The Jamaica Inn, Bodmin, Cornwall.
The Jamaica Inn was built in 1750 as a couching inn to give shelter to travellers as
they passed over the remote, windswept and bleak moors using the turnpike between
Launceston and Bodmin. In 1936 the inn was immortalised in Daphne du Mauriers
novel “Jamaica Inn” and three years later in 1939 Alfred Hitchcock made the book
into a film.
The Cornish coast with its stormy waves, rocky coves and sheltered bays made it a haven for smugglers, and once on land you have the vast wild and unmaintained landscape of the moors that made it near impossible to track the smugglers as they moved their contraband around. The story goes that gangs of wreckers would lure the ships to the cost line by using beacon lights which they purposefully installed along the shores of the coast. These beacons would fool the navigators into thinking they were on a different path and would steer their vessels onto the rocky coast. Once the ship was wrecked on the rocks they would be looted by the wreckers. The inn due to its remote and isolated location made it the perfect place to store away the looted contraband they had taken from the ships, it would be stored there until it
could be taken by many secret routes around the UK.
Reported as being one of the most haunted building in England, the Jamaica Inn has a long
history of ghost sightings and paranormal activity.
Many visitors to the Inn have reported encountering strange occurrences during their visit.
Bedroom Number Four appears to be a room where a lot of activity takes place. Guest who
have stayed in this room have reported waking up in the early hours of the morning to be
startled to see a man standing by the door, they describe the man as wearing old style
clothes, a long cloak and a three corner (Tricorn) hat.
The man lingers at the door for a short while before slowly walking past the foot of the bed
and vanishes into the big wardrobe.
The gentleman in the tricorn hat has also been spotted many times in the bar area of the inn,
he is reported to walk through walls and closed doors, spooking many a guest into downing
their drink pronto and getting out. This spirit is said to be Jack Travellis a notorious smuggler
who was put to death not far away.
Previous managers of the Inn have reported hearing conversations uttered in a foreign tongue,
this would not be so un-nerving had they not been heard while the inn was closed and empty.
Footsteps are often heard in the corridors and on investigation by staff or guests there is no
one around in the corridor.
Cold spots are often reported in the bar areas and in the bedrooms.
Doors open and close on their own and objects mysteriously move places.
However, the most reported sighting is that of a man sitting on the wall outside the inn.
Many people have approached him to say good day but he does not speak or move or
even acknowledge their presence. When they describe the man’s appearance to the staff
at the inn it always has a striking resemblance to a man who went missing from the inn
many years before.
One night many years ago a stranger stood at the bar enjoying a tankard of ale. Upon being summoned outside, he left the half-finished ale and stepped out into the dark night. The man
was never seen alive again. The next morning the man’s corpse was found on the moor, the
Could it be that the man keeps returning to the inn to finish his ale or maybe he is trying to tell us something about his murder?
Many people working or staying at the inn have reported hearing the sound of horses’ hooves
and cart wheels outside the inn, on investigation of the cause of the sounds there is nothing
there.
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The Talbot Hotel, Oundle, Northamptonshire.
If you have ever wondered what it would be like to bump into the ghost of an ex-king or queen, then you should consider staying at the Talbot Hotel.
No one knows for sure when the Talbot Hotel was built, however there is evidence that part
of the building is in fact medieval proven by the medieval timbers that can still be seen today.
The building has been modified several times over the years making it into the majestic
building that stands today. The property was rebuilt in 1826 using stones and fittings from nearby Fotheringhay Castle.
The Talbot was one of the first building in England to be classified as a Grade 1 heritage
property.
The hotel has been made famous by the many sightings of the ghost of a past royal.
Mary Queen of Scots (Mary Stuart) has been seen in different parts of the building over
There have been many reported sighting of Mary standing at the top of the oak staircase, she is described as wearing a white gown and a white cap and looking very sad and worried.
These reports are very interesting in that the staircase in question was one of the items bought from Fotheringhay Castle when they knocked it down, “So what?” I hear you say, well, Fotheringhay Castle was the last place Mary was kept captive by Elizabeth I, she arrived at the castle on Friday 25th September 1586 and was kept captive within until her execution on Friday 8th February 1587. Not only that, on Thursday 7th February 1587 while standing at the top of these very stairs at the castle the news was delivered to Mary of her execution the following day. This is the very staircase Mary descended on 8 February 1587 for the last time as she made her way to the Great Hall in the castle. Between the hours of nine and ten in the morning she was beheaded.
It is believed that the imprint of a crown, on the dark polished wood of the stairs balustrade was made by ring on Mary’s finger as gripped the rail for support on her way to the block.
Another area Mary has been seen on many occasion is by the stone mullion window at the top of the stairs. She has been witnessed standing at this window from inside the hotel as well as been seen gazing out of the window by people outside in the inner courtyard. This window is also an item that was purchased from Fotheringhay Castle and used in the rebuild of the hotel.
waking in the night to see a figure in the room dressed in a black gown and staring at nothing.
Drumming Well Yard is the passageway that leads from the main street to the rear of the hotel. It takes its name from the well that was once located here, which warned of impending natural disasters by emitting loud drumming noises.
Some of the events that the well was said to have given warning of are,
The fire of London. The deaths of King Charles II, James II and Oliver Cromwell. And many others, the well has long since vanished but the lane is named to commemorate
it.
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