Five haunted pubs and hotels in East Lancashire

Many legends and ghost stories have come out of East Lancashire’s pubs and hotels- some of which will test even the biggest sceptics.

You might have even visited some of these places without knowing their haunted histories.

From a ghost with a tragic love story, to spirits that just want to listen to Tina Turner, here are just some ghost stories from five of the most haunted pubs and hotels in East Lancashire.

The Swan and Royal, Clitheroe

The Swan and Royal (Photo:Google Maps)

This historic building dates back to 1786- and some spooky stories about the place have emerged.

Back in the 1800s, 17-year old Anne Druce discovered she was pregnant and was disowned by her family.

She went to the Swan and Royal hotel where she committed suicide.

People say they have seen Anne’s ghost  on the top floor. People also report that duvets are pulled of the beds, windows slap shut and toilets flush by themselves.

Guests in bedroom number five often struggle to sleep with the sound of a baby’s cry in their ears.

Mercure Blackburn Dunkenhalgh Hotel And Spa

Mercure Hotel and Spa (Photo:Google Maps)

A Christmas ghost is said to haunt this hotel and spa and she is said to return when night falls on Christmas Eve.

Legend has it that a French governess called Lucette fell pregnant with an army officer’s baby.

She was rejected by the office who promised to return in the new year but never did- in her despair and desperation, she threw herself off a cliff.

In some versions of the story, the officer returned and learned her fate before dying in a duel with Lucette's brother.

Lucette is still said to walk the halls and also the stone bridge by the hotel.

The Four All's Inn, Higham, Burnley

The Four Alls Inn (Photo:Google Maps)

The Four Alls inn has a spooky history and is even thought to have links to the Pendle witches.

One of the famous Pendle witches, Chattox, was believed to have put a curse on the pub and accused of turning the pub’s beer sour.  

The pub’s cellar was also previously used as a place the store bodies before moving them across the road.

Customers have reported seeing a male figure at the end of the bar and the ghost of a young girl walking through walls.

Back in 2007, the pub was investigated by The  Paranormal Activity Research Team.

The group reported that an object was thrown at them during the investigation and two or three members reported “extreme neck pain” while in the barn.

The Black Bull Inn, Old Langho Road, Blackburn

The Black Bull Inn (Photo:Google Maps)

It is believed that the spectre of Cavalier, William Dutton, haunts this pub.

Legend says that he fell in love with a woman who worked behind  the  bar who already had a partner- so Dutton had him murdered.

There are reports of a ghost locking people in the cellar and moving items around.

There are even reports of the ghost catching a little girl before she could fall down the stairs.

Landlady of the pub, Rebecca Govier, spoke to the Lancashire Telegraph about her paranormal experiences in the pub.

She said: “I’m not a superstitious person or one who usually believes in things like this- but there is definitely something here and you can just feel a presence.

“No-one likes being in the kitchen.”

Ms Govier told us about the paranormal experience of one of the pub’s managers.

He was asleep in the room upstairs and he felt something crawl up the side of the bed next to him.

Instead of panicking, the manager politely told the ghost to move over and leave him some room.

Fox and Hounds, Ewood, Blackburn

Fox and Hounds

Photo: Geograph/ Robert Wade.

It turns out that some ghosts just want to listen to Tina Turner in their afterlife.

In 1993, landlady Joan Harris and her daughter Jacqueline Gould, said one ghost would play Be Tender With Me Baby' by the American singer.

The ghost was also known to throw objects across the room and move ornaments on windowsills.