar.

Some say it is the Jenkins brothers bickering, while others maintain it is two old farmers arguing over the price of cattle. On several occasions a ghostly figure has been standing near the clock wearing old fashioned gaiters.

The Bonny Moor Hen, Stanhope, County Durham

THE Moor Hen is built next to a graveyard and there have been reports of blood-curdling screams coming from the cellar.

Although nothing, or no one, has been seen, the screaming sounds are accompanied by a white mist. Often a beer tap in the bar turns itself on and pours into the drip tray.

Oak Tree Inn, Tantobie, County Durham

LOCALS here have reported the ghost of a man sitting in the bar drinking, but who disappears when spoken to. Meanwhile, a somewhat malevolent spirit is said to occasionally lock drinkers in the lavatory.

The pub’s ghostly links may stem from an old ‘corpse road’ running north of Tantobie to Stanley, which was a traditional route to carry the dead to burial grounds.

It is believed to be haunted by men who got lost carrying dead bodies and froze to death in the mid 1700s.

Oak Tree inn