Hunstrete House Hotel

Pensford
Nr Bath & Bristol
BS39 4NS

History

Paranormal Activity

It is said a curse beholds this country house hotel where all male heirs would die out and it seems to be running true as the property has passed twice to nephews through the female lineage. A presence is often felt in one of the bedrooms and objects seem to rearrange themselves.

The Chough Hotel

High St
Chard
Somerset TA20 1QB

Tel: 01460 63266

History

Hotel named after a famous Crow-type of Cornish bird. No one knows exactly when the hostelry was built but its believed to date back to the mid-1600s, as there is a fireplace which bears the date of 1644. A disastrous fire swept through the area in 1578 but the building survived. In 1685 when Somerset was traumatised by the Rebellion of the Duke of Monmouth, King James II responded quickly and a battle was fought nearby. The rebels were defeated and slaughtered, Monmouth was captured, tried and beheaded despite his pleas for mercy. Monmouth supporters were then hunted through the West Country by Judge Jeffreys and Colonel Percy Kirke who carried out executions of anyone suspected of complicity. Kirke hanged people without trials, while Jeffreys managed to hold trials before hanging the rebels on the tree called Hanging Cross. He once stayed at the hotel, and was responsible for the deaths of more than 300. He is a hated figure in Somerset.

Paranormal Activity

A pub regular once claimed that hed seen the ghost of nasty old man crouched by the fireplace. This is widely believed to be Jeffreys. A "shadowy" figure has been spotted in the corridor .

Built into the wall by the fireplace is a gravestone. No one ever manages to take a 35mm flash photograph of it.

In the 1890s a sealed room was discovered and opened up. Today it forms part of the bar but the area is considered very haunted.

Coughing noises have been inexplicably heard here, and glasses have flown off the bar but not broken.

Theatre Royal

Bath
Somerset

History

Paranormal Activity

The Theatre Royals most famous ghost, her appearance is usually accompanied by the strong scent of jasmine. She is dressed in 18th Century evening dress with feathers in her hair. She has no colour, her whole figure appears as grey. At times she appears solid although sometimes as a wispy, smokey figure. There are differing accounts as to her origin. The most popular version is that she is the ghost of a lady who killed herself after her husband killed her lover in a duel. The second account is that she fell madly in love with an actor at the theatre and spent all her time watching him from the top box. As her love was unrequitted she committed suicide. The third version is the same as the second one except that the roles of the lady and the actor are reversed. Her suicide is agreed in all versions. She hung herself behind a door in the Garricks Head, the theatres own pub.

The Grey Ladys favourite haunt in the theatre is the top left hand box facing the stage, although she has also appeared in the opposite box. She has also been seen in the corridor of the Dress Circle. It would seem that she just does a re-run of the same actions. The only adverse effect that she has is that after a sighting of her, most people feel depressed as if they have absorbed the misery that she must have experienced when she took her own life.

The Phantom Doorman, he appears dressed in 18th Century clothes, and only cast members have ever seen him. Nothing is known about him, other than the fact that he must have once worked as a doorman at the theatre. He is just one of the many apparitions sighted over the years, including a vicious Thing compiled of many screaming faces and various cold chills and whispering voices.

Most theatres pick up some form of psychic phenomena, perhaps due to the high emotions generated by the theatres everyday activities. The Theatre Royal has a long and rich history, and it is also situated in a unique position. The whole surrounding area is infested with poltergeists and ghosts. The theatre is sandwiched between two houses, both of which were lived in by Beau Nash. The Garricks Head was his original house, Popjoys restaurant next door carries the name of his mistress and he died there in 1761. Both buildings are haunted by mysterious figures and happenings - a blood stain appears on the floor of the Garricks Head every year in the same spot and Popjoys has its Vanishing Lady.